In this thesis I examine the debate surrounding Therapeutic Touch, a controversial energetic healing modality being practiced by registered nurses in biomedical institutions across North America. The debate surrounding the therapy takes place within medical journals, popular media articles, and on the internet. Within the debate, definitions of illness etiology, appropriate treatment, patient management, and alternative therapy use are contested by Therapeutic Touch proponents and critics. Through discursive analysis, interviews with local participants in the debate, and participant observation within the TT community, I present an analysis of the issues being contested and of the discursive strategies used by proponents and critics within the debate. The debate is contextualized in two ways: first, as an instance of medical heresy, in which an alternative healing group arises within the orthodox medical community and struggles to maintain itself within biomedical discourse and institutions; second, I contextualize the debate as an example of the wider trend towards integrative medicine in North America. Integrative medicine sees alternative therapies being increasingly used within health care delivery systems, either by alternative practitioners, or by biomedical practitioners who have co-opted alternative techniques. I argue that Therapeutic Touch proponents have utilized several discursive strategies in presenting and arguing for their alternative healing model. These strategies surround the issues of professional legitimacy, scientific validity, and TT’s perception as religious or spiritual. Therapeutic Touch proponents manage their discourse by conforming it to orthodox biomedical discourse and by pursuing a strategy of professionalization. Through this management process, they have been able to maintain a marginal presence within biomedicine. / Thesis / Master of Arts (MA)

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Virginia, 1998. / Includes bibliographical references (p. 122-133). Also available online through Digital Dissertations.

A dor é um dos sintomas que mais comprometem a produtividade, o bem estar e a qualidade de vida das pessoas, sobretudo dos idosos. Com o crescimento da utilização de Terapias Complementares para o seu tratamento surge a necessidade da realização de pesquisas que forneçam evidências sobre sua indicação e efetividade. Considerando a ampla utilização do Toque Terapêutico (TT) no tratamento complementar da dor decorrente de diversas condições clínicas e as críticas metodológicas aos resultados encontrados pelos autores, esta pesquisa buscou responder ao seguinte questionamento: Quais os efeitos do Toque Terapêutico sobre a dor inflamatória? Para tanto foi realizado um experimento utilizando o modelo de edema de pata induzido por Adjuvante Completo de Freund (CFA) em camundongos machos. A ação anti-inflamatória do TT foi verificada por meio de variação na dor, edema e migração de neutrófilos, antes e após a intervenção, aplicada durante 15 minutos, uma vez ao dia, por quatro dias. Os resultados apontaram aumento significativo no limiar nociceptivo mecânico e aumento na área do edema nas patas dos animais tratados com TT, no segundo dia de aplicação (p ? 0,05). A redução observada na migração de neutrófilos não foi estatisticamente significativa. Concluímos que a redução na dor corrobora os dados obtidos em estudos com seres humanos, com controle do efeito placebo. O modelo de edema de pata induzido por CFA é adequado à investigação experimental dos efeitos do TT sobre a dor inflamatória. Sugerimos a realização de novos experimentos para a elucidação dos mecanismos fisiológicos de ação envolvidos nos achados, sobretudo em decorrência do aumento do edema no grupo tratado com TT. / Pain is one of the symptoms that most endanger productivity, welfare and life quality of people, especially the elderly. With the increasing use of Complementary Therapies for its treatment there is the need to conduct studies that provide evidence about its indication and effectiveness. Considering the wide use of Therapeutic Touch (TT) in the adjunctive treatment of pain as a result of various clinical conditions and the methodological criticisms of the authors\' results, this research seeks to answer the following question: What are the effects of the Therapeutic Touch on inflammatory pain? For such, it was conducted an experiment using the model of paw edema induced by Freund\'s Complete Adjuvant (FCA) in male mice. The anti-inflammatory action of TT was verified by means of variation in pain, edema and neutrophilic migration, before and after the intervention, it was applied for 15 minutes once a day for four days. The results showed a significant increase in mechanical nociceptive threshold and an increase in the edema area in the paws of animals treated with TT, in the second day of treatment (p < 0.05). The observed reduction of neutrophilic migration was not statistically significant. It was concluded that the reduction in pain corroborates the data obtained in human studies, with control of the placebo effect. The model of paw edema induced by FCA is suitable for experimental investigation of the effects of TT on inflammatory pain. It is suggested further experiments to elucidate the physiological mechanisms of action underlying the findings, mainly due to the increase of edema in the group treated with TT.

Male child and youth care (CYC) practitioners have rarely been queried about how, or if, they use therapeutic touch (TT) with clients. A significant amount of literature suggests that TT with children and youth can have a positive impact on development, social, emotional and physical wellbeing, and a reduction of aggressive behaviour. However, for male practitioners, using caring touch with clients grows ever more precarious given the increased perception that they are vulnerable to allegations of misconduct and concern that touching clients could be triggering. This narrative inquiry examines how male CYC practitioners make sense of, and engage in, the use of therapeutic touch. Through interviews of five men from Vancouver Island, British Columbia, stories were collected about experiences, values, and personal histories to discover how they were informed about and navigate therapeutic touch with clients. Four themes were identified including, the story of patriarchy, fear, vulnerability and connection. How participants approach their use of therapeutic touch was found to depend on early life experiences, important life events, anecdotal evidence that reinforced fears about using touch, and the current social and political culture such as the #metoo movement. This study also finds that more research, dialogue and training is needed in order for male CYC practitioners to feel safe and competent to use therapeutic touch in a way that is beneficial for clients. / Graduate

A dor é um dos sintomas que mais comprometem a produtividade, o bem estar e a qualidade de vida das pessoas, sobretudo dos idosos. Com o crescimento da utilização de Terapias Complementares para o seu tratamento surge a necessidade da realização de pesquisas que forneçam evidências sobre sua indicação e efetividade. Considerando a ampla utilização do Toque Terapêutico (TT) no tratamento complementar da dor decorrente de diversas condições clínicas e as críticas metodológicas aos resultados encontrados pelos autores, esta pesquisa buscou responder ao seguinte questionamento: Quais os efeitos do Toque Terapêutico sobre a dor inflamatória? Para tanto foi realizado um experimento utilizando o modelo de edema de pata induzido por Adjuvante Completo de Freund (CFA) em camundongos machos. A ação anti-inflamatória do TT foi verificada por meio de variação na dor, edema e migração de neutrófilos, antes e após a intervenção, aplicada durante 15 minutos, uma vez ao dia, por quatro dias. Os resultados apontaram aumento significativo no limiar nociceptivo mecânico e aumento na área do edema nas patas dos animais tratados com TT, no segundo dia de aplicação (p ? 0,05). A redução observada na migração de neutrófilos não foi estatisticamente significativa. Concluímos que a redução na dor corrobora os dados obtidos em estudos com seres humanos, com controle do efeito placebo. O modelo de edema de pata induzido por CFA é adequado à investigação experimental dos efeitos do TT sobre a dor inflamatória. Sugerimos a realização de novos experimentos para a elucidação dos mecanismos fisiológicos de ação envolvidos nos achados, sobretudo em decorrência do aumento do edema no grupo tratado com TT. / Pain is one of the symptoms that most endanger productivity, welfare and life quality of people, especially the elderly. With the increasing use of Complementary Therapies for its treatment there is the need to conduct studies that provide evidence about its indication and effectiveness. Considering the wide use of Therapeutic Touch (TT) in the adjunctive treatment of pain as a result of various clinical conditions and the methodological criticisms of the authors\' results, this research seeks to answer the following question: What are the effects of the Therapeutic Touch on inflammatory pain? For such, it was conducted an experiment using the model of paw edema induced by Freund\'s Complete Adjuvant (FCA) in male mice. The anti-inflammatory action of TT was verified by means of variation in pain, edema and neutrophilic migration, before and after the intervention, it was applied for 15 minutes once a day for four days. The results showed a significant increase in mechanical nociceptive threshold and an increase in the edema area in the paws of animals treated with TT, in the second day of treatment (p < 0.05). The observed reduction of neutrophilic migration was not statistically significant. It was concluded that the reduction in pain corroborates the data obtained in human studies, with control of the placebo effect. The model of paw edema induced by FCA is suitable for experimental investigation of the effects of TT on inflammatory pain. It is suggested further experiments to elucidate the physiological mechanisms of action underlying the findings, mainly due to the increase of edema in the group treated with TT.

No description available.

In this thesis I examine the debate surrounding Therapeutic Touch, a controversial energetic healing modality being practiced by registered nurses in biomedical institutions across North America. The debate surrounding the therapy takes place within medical journals, popular media articles, and on the internet. Within the debate, definitions of illness etiology, appropriate treatment, patient management, and alternative therapy use are contested by Therapeutic Touch proponents and critics. Through discursive analysis, interviews with local participants in the debate, and participant observation within the TT community, I present an analysis of the issues being contested and of the discursive strategies used by proponents and critics within the debate. The debate is contextualized in two ways: first, as an instance of medical heresy, in which an alternative healing group arises within the orthodox medical community and struggles to maintain itself within biomedical discourse and institutions; second, I contextualize the debate as an example of the wider trend towards integrative medicine in North America. Integrative medicine sees alternative therapies being increasingly used within health care delivery systems, either by alternative practitioners, or by biomedical practitioners who have co-opted alternative techniques. I argue that Therapeutic Touch proponents have utilized several discursive strategies in presenting and arguing for their alternative healing model. These strategies surround the issues of professional legitimacy, scientific validity, and TT’s perception as religious or spiritual. Therapeutic Touch proponents manage their discourse by conforming it to orthodox biomedical discourse and by pursuing a strategy of professionalization. Through this management process, they have been able to maintain a marginal presence within biomedicine. / Thesis / Master of Arts (MA)

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Washington, 1999. / Vita. Includes bibliographical references (leaves [126]-139).

Submitted by Raquel Vergara Gondran (raquelvergara38@yahoo.com.br) on 2016-04-03T01:59:19Z No. of bitstreams: 1 0000010495.pdf: 7029217 bytes, checksum: fee220f5cf96e201e48f10540d1730aa (MD5) / Made available in DSpace on 2016-04-03T01:59:19Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 0000010495.pdf: 7029217 bytes, checksum: fee220f5cf96e201e48f10540d1730aa (MD5) Previous issue date: 2016 / Trata-se de uma tese de doutorado junto ao Programa de Pós- Graduação em Educação Ambiental, na Universidade Federal do Rio Grande, vinculada a linha de Pesquisa Educação Ambiental Não- Formal. Teve como objetivo geral buscar maneiras de minimizar a iatrogenia hospitalar nas práticas da enfermagem através da Esquizoanálise e do Toque Terapêutico. Formularam-se três hipóteses, cada uma com sua respectiva microintervenção, as quais foram epistemologicamente ancoradas na Esquizoanálise e na técnica de imposição de mãos denominada Toque Terapêutico, método Krieger- Kunz, embasando-se em experimentações socioambientais. São elas: 1-A construção de um espaço ecosófico poder ajudar a superar a iatrogenia; 2- O Hospital enquanto ambiente pedagógico pode propiciar a formação de um novo olhar e 3- O Hospital enquanto espaço clínico pode ir além da patologia, valorizando o ser humano de forma integral. Para tanto, utilizou-se da cartografia, método formulado por Deleuze e Guattari, o qual visou acompanhar um processo de produção no campo da subjetividade. Dentro do contexto da Esquizoanálise, ela permitiu a formação de rizomas, caracterizando-se como uma pesquisa experimentação. Esse processo de produção baseiou-se na atenção cartográfica, a qual é formada por pistas que têm em vista descrever, discutir e, sobretudo, coletivizar a experiência da pesquisadora. A pista tomada nesse trabalho diz respeito ao funcionamento da atenção durante o trabalho de campo, a qual foi definida como concentrada e aberta, caracterizando-se por quatro variedades: o rastreio, o toque, o pouso e o reconhecimento atento. As experimentações aconteceram de forma itinerante, em diferentes ambientes. Ora junto à mata atlântica, ora no espaço acadêmico e hospitalar de um Hospital Universitário do Sul do Estado. Algumas experimentações envolveram um grupo de doutorandos constituído por três pesquisadores do Programa de Pós- Graduação em Educação Ambiental, denominado de comunidade pesquisadora. Outras buscaram uma experimentação direta com os profissionais e alunos que participaram da 35ª Semana Riograndina de Enfermagem, bem como com duas pessoas hospitalizadas numa unidade de clínica médica. Na primeira microintervenção ficou claro que a iatrogenia também é fruto do próprio comportamento dos profissionais de saúde e por isso o que precisa ser revisto são as relações de poder dentro da instituição. A partir da segunda e terceira microintervenções infere-se que o hospital, enquanto ambiente pedagógico e clínico pode ser um espaço de clinamen e tem um potencial transformador a ser percebido e valorizado para a aprendizagem mútua. As práticas de ensino precisam vencer o paradigma cartesiano e aproximarem-se de uma percepção ambiental, a qual se aplicada ao cotidiano, oportuniza a construção de novos conhecimentos e maneiras de entender o cuidar através de uma escuta sensível. Após as vivências foi possível pensar nas minhas próprias atitudes e comportamentos iatrogênicos e ressignificá-los sob forma de reverberações, as quais trataram a Educação Ambiental como fluxo inerente da vida e espaço para formação de novos rizomas. / It is a doctoral dissertation by the Graduate Program in Environmental Education at the Federal University of Rio Grande, linked to the line of research Non-Formal Environmental Education. As a general goal, it aimed to seek ways to minimize iatrogenic injury in hospital nursing practices through Schizoanalysis and Therapeutic Touch. Three hypotheses were formulated, each one with its respective micro intervention, all of which were epistemologically anchored in schizoanalysis and the Therapeutic Touch technique, consisting of placing hands, called Krieger ? Kunz method, based on environmental experiments. They are as follows: 1 - The construction of an ecosophic space could help overcome iatrogenics; 2 - The Hospital as a pedagogical environment can favor the formation of a new look and 3 The Hospital as clinical space can go beyond pathology, valuing human being as a whole. Thus, we applied the mapping method formulated by Deleuze and Guattari, which aimed to monitor a production process in the field of subjectivity. Within the context of schizoanalysis, it provided the formation of rhizomes, characterized as an experimentation research.This production process based itself on cartographic attention, which consists of tracks aiming to describe, discuss, and, most of all, collectivize the experience of the researcher. The track made from this work concerns the functioning of attention during the fieldwork, which was defined as concentrated and open, characterized by four varieties: screening, touch, landing and attentive recognition. Experimentations took place on an itinerant basis in different environments, either along the Atlantic forest, or in the academic and hospital space of a university hospital in the southern region of the state. Some experimentation involved a group of doctoral students, consisting of three researchers from the Graduate Program in Environmental Education, called the research community. Other experimentations aimed at a direct study with professionals and students who participated in the 35th Local Week in Nursing, as well as two people hospitalized in a medical unit. In the first micro intervention, it was clear that iatrogenics is also the fruits of the behavior of health professionals, hence, what needs to be revised is the power relations within the institution. From the second and third micro interventions, it is inferred that the hospital, as educational and clinical environment may be a space for clinamen and has a changing potential to be perceived and valued for mutual learning. Teaching practices have to overcome the Cartesian paradigm and approach an environmental perception, which, applied to everyday life, are devices nurturing the construction of new knowledge and ways of understanding the care through sensitive listening. After the experiences, it was possible to think of my own iatrogenic attitudes and behaviours, offering new meaningful behaviors in the form of reverberations, which addressed the environmental education as an inherent flow of life and space for formation of new rhizomes.

International and national research has shown that the use of complementary therapies (often referred to in the scientific literature as either alternative therapies or unconventional therapies) is widespread. However, there is little in the scientific literature about the use of complementary therapies in the treatment regime of people with dementia. Specifically, there have been no published results of investigations into the use of Reiki, a holistic complementary therapy, in the treatment regime of people with dementia. Before proceeding with an in-depth examination into the use of Reiki in the care of people with dementia, a questionnaire containing both closed and open-ended questions was distributed to 162 South Australian High Care Residential Facilities (formerly called Nursing Homes) in 2002. The return rate was 58.0% (n=94) of which 50.0% of the mail out (n=81) was available for analysis. Findings from the questionnaires suggested that a wide range of complementary therapies including aromatherapy, massage, music, behaviour therapy, healing touch, Reiki and Therapeutic Touch (Krieger/Kunz method) were used regularly within South Australian High Care Residential Facilities. Complementary therapies were reportedly used to calm residents, improve behaviour management, enhance the quality of life of residents, promote 1:1 interaction, stimulate the senses, and reduce the need for medication. Due to 15 facilities reporting the use of Reiki, a series of semi-structured interviews with Reiki practitioners caring for people with dementia was conducted in 2004/2005. Interview participants (n=10) included a representative range of people providing care for people with dementia in eight Nursing Homes in Adelaide, South Australia. Data reduction methods included a quasi-statistical counting of key words and repeated re-readings of the transcripts to discover the essences, abstract the meanings and arrange them into themes and sub-themes. The results of the interviews suggested that Reiki is an easy to learn and easy to use holistic complementary therapy which has the potential to enhance the quality of life of the persons with dementia, their family members, and their carers. The interview participants reported improved physical, psychological, mental and emotional well-being as well as enhanced relationships and a reduction in negative behaviours following the use of Reiki. The receipt of the first Jack Loader Scholarship from the Rosemary Foundation for Memory Support Inc. in early 2005 enabled the researcher to transfer to full-time studies from April 2005. Key Words: aged care; alternative therapies; complementary therapies; dementia; early onset dementia; one to one interaction; quality of life; Reiki; therapeutic touch; unconventional therapies.