‘Healing touch’ therapy gains popularity

Mumbai News


New York: An unconventional therapy called the healing touch is gaining acceptance as complementary aid in some US hospitals.

Although research on the technique – which uses light touch and deep breathing – is limited, it is practiced at 30 US hospitals and by nearly 2,000 certified therapists, according to Healing Touch International (HTI).

The system incorporates ancient Asian healing techniques and was developed in the 1980s by a nurse, Janet Mentgen.

Nurse Jackie Levin (left) using the healing-touch therapy on fellow nurse Sarla Santos at New York University Medical Centre

A healing touch therapist will gently touch or glide his hands through the patient’s energy points or affected areas, such as shoulders, feet and forehead. The practitioner concentrates on each point for a few minutes.

The US National Institutes of Health (NIH) classifies it as “energy medicine,” in which practitioners believe illness results from disturbances of subtle energy fields, and calls it controversial.

The NIH says neither the external energy fields nor the therapeutic effects have been demonstrated convincingly.

However, some hospitals, including the New York University Medical Centre, have approved it as a complement to traditional rehabilitation.

Lisa Anselme, executive director at the HTI, stresses the method was not meant to stand alone.

“Healing touch is not intended to replace standard treatment. It’s a complementary therapy,” said Anselme, a registered nurse and healing touch practitioner.

Users of the controversial therapy agree.

“I would still see my doctor, but I wanted to make sure there were no blockages between my mind and body,” said Nancy Hauserman, a college professor who used the therapy. “In fact, my own doctor was extremely impressed with how fast my wound has healed.”

Scripps Doctors Give Touch Therapy A Big Hand

Scripps Doctors Give Touch Therapy A Big Hand
Research Suggests It Speeds Healing, Reduces Anxiety

POSTED: 6:58 pm PDT August 1, 2006
UPDATED: 7:28 pm PDT August 1, 2006

SAN DIEGO -- Employees at Scripps Green Hospital are getting touchy with patients -- and it's getting good results.

The hospital is now using certified healing touch therapists to give patients a hand before surgery and the results are grabbing the attention of medical experts.

The ``laying on'' of hands to heal someone from an illness dates back to biblical times but is getting a modern spin at the hospital, where doctors prescribe touch therapy to patients preparing for surgery.

For instance, 79-year-old Edith Taylor has had at least five stents inserted in her body in the last eight years and before and after every operation, she has a 10-minute touch session with a therapist like Elizabeth Fraser, who is also a registered nurse.

``It's a very light touch, we do things like balancing our chakras, opening them for the patient clearing their electric magnetic field,'' Fraser said.

It's not a massage. Sometimes hands hover above the body and don't actually make contact.

Taylor said she doesn't feel anything during her sessions but visualizes a powerful blue-green wave of pure healing washing though her body.

Scripps Cardiologist Dr. Erminia Guarneri said touch therapy is based on a concept that an ``energy body'' extends out from the physical body and can be manipulated through techniques.

``There are no pills, no chemicals -- you don't even have to believe in it,'' Guarneri said.

Research conducted during the last decade suggests touch therapy can cut pain and recovery time in half as well as promote reduction of pain, relieve anxiety and accelerate wound healing.

Scripps Green Hospital is one of several hospitals across the nation offering touch therapy and many of them prescribe it along with surgery, like a pain medication.

Stable owner believes 'holistic' therapy helps animals

Stable owner believes 'holistic' therapy helps animals
Monday, October 1, 2007
BY Benjamin Duer
REPOSITORY STAFF WRITER
A GOOD FEELING
Travis, a former racing horse suffering from multiple tumors, underwent successful sound and vibration therapy using holistic treatments during a demonstration Sunday. A floppy lip, glazed eyes and droopy ears are positive signs of a relaxed patient, Sheri Antrude of Concord Township said. "He likes this," said Travis' owner Stephani Kames, who also owns Fox Creek Stables, where the demonstration occurred.

LAKE TWP. "Travis" is an old boy.

A former racehorse, he desires to run endlessly, but his body cannot. At 27, the gray thoroughbred has many tumors.

But Travis has found relief in touch.

"He likes this," said Stephani Kames, who owns the aging horse, which was taken to Fox Creek Stables in Lake Township. Fox Creek is owned by Jill Kirsch.

Kames watches as tuning forks - gently applied - vibrate and tingle on the horse's back, chest and ears.

Travis passes gas. His lips become droopy. His head lowers. He has found his chi.

He has found harmony.

Carol Komitor, founder and director of Komitor Healing Methods, taught holistic touching techniques - to help heal and/or calm animals - to a group of students Sunday at Fox Creek. The four-level program is known as Healing Touch for Animals (HTA). Using tuning forks is just one application.

"When you keep the energy system in balance it allows for a deep relaxation to come in, and when we're relaxed - whether it is people or animals - it allows for correct physiology," Komitor, a former veterinary technician, said.

She said holistic therapy can help heal general illnesses, stabilize training, reduce anxiety and behavioral issues and regulate the immune system in animals.

She sees the therapy as a partner to medicine.

Pamela Fisher, a local holistic veterinarian, organized the event. Her practice is in Jackson Township. She has more than 500 clients.

"I was drawn to (the program) because I do energy work in my office," Fisher said. Energy work is another term for holistic therapy.

FISHER'S INFLUENCE

Fisher said the program is a "wonderful avenue" to teach holistic techniques to her clients.

One of her clients is Cindy Van Allen.

Van Allen, a Butler resident, has two epileptic dogs. The seizures were daily.

Van Allen said the holistic techniques have helped calm her animals and reduce the amount of seizures and other epileptic side effects.

With touch therapy, "an owner can see immediate differences," in their pets, she said.

Candace Phillips of Hartville is another client. She is a massage therapist. She owns two horses, three cats and three dogs.

She said the "energy work" of holistic treatments can identify a problem quickly and set you on a path toward a solution - medical or otherwise.

"The body will tell you a thousand times something is wrong before it becomes a problem," Phillips said.

TRAVELING AFAR

Komitor's holistic therapy for animals has attracted students from many countries. Joining students, such as Phillips, were twin sisters from the Netherlands.

Ria and Henriette Roosendaal train horses for competition in the Amsterdam area. They made the trip to Lake Township so they could complete their education.

Henriette Roosendaal said she believes holistic therapy has helped in competition. "(The horses) are more focused on their job."

"It is our self-healing that helps healing, not someone else," Komitor told students.

But, "someone else can facilitate the healing."

Reach Repository writer Benjamin Duer at (330) 580-8567 or e-mail: benjamin.duer@cantonrep.com

To learn more, visit: http://www.healingtouchforanimals.com