 It's not traditional medicine but
patients love it: an unconventional therapy called the healing
touch that is gaining acceptance in some U.S. hospitals.
The technique uses light touch and deep breathing to
address energy imbalances, its advocates say. Though research
on it is limited, the therapy is practiced at 30 U.S. hospitals
and by nearly 2,000 certified therapists, according to Healing
Touch International, based in Denver.
"Healing touch raised my awareness and brought me a deep
state of relaxation, which is not something you can get just by
taking pain medicine," said Sarla Santos, 40, a nurse who
underwent lung surgery in October and receives healing touch
therapy at New York University Medical Center.
"Pain medication takes the pain out but doesn't make you
feel good or calm."
The U.S. National Institutes of Health classifies healing
touch 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.
NYU Medical Center has approved it as a complement to
traditional rehabilitation, offering patients and staff free
sessions as part of the hospital's MindBody Patient Care
Program.
The system incorporates ancient Asian healing techniques
and was developed in the 1980s by Janet Mentgen, a nurse in
Colorado.
Faith healing really does work
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