Research Basis for Healing Touch

As a person interested in Healing Touch (HT) research, you may have a background in research review or you may not. This section of the website is intended to introduce you to:

  • The purpose and types of research
  • The links between research and theory
  • The issues in research that will help you become a good consumer and advocate of Healing Touch research
  • The types of that have been done, and
  • How to access research for your own use

    Purpose and Types of Research

    Within any practice discipline, there is a need and desire to demonstrate the effectiveness and results of that practice in order to provide the most effective and efficient treatment to those served by that practice. It is also desirable to determine the experience of those giving and receiving the therapy in order to determine if there are similarities amongst groups. Research is considered by many to be the best way to open the minds of welcome sceptics to the possibilities of healing with the modalities of Healing Touch. Research is valued by healthcare agencies, professional healthcare schools and by an increasingly wary public that has believed in the past that complementary therapies are sham practices that have no basis in science and no place in conventional healthcare and healing practices. You may be asked questions such as:

  • How do you know this therapy works?
  • What evidence is there to decide which types of illnesses or health issues this therapy works on?
  • Is there any research to support this practice?
  • Are the effects of Healing Touch therapy similar to other forms of energy work?
  • What is the experience of people who get this therapy?
  • What theories support research into this work?

    The conduct (and reading) of research studies, helps answer these questions and more. The importance of recognizing and supporting research was recognized by the Colorado Center for Healing Touch (now Healing Touch Program) in 1997 when it established an office of research under the current Director of Healing Touch Program, Cynthia Hutchison Cristal, RN, DNSc, CHTP/I, HTCP/I through its then, membership organization with the support of the American Holistic Nurses Association (AHNA).

    HTP continues to support research through affiliations with a number of different institutions (e.g. The Watson Caring Science Institute) and researchers. Healing Touch Program continues to act as a consultant for those wishing to conduct or participate in research through these affiliations. The advancement of computerized journal search engines to find research has made finding reputable studies relatively simple.

    Links Between Research and Theory

    Theory and research are foundational blocks for practice. Theories drive research and research drives theory. A simple way of explaining this is to say that theory and research are interdependent-they rely on each other. Theories are descriptions of interrelated concepts and are driven by belief systems or philosophies. Theories can form the foundations of practice and give a more solid foundation to the development and testing of practices that are reflective of the theory concepts. For example: The Theory of Human Caring involves the concept of intentionality or heart centered practice. Research might look at a description of living a heart centered practice OR might look at whether being heart centered (or intentional) really makes a difference in the outcome of the therapy. Theory (or theories) are tested and supported with both qualitative and quantitative research methods. Healing Touch practices are congruent with theories based in humanistic, heart centered philosophies such as those of many nurse theorists (Watson, Newman, Rogers, Nightingale, among others) and other religious and social science philosophies. These theories support the openness of inquiry that embraces many types of research.

    Becoming a Good Consumer of Healing Touch Research

    You may or may not need to look to the research to "do the work" of Healing Touch. It is important however that you have some grounding in knowing about research should the opportunity or need present itself. This section will look at some basic issues in research that will improve your research knowledge.

    There are two general kinds of research that are done-quantitative and qualitative. Quantitative studies are the types of studies that tend to look for statistical evidence that a treatment impacts on a specific condition. In the scientific community, the randomized clinical trials, meta-analyses and systematic reviews are considered to be the best forms of research. These types of studies require control of variables, large numbers of participants or exposures to the treatment and complex statistical methods to be worthy of review. These types of studies are open to a great deal of scrutiny to determine if controls and/or conditions are met. Numerous authors have outlined the difficulties of enacting these controls given the variable nature of giving and receiving energy based therapies (see references).

    Qualitative studies, on the other hand generally strive to elicit descriptions of experience or meanings of experience. They are not used to determine effectiveness of interventions but rather look for themes of experience or meaning or relationships that add to the richness or interrelatedness of concepts in the experience. These types of studies do not require large samples and don't control for variables in the same way as quantitative studies. They do follow clearly outlined processes however, so that they may be repeated by someone else (auditability). Qualitative studies help elicit themes that cannot be measured such as spirituality, caring, hope, loss of time etc. Mixed methods studies are becoming increasingly popular in current literature. They tend to look at the combination of experience and controlled variables to find more comprehensive conclusions and to look for inconsistencies between measured outcomes and participants' descriptions of their experience.

    Given this information, how can you, decide which studies best support "the work"? Asking the following questions helps:

  • Is the study published in a reputable, peer reviewed journal? Many reputable studies have been done as part of graduate studies but have not been published. Peer reviewed, published studies generally carry more weight in the science community.

  • If the study is quantitative, are the authors making claims that they have proven the effectiveness of the therapy? This would not be desired. Few reputable researchers would ever say that their research "proves" anything. At best they are hoping to find results that suggest that the effect was not due to chance alone (statistical significance)

  • Does the discussion section of the paper explain why statistical significance was not achieved (if it wasn't)? A good research paper does not always have to find statistical significance. The desired results may not have occurred because of the aforementioned method and/or sample issues e.g. not enough participants (small sample size), poor control of variables, treatment not given appropriately etc.

  • If the study is qualitative, have the authors been true to their method of research? Would you be able to understand exactly how they conducted the study?

  • If you are still stuck, do you know who to contact?

    What Types of Studies Have Been Done to Date

    It is important to know that a great deal of research is being done involving Healing Touch therapies and other healing modalities. Whole journals are devoted to reporting of research so the body of knowledge is continually growing. Many studies in Healing Touch modalities have been funded by internationally recognized funding bodies such as the National Institute of Health, NASA and special interest groups. Published and unpublished studies and pilot studies have been conducted looking at the impact of HT therapies on many disease conditions and symptoms such as cancer, heart disease, palliative (Hospice) care, elder care, immunological and endocrine conditions (HIV and diabetes), headaches, postoperative wounds, pediatric conditions, alcoholism, premenopausal syndrome and dementia. Symptoms explored have included but are not limited to pain, fatigue, depression, anxiety, agitation, stress and nausea. These studies have explored the work across the life span and in men and women. To list all the studies that have been conducted in Healing Touch would take pages! A disciplined consumer of research would view that list with a very discerning eye and ask many of the questions outlined above looking for what is considered the best evidence to support HT practice.

    Following are three examples of Healing Touch research that support the work and would meet most of the criteria noted above. It must be emphasized that these are not the only studies that meet these criteria and that there is an increasing body of well conducted studies.

    Quantitative Study

    Cook, C.A., Guerrerio, J.F., & Slater, V.E. (2004). Healing Touch and quality of life in women receiving radiation treatment for cancer: A randomized controlled trial. Alternative Therapies in Health and Medicine, 10(3), 34-41. The researchers in this study explored the impact of HT on the reported health-related quality of life of women receiving HT during radiation treatment for gynecological or breast cancer. The sample consisted of 62 newly diagnosed women who were randomly assigned to receive either HT or a mock (fake) form of the therapy. The participants received either the HT treatment or the mock therapy weekly for a total of six weeks immediately after their radiation treatment. The participants were not aware of which treatment they were receiving as it took place behind a screen (blinding). Those receiving HT reported improvement in all 9 areas of quality of life measured with statistical significance in the area of vitality, pain and physical function (compared to those that received mock therapy. This study addresses many of the methodological challenges that confront those that conduct energy therapy research.

    Qualitative Studies

    Although not published, three phenomenological studies were conducted in the late 80's exploring the lived experience of women receiving HT therapy during their breast cancer experience/treatment. Diane Kopecki, MS, RN, OCN, HTP, Charlene Cristiano, ARNP-BC, MSN, CHTP and Kathy Moreland Layte, MScN, CNS, HTCP/I conducted graduate theses in nursing that brought out consistent themes of connectedness and caring between the recipient and practitioner, recognition of strength in self and self care needs and altered perceptions of time, environment helping these women get through the experience.

    Mixed Method Study

    Wilkinson, D.S., Knox, P.L., Chatman, J.E., Johnson, T.L. et al. (2002). The clinical effectiveness of Healing Touch. The Journal of Alternative and Complementary Medicine. 8(1), 33-47.

    The researchers in this mixed methods design wanted to explore whether HT enhanced health. To determine enhanced health, they recorded salivary secreted immunoglobulin A (sIgA), a protein in the body thought to be related health enhancement before and after treatment, self report levels of stress, perceptions of health enhancement and administered qualitative questionnaires. Their sample consisted of 22 clients who had never experienced HT. All of the participants experienced 3 types of conditions: no treatment, HT alone, and HT plus music and guided imagery over a period of two weeks. Statistically significant results and the review of the qualitative data support that HT enhances health through raising sIgA concentrations, lowering perceptions of stress and relieving pain. The researchers suggest that the result is not the result of placebo alone.

    How to Access Research for your own Use

    Whether you are an experienced researcher or a novice in the language of research, your best resource for finding reputable research studies involving HT is to contact either your local library, your local College/University library (if possible) and/or the Health Science library of your local healthcare facility for their help in finding and accessing published articles in your area of interest. Healing Touch Program's online publication, Energy Magazine™, routinely reports on research studies in a user friendly way to keep practitioners and interested parties up to date. Searching the web can also help you find resources and titles of reputable articles. Sometimes a brief description outlining the study design and findings can be found and sometimes the full article can be found. Some libraries charge a small fee for access to a full article. In the event that you require assistance searching for reputable articles, you can contact HTP and you will be directed to the appropriate resources.

    Summary

    Healing Touch is one of many energy based modalities that is being increasingly studied. Many science disciplines are turning to the study of subtle energies in their quest to understand the phenomena of energy based therapies. One can look to new literature within almost every discipline to find the shifting openness to the belief in subtle energies and its impact on our lives. The science of physics and psychoneuroimmunology are publishing increasingly sophisticated theories and research about energy. Knowledge in these areas is ever expanding and beyond the scope of explanation in this level of the Program. (see the recommended book list for other sources of support).

    This section of the website has introduced you to the purpose and types of research, the links between theory and research, considerations in being a good consumer of Healing Touch research, topics in HT research and how to access research for your own use. One need not become an expert in research to be an effective practitioner of Healing Touch modalities, but having knowledge of what to look for in research and how to access and understand it can assist you in your practice. This knowledge will help you explain "the work" to others whether you are practicing with your family or hoping to bring this work into a more conventional environment such as a healthcare facility, academic institution or business. Resources are available to you through Healing Touch Program should you need more assistance in accessing or understanding the research that is available.

    References

    Ai, A.L., Peterson, C., Gillespie, B., Bolling, S.F., et al. (2001). Designing clinical trials on energy healing: Ancient art encounters medical science. Alternative Therapies in Health and Medicine, 7(4), 83-90.

    Engebretson, J. & Wardell, D. (2007). Energy-based modalities. Nursing Clinics of North America, 42, 243-259.

    Hawk, C., Long, C.R., Reiter, R., Davis, C.S. et al. (2002). Issues in planning a placebo-controlled trial of manual methods: Results of a pilot study. The Journal of Alternative and Complementary Medicine, 8(1), 21-32.

    Hintz, K.J., Yount, G.L. Kadar, Schwartz, G. et al. Bioenergy definitions and research guidelines. Alternative Therapies in Health and Medicine, 9(1), 13-30.

    Jonas, W.B., & Chez, R.A., (2003). The role and importance of definitions and standards in healing research. Alternative Therapies in Health and Medicine, 9(3), A5-A9.

    Riley, D. & Berman, B., (2002). Complementary and alternative medicine in outcomes research. Alternative Therapies in Health and Medicine, 8(2), 36-37.

    Warber, S.L., Gordon, A., Gillespie, B.W., Olson, M., et al. (2003). Standards for conducting clinical biofield energy healing research. Alternative Therapies in Health and Medicine, 9(3), A54-A64.


    Disclaimer/Terms of Use |
    Healing Touch Program | Healing Touch Professional Association |
    Healing Touch Worldwide Foundation

    Healing Touch Program™ is the trademark of Healing Touch Program
    Contents is copyright © 2009 by Healing Touch Program
    All Rights Reserved.