"Therapeutic Touch Defined" was taken from the Therapeutic Touch web site at:www.therapeutictouch.org
For articles on Therapeutic Touch with animals, please go to he link below
www.barbarajanelle.com/
Therapeutic Touch Defined
Therapeutic
Touch is a contemporary healing modality drawn from ancient practices
and developed by Dora Kunz and Dolores Krieger. The practice is based
on the assumptions that human beings are complex fields of energy, and
that the ability to enhance healing in another is a natural potential.
Therapeutic Touch (TT) is used to balance
and promote the flow of human energy. It is taught in colleges around
the world and has a substantial base of formal and clinical research.
This research has shown that TT is useful in reducing pain, improving
wound healing, aiding relaxation, and easing the dying process. It can
be learned by anyone with a sincere interest and motivation towards
helping others.
History of Therapeutic Touch at Pumpkin Hollow Retreat Center
Therapeutic
Touch started at Pumpkin Hollow , a spiritual retreat center of the
Theosophical Society in the foothills of the Berkshires in New York
State. It was preceded by the work of Dora Kunz who had a highly
developed sensitivity. Through the use of this natural ability she was
able to perceive blockages and dysrhythms in a patient's energy field,
subtle disharmonies not accessible to other medical technologies. Dora
diagnosed numerous perplexing cases referred by physicians and other
scientists and often suggested treatments and resources for her
patients.
Dora's abilities extended beyond the usual
sense perception. For example, she was particularly known for her work
with the unseen human field energies in an individual. Since childhood
Dora was aware of such forces, and she made a lifetime study of how
they work and how they relate to attitudes and emotions, this awareness
later evolved into an understanding of the universal healing field from
which both healers and patients can draw fresh, potent healing energies.
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In 1972, Dora and her longtime student and colleague Dolores Krieger,
Phd, RN; developed Therapeutic Touch (TT). They developed a program for
teaching the procedures and attitudes necessary for TT. Formal classes
began at PHRC, where patients were referred by their physicians. The
century-old farmhouse and the cabins around the grounds were filled
with patients, and students who wanted to learn TT. Those who were able
to participate in the life of Pumpkin Hollow did so, such as swimming
in the creek, hiking the 130 acres of woodlands, and attending talks
and discussions.
Now there are intensive summer teaching sessions for TT at different
levels at Pumpkin Hollow. Dee and others lead these, as did Dora, until
she passed away in 1999. In addition, TT is being taught worldwide in
universities and workshops for healthcare professionals, as well as
interested lay people. TT has become a widely accepted form of
alternative therapy in hospitals and other health agencies. But it all
began at Pumpkin Hollow with two people in the healing arts who
envisioned the possibilities of a wider use of an ancient way of
healing.
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