Research & Bibliography

To search the bibliography, click on the button above and use “CTRL+F” on your keyboard and a search box will appear. For Mac computers, use “⌘+F” or “command+F”.

Research – Creating and supporting the development and evolution of Therapeutic Touch

TTIA supports the evolving nature and standards of Therapeutic Touch around the world. The innately human and compassionate approach to healing that we know as TT, has been continually refined and clarified through observation, reflection, and inquiry.  Through these reflective processes we have deepened our understanding of TT, ourselves, and how our community of healers is influenced by TT. The foundational principles that inform and underlie the process of TT continue: 1. A willingness to help or to heal; 2. Compassion; and 3. Non-attachment to outcome. While honoring the foundational principles of TT, the processes of inquiry, formal and informal, provides a scaffolding for the evolution of the knowledge, practice, scholarship, and science of Therapeutic Touch.  Throughout the history of TT, formal inquiry through research has informed the process of Therapeutic Touch, the responses people have to receiving Therapeutic Touch, and changes experienced by the people who practice Therapeutic Touch.  The findings from these studies help us to clarify the ways we describe the experience and processes of Therapeutic Touch as well as providing evidence to support the use of this uniquely energetic approach to helping and healing.

Directions on How to Search for Research

Our bibliography is open to all – we hope that you will search for research on any subject that you are interested in, and then follow up by finding the complete article. For those looking for specific Therapeutic Touch topics go to a library—preferably one located at a medical center or university and do a computer search. To look for articles by a specific author, go to MEDLINE, CINAHL, HealthSTAR, or IPA, and type the author’s last name-first initial second initial (i.e., Truman-HS) in the box labeled Search. In PsycINFO, type the author’s last name-first name-second initial (i.e., Truman-Harry-S). If you know only the last name, use the AU (author) field . If you are looking for articles in a specific journal, in MEDLINE and PsycINFO, type the full journal name with dashes between each word, and search using the JN field (i.e., new-england-journal-of-medicine in jn). In CINAHL, type the full journal name with dashes using the SO field. In order to search for citations related to a specific Therapeutic Touch problem, use the appropriate subheadings in MEDLINE and CINAHL. There are seven subheadings, including treatment: diet therapy, drug therapy, nursing, prevention and control, rehabilitation, radiotherapy, surgery, and therapy. To see the abstracts, click once on the All Fields button at the bottom of your screen. Remember that library personnel are extremely helpful if there are questions. Denise Coppa, [email protected] Research Trustee.

To search the bibliography, click on the button below and use “CTRL+F” on your keyboard and a search box will appear. For Mac computers, use “⌘+F” or “command+F”.