Therapeutic Touch Analysis

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Analysis of one experience of therapeutic touch and definition of theoretical principles Introduction In society therapeutic touch has participated in a very important role and it continues to add to society’s social relations and personal identities. In physiotherapy practice therapeutic touch has been a key factor in building and defining physiotherapy and carries on to be one of the main distinctive competencies in the profession (Nicholls & Holmes, 2012). The Kolb cycle was created by David Kolb and is a learning style that was designed to assess the degree to which individuals used one of four learning styles. The model of learning has four stages from concrete experience to reflective observation, through theoretical conceptualization…show more content…
The establishment of a therapeutic relationship is an important factor in healthcare services; it allows the practitioner and client to create an understanding between each other (Buhari, 2013). Therapeutic relationship is a trusting connection and rapport generated between the patient and practitioner through communication, cooperation, therapist empathy, and mutual understanding and respect (Besley, Kayes, & McPherson, 2010). A great way to establish a connection with people is through touch, a lot can be conversed through non verbal messages through physical touch, to form and maintain a therapeutic relationship touch is vital as it can communicate your focus and care towards the whole person and not just the injury itself (Field, 2001). A therapist and client should have a relationship of trust and understanding; it should be a relationship that concentrates on meeting the client’s health care needs. A therapeutic relationship is highly significant in a massage session as it demonstrates a mutual understanding and trust between two people. Outcomes of the quality of health care and the therapy can be predicted through the quality of the relationship between the professional and the client; better outcomes are related to a positive therapeutic relationship whereas negative ones can become harmful to the client (Buhari, 2013). A challenge that practitioners have throughout therapy is that they have to maintain proper boundaries as they get to know their client intimately. The relationship involves the client having regular contact with the therapist and shares their feelings with them over time. The shared feelings may have the capability of evoking actions that might not be clinically appropriate and ethical, if these inappropriate actions were to happen it could be damaging to the therapist and the client (Buhari,

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