Healing Touch

A nurturing energy healing therapy for the new millennium

H

ealing Touch is a nurturing and compassionate energy healing therapy. Gentle touch assists in balancing, physical, mental, emotional and spiritual well-being. The goal in Healing Touch is to restore harmony and balance, to support the body’s natural healing ability. It is safe for all ages and works in harmony and collaboration with and is complementary to standard medical care.

Healing Touch is used in a wide variety of settings including hospitals, long term care facilities, private practices, hospices and spas and is taught in universities, medical and nursing schools and other settings internationally. Currently, when Healing Touch techniques are incorporated into acute health care settings or outpatient clinics, delivery of care is accomplished primarily by the health care professionals employed by the health care agency or by non-paid volunteers. Essentially, Healing Touch is being utilized by individual practitioners in whatever place they do their professional services.

Background and Professional Foundation of Healing Touch

The care goals include promotion of wellness, restoration and maintenance of health, and prevention of illness. Legitimacy for practice is predicated upon the standards of practice of the professional utilizing HT techniques. Currently, a number of state boards of nursing within the USA have chosen to identify that Healing Touch is within the scope of practice of a nurse who has achieved advanced education regarding this modality.

Healing Touch and Integrative Health Care

The popular demand for complementary therapies is demonstrated by the fact that the total visits to CAM (Complementary & Alternative Medicine) providers (629 million) exceeded total number of visits to all primary care physicians (386 million) in the United States in 1997. Even though evidence-based research demonstrating the efficacy of most CAM therapies is still rare, and CAM providers, as a general rule, lack standardized training, licensing, and credentialing, the use of these therapies continues to rise. CAM is widely used in other industrialized countries also, according to a summary published in the British Medical Journal in 1996. In Great Britain, 10% of the population consults a CAM practitioner each year with the most popular therapies being acupuncture, chiropractic, osteopathy, homeopathy, herbal medicine and hypnotherapy.¹

A recent 2007 report by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention noted that in 2007, almost 4 out of 10 adults had used CAM therapy in the past 12 months with the most commonly used therapies being nonvitamin, nonmineral natural products and deep breathing exercises and that between 2002 and 2007, increased use was seen among adults for acupuncture, deep breathing exercises, massage therapy, meditation, naturopathy and yoga.²

Approximately 33% of people in France use CAM, with homeopathy being the most popular treatment as it is in Norway. Russia legalized alternative medicine in 1993 and officially recognized reflexology, chiropractic, homeopathy, and a breathing method. One third of the Australian population routinely visit a natural therapist with the highest utilized groups being chiropractic, naturopathy, massage, herbal medicine, and homeopathy. Scientific Western medicine and CAM mutually coexist in Japan with two-thirds of the Tokyo population utilizing CAM therapies such as herbal medicine, acupuncture, shiatsu, and herbal medicine. ³

Currently, Healing Touch has been incorporated within the health care delivery systems in hospitals or outpatient clinics within the United States, Canada, and other countries worldwide with activity and integration in process in many more health care facilities. Healing Touch has also been incorporated into Long Term Care and Hospice facilities, along with wellness spas and free standing clinical enterprises. Healing Touch has been utilized with positive results within a state prison system and also within the public elementary educational system. Planning and implementation continues to expand and occur within all of these areas. Integration of Healing Touch within the international health care community is gaining expansion and momentum, also, as the number of Healing Touch students and Certified Healing Touch Practitioners continues to grow worldwide. Of course, the models for integration will be specific to the country, the culture, and the delivery of care that is already in existence.

Kim M. Watson, an ER nurse at Hotel-Dieu Grace Hospital was awarded an Advanced Clinical Practice Fellowship (ACPF) from the Registered Nurses Association of Ontario (RNAO). From August to December, 2009, Kim has been looking at “The Introduction and Integration of Complementary Therapy in Acute Care”. She notes that patients are seeking out and experiencing complementary therapies (CT) as part of their health care. Kim Watson performs Healing Touch while Susan Klein administers an H1N1 flu shot to Kim Dendiuk Winger.

According to the Fraser Institute (2007) nearly three-quarters of Canadians (74%) had used at least one complementary therapy (CT) sometime in their life, and more than one-half (54%) reported using one within the last year.⁴ The College of Nurses of Ontario (2008) published the practice guideline on CT to help guide nurses to determine when and whether it is appropriate to incorporate CT into their nursing practice. The guideline also references the need to partner with their clients to assist them to make decisions about CT use. As a Spotlight Organization, HDGH has had an ongoing commitment to evidenced-based practice and excellence in nursing care. Kim’s overall goal of this fellowship is to introduce and integrate CT, including Healing Touch, in an acute care setting to ensure nurses’ and clients’ needs are met in this fast growing area, analyze current knowledge and practice use in Ontario and Canada in acute care settings, evaluate current CT programs, organizations and practitioners, implement energy therapy treatments and education for patients and staff in acute care at HDGH, and create a plan to disseminate findings, initiate programs and discuss the impact of use of CT in acute care.

The process of full integration within the current Western health care system will be benefited by ongoing clinical research and documentation of enhanced quality of care, consumer demand, ongoing education of health care professionals, lay public, and payers regarding the benefits of Healing Touch, while maintaining high professional standards for both the teaching of our curriculum and the delivery of Healing Touch within the health care systems and individual private practices. There are several models of integrating Healing Touch within acute and chronic health care delivery systems. The following are several examples: ⁵

Queen’s Medical Center, a tertiary care facility in Honolulu, Hawaii, was the first hospital to establish a Healing Touch service program, established in 1991 through the Pain Management Program by Nurse Facilitator Hob Osterlund RN, MS, CHTP. Initially, > 200 nurses were trained in Healing Touch, but due to time constraints in the early 90s, the delivery system evolved into utilizing trained volunteers (many who were retired RNs) who would provide services for 50-60 patients/day. This Hospital Volunteer Model service program remains viable and every patient admitted to the hospital is given the opportunity to receive Healing Touch throughout their hospital stay.

Scripps Hospital, a tertiary care facility and the largest hospital in San Diego, California first established HT in the ICU in 1994 through the facilitation of Rauni King RN, BSN, CHTP/I. Thirty ICU nurses were trained in Healing Touch; it was used as conscious sedation in ICU and its use later progressed through the hospital (preop, pacu, infusion centers). In 1999 Scripps Center for Integrative Medicine was established, a premier High Tech-High Touch Cardiac Care Facility under the direction of Nurse Facilitor Rauni King RN, BSN, CHTP/I and Medical Director Mimi Guarneri MD, Interventional Cardiologist, Healing Touch Practitioner Apprentice. The center has a professional staff highly experienced in acute western medicine care and trained in complementary therapies. Scripps represents both a Hospital Based Nursing Staff Model and Outpatient Complementary Medicine Model.

Woodwinds Health Campus, a 70 bed acute care Planetree hospital in Woodbury Minnesota, opened in 2000 and incorporating a Healing Arts Therapies program inclusive of Healing Touch, has approximately 30 active trained volunteers who provide care under the direction of Val Lincoln PhD, RN, HNC, Clinical Lead Integrative Services and Kate Maher RN, BSN, CHTP, Coordinator Healing Touch Volunteers.

St. Joseph’s Hospital in Tampa Florida is a 528 bed Tertiary Care Facility that began offering Healing Touch in 2004 through the facilitation of Nurse Originator Kimberly Garcia RN, CHTP/I. Nursing staff trained through Healing Touch Level 3 incorporate HT into standard nursing and med-tech care, providing on average 60 sessions / month.

Hospice & Palliative Care of Northern Colorado, Greeley Colorado offers Healing Touch to critically ill and actively dying patients and hospice staff. Volunteers trained in Healing Touch are supervised by the Director of Nursing and overseen by John Freese PhD, CHTP.

Jewish Home of San Francisco, a skilled nursing facility for elders with over 400 residents offers Healing Touch for pain management, stress/anxiety management, mood enhancement, compassionate end of life care and support for residents with Alzheimer’s, Dementia, Parkinson’s Multiple Sclerosis, Cancer and Osteoarthritis.

Canyon Ranch Health Resort, Tucson, Arizona initiated a Healing Touch delivery program in 1997 through the Nursing Department within the Medical Department. Nurse originator Sue Kagel, RN, BSN, HNC, CHTP/I, along with 6 staff nurses offer educational programs and Healing Touch, averaging 1,400 - 1,500 sessions / year.

Research Statement

Healing Touch research is being conducted in the public and private sector. The National Institutes of Health, Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine, of the United States government has funded research into the effects of Healing Touch with critically ill newborns, women with breast cancer, women with cervical cancer, and the support for the elderly. The primary reason for investigating the benefits of Healing Touch is because of the reports from persons who have received positive benefit from having a Healing Touch therapy session. Research in Healing Touch has shown that it has promise as a supportive therapy for many problems and helps to facilitate a spiritual perspective.⁶

Benefits of Healing Touch

Healing Touch Benefits that have been identified in a research study include:

• Pain relief
• Post-operative recovery
• Symptom relief during chemotherapy
• Development of a spiritual connection
• Elderly:Decreased agitation in those with dementia [calming of those with dementia]
• Decreased depression
• Decreased anxiety
• Improved quality of life
• Assistance with the dying process
• Improved mood
• Decreased stress
• Improved mobility after surgery
• Decreasing the effects of trauma / chronic pain / and post traumatic stress
• Improving symptoms in auto-immune disorders
• Support for withdrawal from substance abuse
• Immune support
• Caring

Evidence

Although research in the area of complementary therapies is relatively new it has shown that it has promise as a supportive therapy for many problems and helps to facilitate a spiritual perspective.6 One study that utilized the “gold standard” of research with a blinded, randomized, controlled trail in a pilot study utilized the intervention of Healing Touch against a sham control for women with gynecological cancers undergoing treatment, showed a significant improvement in several quality of life indicators.⁷ In another larger study it was found that anxiety decreased significantly in those receiving Healing Touch before undergoing cardiac procedures.⁸ Healing Touch is also supportive for those who have chronic illness and/or pain.^6,9,10,11,12 When Healing Touch is offered in hospital settings patient satisfaction scores are high.¹³ Therefore, research to date supports investigating the use of Healing Touch in a variety of settings and conditions.

However, research is only a tool and often sheds light on only a small portion of the experience. It is the person’s individual experience of Healing Touch where they are in a place of unconditional acceptance that has true meaning.

HTI Healing Touch Certificate Program

Healing Touch was created as a certificate program with Janet Mentgen and the Education Committee of the American Holistic Nurses Association (AHNA) in 1989. It became the Healing Touch International, Inc. Healing Touch Certificate Program in 1996 and continues with the original standardized curriculum.

The standardized Healing Touch International, Inc. Healing Touch Certificate Program curriculum utilizes a professional nursing continuing education framework and principles of nursing practice, including those standard nursing activities of observation, assessment, diagnosis, planning, intervention (including health teaching and counseling), and evaluation of outcomes. The HTI Healing Touch Certificate Program curriculum is designed as a multi-level educational program that builds upon the student’s previous health care professional preparation. The American Holistic Nurses’ Association endorses the standardized educational program and Healing Touch International, Inc. (HTI) certifies those attaining competency in Healing Touch.

It includes 5 levels of training provided by Certified Healing Touch Instructors and a minimum one-year mentorship with a Certified Healing Touch Practitioner. Classes are open to any interested in healing. Students progress through the course at their own pace and may take as many levels as desired Healing Touch Practitioners have completed all program requirements and have received a Certificate of Program Completion.

Continuing Education

Certificates of attendance with approved continuing education (CE) credits regarding the student’s profession are issued at the completion of each level. Within the USA, CE approval flows through the American Nurses Credentialing Center’s Commission on Accreditation (ANCCCA) and National Certification Board for Therapeutic Massage and Body Work (NCBTMB).

HTI Healing Touch Certification

A Board Certification Credentialing process for Healing Touch Practitioners (CHTP) and Instructors (CHTI) was developed in AHNA in 1993 and transferred to Healing Touch International in 1996. This credentialing function, implemented by licensed health care professionals, provides the core component of our credibility to enter the Western health care arena. Students, Practitioners, and Instructors are responsible to practice with integrity adhering to the HTI Standards of Practice / Code of Ethics, and Scope of Practice.

Healing Touch International Non-profit Membership Organization

Healing Touch International (HTI) is the Healing Touch non-profit professional organization founded by Janet Mentgen RN in 1996, dedicated to spreading healing worldwide, and supporting the heart-centered practice and teaching of Healing Touch, Continuing Education, Research, Health Care Integration, and Professional Development. Support services are provided for the general public, students, practitioners, instructors and those interested in healing internationally. HTI Perspectives in Healing, the official publication, is published quarterly. Other publications include a Healing Touch Research Survey and Healing Touch and Integrative Health Care Booklet. A yearly international conference and annual instructor’s meeting is held for the purposes of continuing education and is open to all interested in healing. HTI proactively has adopted a recommended Policy and Procedure, International Standards of Practice, Code of Ethics, Instructor Guidelines and Statement of Scope of Practice for Healing Touch students and practitioners. These documents have afforded a common ground when dialoguing about the integration of Healing Touch with administrators and representatives of health care facilities.

references

1. Eisenberg DM, Davis RB, Ettner SL, Appel S, Wilkey S, Van Rompay M, Kessler RC. Trends in alternative medicine use in the United States, 1990-1997: results of a follow-up national survey. (1998) JAMA 280: 1569-75.
2. Center for Disease Control and Prevention, National Health Statistics Reports, Complementary and Alternative Medicine Use Among Adults and Children: United States 2007, Number 12, December 10, (2008).
3. Milbank Memorial Fund, Enhancing the Accountability of Alternative Medicine, New York, (1998).
4. Esmail, N. Complementary and Alternative Medicine in Canada: Trends in Use and Public Attitudes, 1997-2006, (2007) The Fraser Institute, Number 87.
5. Anselme, L. Healing Touch and Integrative Health Care, 7th Ed. (2007), Healing Touch International, Inc. Lakewood, CO.
6. Wardell, D.W. & Weymouth, K. (2004). Review of studies of Healing Touch. Journal of Nursing Scholarship: Image, 36(2), 147-154.
7. Cook, C.A.L., Guerrerio, J.F., Slater, V.E. (2004). Healing Touch and quality of life in women receiving radiation treatment for cancer: A randomized controlled trail, Alternative Therapies in Health and Medicine, 10(3), p. 24-41.
8. Seskevich, JE, Crater, S.W., Lane, J.D., & Krucof, M.W. (2004). Beneficial effects of noetic therapies on mood before percutaneous intervention for unstable coronary syndromes. Nursing Research. Mar-Apr, 53(2), p.116-21.
9. Wang, K., & Hermann, C. (2006). Pilot study to test the effectiveness of Healing Touch on agitation levels in people with dementia. Geriatric Nursing, 27(1), 34-40.
10. Wardell, D.W., Rintala, D., Duan, Z., Tan, G. (in press). A pilot study of Healing Touch and progressive relaxation for chronic neuropathic pain in persons with spinal cord injury. Journal of Holistic Nursing.
11. Weymouth, K. & Sandberg-Lewis, S. (2000). Comparing the efficacy of Healing Touch and chiropractic adjustment in treating chronic low back pain: A pilot study. Healing Touch Newsletter, 00(3), 7-8.
12. Ziembroski J, Gilbert, N., Bossarte, R., Guldberg, G. (2003). Healing Touch and Hospice Care: Examining outcomes at the end of life. Alternative & Complementary Therapies. 9(3), 146-151.
13. Wardell, D.W., Healing Touch Research Survey, Healing Touch International, Inc. 10th Edition. (2009). Lakewood, CO. Photo Credits: Kim Watson RN and Kimberly Gray RN

. . .