Therapeutic touch is a form of treatment whereby hands are used to direct energy to someone who is suffering from an illness or condition. It is used as a form of healing through energy fields and can be detected by a therapist with intentional manipulation. Theorists who practice this study claim that energy can be transferred from therapist to patient and report that it has been effective in a number of cases for humans.

Dating back to the 1970s, theorists from this time period looked at the human energy field and magnetic fluid or magnetic force that was claimed by theorists from the 18th century. They said that obstacles of this free flowing liquid cause illnesses and therefore healers with special skills could take away such obstructing objects using their hands. In the following years, theorists took this concept and made special cases whereby they would use such practices and create their own methods. Some of the new age ideas that we know about today had their origins from therapeutic touch.

It is definitely a popular thinking. Today more than 10,000 people in the world have been trained with therapeutic touch including at the very least 43,000 health care professionals. The process of therapeutic touch is based around four major points. The first is centering whereby the patient undergoes meditation to align the healer with the energy level of the patient. The second step is assessment where the healer locates the problem with his or her hands detecting the force. The third step is unraveling the field, which involves pushing all the stagnant energy down to prepare for the transfer of energy. The final step consists of the actual transfer of energy from healer to patient. Therapeutic touch differs from non-contact therapeutic touch in the sense that the healer’s hands make contact with the skin and is used sometimes in conjunction with massage.

There seems to be a lack of scientific support or evidence to suggest that this type of therapy can be beneficial to people. For this reason it is known as an alternative form of treatment and a certain amount of skepticism associated with it. This does not mean it is not getting popular as people nowadays are looking at alternative medicines for healing processes. This can come a result of people exhausting all conventional methods or simply opting for a more natural approach to healing.