A Close Look at Therapeutic Touch

A close look at therapeutic touch.

CONTEXT Therapeutic Touch (TT) is a widely used nursing practice rooted in mysticism but alleged to have a scientific basis. Practitioners of TT claim to treat many medical conditions by using their hands to manipulate a "human energy field" perceptible above the patient's skin. OBJECTIVE To investigate whether TT practitioners can actually perceive a "human energy field." DESIGN Twenty-one...

A close look at standards for therapeutic touch.

This statement is incorrect. Nurse Healers–Professional Associates International, Inc (NH-PAI), the official organization for TT, has had Standards of Care, Scope of Practice, and Therapeutic Touch Policy and Procedure for Health Professionals in place for a number of years. The organization was founded in 1977 and has had criteria for practice and teaching, including levels of advancement for ...

An even closer look at therapeutic touch.

A Close Look at Proteins

Proteins, macromolecules of almost unmatched complexity, display highly specific functionalities only when folded into a distinct three-dimensional (3d) configuration. Protein folding, a complex self-assembly process, thus links the protein’s functionality to the atomic arrangement of the peptide chain. Consequently the protein’s three-dimensional shape as well as its peptide sequence are of pi...

Therapeutic Touch efficacy: A Systematic Review

Background: Recently, the "Disruptions in the Energy Field" have been omitted from the list of nursing diagnoses published by the North American Nursing Diagnosis Association (NANDA). Therapeutic touch is a scientific nursing intervention. The aim of this systematic review was to identify the efficacy of therapeutic touch (TT) and investigate the tenability of omitting this diagnosis from the N...