Touch in the Helping Professions

Martin Rovers is a professor and AAMFT-approved supervisor in the Faculty of Human Sciences at Saint Paul University (Ottawa). Judith Malette is a certified clinical psychologist and full professor in the Faculty of Human Sciences at Saint Paul University (Ottawa). Manal Guirguis-Younger is dean of the Faculty of Human Sciences at Saint Paul University (Ottawa).

Acknowledgements



INTRODUCTION
Exploring Touch
Outline of the Book



PART I
THE THEORY OF TOUCH



CHAPTER I
Touch Deprivation and Counselling as Healing Touch
What Is Touch?
Touch Deprivation
Touch Deprivation and Attachment
Counselling as Healing Touch
Healing Touch in Couple Counselling
Case Study 1
Case Study 2
Conclusion



CHAPTER II
Thinking About Touch
Hume on Thinking
Descartes: Touch as Confused Thinking
What Is Touch?
Individuating Touch
Twentieth- and Twenty-First-Century Touch
Conclusion



CHAPTER III
Contributions of Sensory Anthropology and Durand’s
Anthropology to the Symbolic Study of Touch and the
Understanding of Boundaries in Psychotherapy
The Contributions of Sensory Anthropology
Schopenhauer’s Parable of the Porcupines
The Contributions of Durand’s Anthropology
of the Imaginary
The Mythical World of the Mystical Type
The Mythical World of the Heroic Type
The Mythical World of the Synthetic Type
Defining Boundaries in Human Life and in the Context
of Psychotherapy
Application of Durand’s Theory to the Understanding
of Boundaries
Conclusion



CHAPTER IV
Healing and the Forbidden Touch: A Reflection on Selected
Scripture Stories
Introduction: On the Meaning of Touch
From Sight to Touch
To Touch or Not to Touch?
Touching Jesus and the Hemorrhaging Woman (Mk 5: 25–34). 
Is Touch a Gender Issue?
Does Touching Contribute to Healing?
Do Not Touch Me: Forbidden Touch (Jn 20: 11–18)
Closeness and Distance: Who Is Allowed to Touch?
The Impossibility of Touch and Transgressive Touch
Conclusion



PART II
THE PRACTICE OF TOUCH IN PSYCHOTHERAPY



CHAPTER V
The Intervention of Touch in Psychotherapy
and Trauma Treatment
Introduction to Touch in Psychotherapy
and Trauma Treatment

Exploring Theory and Research: A Rationale for Touch
in Trauma Therapy
The Importance of the Nervous System in
Emotional Regulation and Trauma Treatment
Potential Impact of Touch on Clients
Types of Touch in Psychotherapy 
Guidelines for Safe and Effective Touch in Psychotherapy
Case Example of Using Touch/Physical Contact
with a Teenage Client
Conclusion



CHAPTER VI
A Puppy’s Touch: Destressing with Dogs in a University
Environment
Introduction
Initial Research
Biophilia Hypothesis
Social Support Hypothesis
Context of the Research
Methodology
Findings
1. Energy of the Dogs
2. Distraction from Current Stress
3. Touch or Contact with the Dogs
4. Unconditional Love and Acceptance
5. Reminder of Home or Pet
Discussion
Conclusion



CHAPTER VII
Inter-Partner Touch in Couple Counselling:
Theory and Emerging Practice
What is Touch?
Defining Touch
Psychobiological Function of Touch
What is the Importance of Touch for Psychological
Well-Being?
Touch Promotes Human Development
Touch Provides Attachment Security
Touch for Comfort and Well-Being

Touch in Times of Distress
Touch Leads to Spiritual Health, Experience,
and Connection
Touch in Couple Counselling
Touch in Today’s Couple Counselling
A Spirituality for Inter-Partner Touch
An Emerging Model for Touch in Couple Counselling
Look, Touch, Talk, Hug
Twenty-Second Hug
Moving Forward
What Implications Does Touch Have for Couple
Counselling?
Ethical Considerations
Need for Future Research



PART III
THE PRACTICE OF TOUCH IN A SPECTRUM OF PRACTICE



CHAPTER VIII
The Practice of the Laying on of Hands in Islamic Spiritual Care
Literature Review
A Place for the Laying on of Hands in Islamic Spiritual Care
Ethics of the Laying on of Hands in Islamic Spiritual Care
Ethics of the Tawhid Principle
Ethics of Physical and Spiritual Purification
Ethics of Providing Proper Care
Conclusion



CHAPTER IX
An Angel in My Pocket: Touch, Sacred Objects,
and Spiritual Coping
Touch in Hospital Chaplaincy
Spiritual Coping
Locus of Control
The Spiritual Dimension of Touch
Objects of Spiritual Significance
The Function of the Sacralized Object
Focuses the Mind
Tool of Connection
Source of Emotional Support

A Beneficial but High-Maintenance Coping Strategy
Evolution of the Sacred Object
Sacralized Objects in Meaning-Making
Challenges with the Research
Conclusion



CHAPTER X
Touch(ed) in Palliative Care Nursing: Moving with/in
An Uncertain Practice
Touch in Nursing: An Aesthetic and Embodied Practice
(In)visible and (Dis)embodied Practices of Touch in Nursing
At the Margins of Care: Personal and Professional
Boundaries Affecting Touch
To Touch and Be Touched: Cultivating Capacity
Mindfulness
Attuning Mind, Body, and Emotions
Moving with Uncertainty and Vulnerability:
Flowing of Frozen Waters?
Storytelling
Going Slow to Know: Storying Meaning
Evoking the Body: Storying Practices of Touch
Cultivating a Community of Practice: Storying Relations
Conclusion
Appendix A: With Mary
Appendix B: With Jerry
Appendix C: With Jake and Family



CHAPTER XI
Touch in Supervision
A Model for Supervising Touch
Touch Between Supervisor and Supervisee
Recommendations
Conclusion




PART IV
THE ETHICS OF TOUCH IN THE HELPING RELATIONSHIPS
AND CONCLUSION



CHAPTER XII
The Ethics of Touch in the Helping Relationships
A Question of Personal Boundaries
Therapeutic or Not?
Current Context
What Professional Ethics Say
The Benefits of Touch in the Helping Relationships
How to Decide to Touch or not to Touch?
Who Touches?
Who Is Touched?
Contraindications
In What Context Does Touch in the Helping
Relationships Occur?
For a Better Practice of Touch in the Helping Relationships
Guidelines and Recommendations
Training, Supervision and Consultation



CONCLUSION
Issues of Touch: An Overall View and Integration
Touch Helps Us Thrive
Touching You; Touching Me; Touching Puppies;
Touching in the Helping Relationships
Contracting Touch in the Helping Relationships
Clients Who Want to Touch or Be Touched
The Ethics of Touch
What Touch Might Mean Within a Therapeutic Relationship
Touch as Presented Within Academic Education
and Training



Contributors