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We have included a spectrum of reports in our list. The type of report is indicated at the end of each study:
CASE
DISC = discussion
META = meta analysis
MAR = marginal value (to save researchers the trouble of hunting these down)
MAR METHODS = a formal research study with seriously flawed methodology
OBS = Observational report (series of cases)
P = popular article
Q = qualitative study
RES = research
SUR = survey
D
Daley, B. Therapeutic touch, nursing practice and contemporary cutaneous wound healing research. Journal of Advanced Nursing, 1997, 25, 1123-1132.
Darbonne, M. The effect of HT modalities on patients with chronic pain. Unpublished masters thesis, Northwestern State University, Natchitoches, Louisiana 1997 (Data based). RES
Healing Touch research summaries of Diane Wardell
This study investigated the effectiveness of using Healing Touch modalities with adult patients experiencing chronic pain in the clinic setting. Pain intensity and the pain experience was compared before and after each Healing Touch session in 18 subjects. Data analysis revealed significance in both pain and the pain experience. In addition to pain relief subjects reported increased relaxation and better overall perspective toward everyday life.
Davis, Frank Stafford, Charismatic Christian Spiritual healing in Two Cultural Contexts: An Existential-Phenomenological Approach, Doctoral dissertation, Duke University 1990. Q
DeGracia, Donald J, Report of referee on “the effect of ‘healing with intent’ on pepsin enzyme activity,” Journal of Scientific Exploration, 1999, 13(2), 149-153. RES
Denison B. Touch the pain away: new research on therapeutic touch and persons with fibromyalgia syndrome, Holistic Nurs Pract. 2004, 18(3), 142-51. RES
This pilot study tested the effectiveness of 6 therapeutic touch treatments on the experience of pain and quality of life for persons with fibromyalgia syndrome. Its findings support that subjects who received therapeutic touch had a statistically significant decrease in pain for each pretherapeutic to posttherapeutic touch treatment, as well as significant improvement in quality of life from pre-first to pre-sixth treatment. Therapeutic touch may be an effective treatment for relieving pain and improving quality of life in this specific population of persons with fibromyalgia syndrome.
Dennet, JT. The energy within. In Touch: Good Health Guide to Cancer Prevention and Treatment 2002, 4(5). MAR
Dewees, Suzanne Mary Ph.D., Palliative Massage: Healing Into Dying, and, Lived Experience: A Contextual Essay, The Union Institute 1999. Q
Diener, D. A pilot study of the effect of chakra connection and magnetic unruffled on perception of pain in people with fibromyalgia. Healing Touch Newsletter, Research Edition 2001, 01(3), 7-8 (Data based). RES
Dixon, Michael, Does ‘healing’ benefit patients with chronic symptoms? A quasi-randomized trial in general practice, Journal of the Royal Society of Medicine1998, 91, 183-188. RES
Dollar, C. E. (1993). Effects of Therapeutic Touch on perception of pain and physiological measurements from tension headache in adults: A pilot study (Master’s thesis), Jackson: University of Mississippi Medical Center 1993. RES
Donahue, K. Feeling the healing touch. Bismark Tribune 2003, June 19. P
Doucette, M. L. Discovering the individual's view of receiving Therapeutic Touch: An exploratory descriptive study. (Master’s thesis) University of Alberta (Canada) 1997. Q
The purpose of this study was to explore participants' experiences of receiving Therapeutic Touch (TT). This study offers a unique contribution to the body of knowledge on TT as it is only the second study that describes the experience of TT from the recipients' perspective and describes how TT may serve as a means of healing. A process encompassing four major phases emerged; a sense of preparedness, engaging in energy work, immersing in the moment, and moving beyond. Health as harmony and the notion of the lived body was revealed, representing the interconnectedness between the mind-body-spirit where within the lived experience of health-wellness, the notion of the body serves as the mediator between the mind-body-spirit. There remains, however, the necessity of more qualitative and quantitative research to further explicate TT as a healing modality by exploring its relaxation potential, and investigating it as a means of facilitating the mind-body-spirit connection.
Dowling JS/ Bright MA. A collaborative research project on Therapeutic Touch, J Holistic Nursing, 1999, 17(3), 296-307. RES
Dowling, St. John., Lourdes cures and their medical assessment, Journal of the Royal Society of Medicine 1984, 77, 634-638. OBS
Dressler, David: Light Touch Menipulative Technique. International Journal of Alternative and Complementary Medicine (England) 1990, 8(4), 19-20. Back pain. RES
DuBrey, RJ. The Effects of Healing Touch on In Patients Going Through Stage I Recovery from Alcoholism.
Healing Touch research summaries of Diane Wardell
The purpose of this study was to determine the effectiveness of Healing Touch in promoting stress reduction in persons in early stage recovery from alcoholism. 148 consecutive patients admitted to the Alcoholism unit at St. Mary’s Hospital were randomized to Healing Touch or The Big Book. Physiologic measures (heart rate and blood pressure) and psychological measures of stress were used on two different days. Compared to the control group, patients receiving Healing Touch had a greater reduction in heart rate and were happier, more satisfied, and had a greater reduction in pain on the first day of measurement. The Healing Touch group had a greater reduction in feeling upset, less pain, were less tense, and felt calmer at the next measurement. The author concluded that Healing Touch reduced some areas of stress in the early stages of recovery in patients admitted for alcoholism treatment and that it maybe of benefit when providing therapy for the treatment of alcoholism in rehabilitation units.
DuBrey, RJ. The role of Healing Touch in the treatment of persons in recovery from alcoholism, Counselor 2006 (Dec), 58-64.
148 patients on an inpatient alcoholism unit at St. Mary’s Hospital in Amsterdam, NY were randomized into two groups: three consecutive days of Healing Touch (HT) 81 subjects; or readings from The Big Book – 67 subjects. “Compared to the control group, patients receiving HT had a greater reduction in heart rate on Day 1 (2.7 vs. 6.1 beats per minute, p < 0.02) and Day 3 (4.3 vs 8.8 beats per minute, p < 0.01), however the reduction in blood pressure was similar… On the initial day of treatment (Day 8) compared to the control group, those in the HT group were happier (5.3 vs. 13.8, p = 0.05); more satisfied (11.1 vs. 22.3, p = 0.03); and had a greater reduction in pain (-1.1 vs. -12.0, p < 0.01. After three days of treatment (Day 10) compared to the control group, the HT group had a greater reduction in feeling upset (-0.5 vs. -9.7, (p < 0.01) and pain (-1.6 vs –7.8, p = 0.04); were less tense (-4.8 vs. -18.7, p < 0.01); and were calmer (3.1 vs. 14.8, p = 0.02).”
Dubrey, RJ. A quality assurance project on the effectiveness of healing touch treatment as perceived by patients at the Wellness Institute of St. Mary’s Hospital, Amsterdam, NY. Healing Touch International, Research Survey, Lakewood, CO: Healing Touch International, Inc., 2003, (Data based) SUR
Healing Touch research summaries of Diane Wardell
Individuals receiving Healing Touch treatment in community based practice were surveyed in 1997. The sample included 25 responders. They were asked to rate pain reduction, stress reduction, emotional well being and how long the effects lasted. The results indicated that for stress the majority experienced decrease stress following treatment (92%). The lasting-effectiveness of the stress reduction was 1-3 days for most of the subjects (36 %). Pain reduction occurred in 94 %. Emotional well-being was reported as increasing following treatment for 88% with 40% reporting increased emotional well-being lasting over two weeks.
Dubrey, RJ. Healing Touch Buddies Program: A community hospital’s response to women with breast cancer. Healing Touch Newsletter 2000, 0(5). MAR
Dubrey, RJ. St Mary’s Hospital has Healing Touch. Insights: the Newsletter of the Carondolet Health System 1999, 26(3), 3-6. MAR
Dubrey, RJ. Healing Touch: A ministry of love. Provincial News Notes, St Louis, MI 1998, December, p. 18. MAR
DuBrey, RJ. Perceived Effectiveness of Healing Touch Treatments: A Performance Improvement Study. SUR
This performance improvement study was conducted over a seven-week period between February and April 1999. The convenience sample of 20 clients included individuals receiving Healing Touch treatments in a community-based practice. Each participant was asked to complete a survey utilizing four indicators: stress reduction, pain reduction (if applicable); emotional well-being, and spiritual well-being. All participants reported a decrease in stress following treatment. The levels of stress were reduced for greater than 2 weeks by 40% of the participants followed by 4-7 days for 30% of the participants. For those eight individuals who sought treatment for pain reduction experienced a reduction in pain either for 1-2 weeks (50%) or > 2 weeks (50%). Emotional well-being was reported to last for greater a minimum of a week for 50% of the sample. Spiritual well-being was reported by all but one of the subjects. The increase in spiritual well being lasted for > 2 weeks for the majority of subjects (60%).
Doucette, Maureen Louise. Discovering the individual’s view of receiving therapeutic touch: An exploratory descriptive study. MN. Dissertation, University of Alberta, Canada 1997. Q
Dufore, Russell R. Healing Touch therapy boosts energy, promotes well-being.The Reporter 2004, May 3, p. A1 and A10. POP
E
Easter, A/Powell, G.M. The state of research on the effects of therapeutic touch. Journal of Holistic Nursing 1997, 15, 158-175. DISC
Eckes, P.S. The effectiveness of therapeutic touch for decreasing pain in elders with degenerative arthritis. Journal of Holistic Nursing 1997, 15, 176-198. RES
Edge, Hoyt, The effect of laying on of hands on an enzyme: An Attempted Replication, In:, Research in Parapsychology, 1979, Metuchen, NJ: Scarecrow 1980, 137-139. RES
Edwards, F. Truth is touching. Tennessee Nurse 1992, October, 55(5), p. 4. POP
Eisenberg, David M/ Davis, Roger B/ Waletzky, Jeremy/ Yager, Alison/ Landsberg, Lewis/ Aronson, Mark/ Seibel, Machelle/ Delbanco, Thomas L. Inability of an “energy transfer diagnostician” to distinguish between fertile and infertile women, © Medscape General Medicine, 2001. RES
CONTEXT: Various forms of "energy healing" have become popular in the United States.
OBJECTIVE: To test the assertion that an energy healer can, without physical contact, distinguish the presence or absence of internal organ pathology in individuals who lack overt physical findings.
DESIGN: Observational randomized study, in which we tested the assertion by a well-recognized alternative healer that he had particular skill in using energy transfer to detect the presence or absence of fertility disorders in women. Patients: Convenience sample of 37 women, 28 of whom had documented pathology resulting in infertility, and 9 of whom were fertile.
OUTCOMES: The healer was provided with no medical history and performed diagnostic evaluations without physical contact with the blindfolded, clothed, and silent subjects. We compared to random chance the ability of the healer to establish a diagnosis of fertility or fertility disorder.
SETTING: Teaching hospital.
MAIN RESULTS: The healer was unable to distinguish the presence or absence of fertility disorders in the study subjects.
CONCLUSION: This study points to further need for fair yet rigorous assessment of claims that energy transfer can lead to accurate clinical diagnoses.
KEY WORDS: alternative medicine, complementary medicine, energy, psychic, spiritual healer
Spiritual healing encompasses a variety of techniques involving the intentional influence of 1 or more persons upon another living system without utilizing known physical means of intervention.[1] The force behind spiritual and energy diagnosis and healing is frequently described as "an energy transfer" between the healer and patient, but the idea that an as yet unidentifiable "vital energy" source exists is a major point of contention between proponents of these therapies and clinical investigators. The scientific method argues that if such an energy field exists, it should be measurable by physical means and clearly demonstrable in clinical research studies[2]
A nationally representative telephone survey of 2055 adults in 1997 found that 7% reported the use of "spiritual healing by others" (as distinct from personal prayer), and 4% reported using "energy healing" (examples included magnets and laying on of hands) to treat their "most serious or bothersome medical conditions.,[3] Estimates of the number of Americans who sought a spiritual healing or energy healing provider (ie, "healer") for therapeutic sessions in 1997 exceed 2 million individuals per year[3]
Prior published investigations suggested that accurate clinical diagnosis using the techniques of iridology[4] and therapeutic touch[5] could not be substantiated. We could find no scientific evidence to support claims that "energy diagnosticians" can indeed make accurate clinical diagnoses and designed a study to evaluate the diagnostic accuracy of a recognized healer in active practice. This healer asserted that he could accurately determine the presence or absence of fertility disorders in women who lack overt physical findings.
Eliopoulos C. Therapeutic touch. Altern Ther Health Med. 2003 Jan-Feb;9(1):58-64. DISC?
Engle VF/ Graney MJ. Biobehavioral effects of therapeutic touch, J Nurs Scholarsh, 2000, 32(3), 287-93. MAR
PURPOSE: To document immediate and short-term biobehavioral effects of therapeutic touch (TT), estimate the magnitude of TT effects, and compare TT effects to placebo responses.
DESIGN: A repeated measures, pretest-posttest quasi-experimental design. TT and mimic TT were administered using standardized protocols to 11 adults in a controlled setting.
METHODS: Four physiological (total pulse amplitude, blood pressure, pulse, temperature) and three subjective (stress, self-assessment of health, time perception) variables were evaluated over 24 hours.
FINDINGS: Total pulse amplitude and time perception decreased significantly immediately after TT intervention, indicating vasoconstriction and time passing "faster," with large and medium effect sizes significantly greater than were placebo responses. Vasodilation, a relaxation response, was expected instead of vasoconstriction.
CONCLUSIONS: TT may have adverse and positive outcomes.
Engel, Hans G., Energy Healing, Research Report Los Angeles, CA: Ernest Holmes Research Foundation 1978, 1-15. A physician shares some of his clinical experiences, integrating spiritual healing in his practice. (Summarized in Healing Research, Volume I) OBS
Ercums, J/ Rigg, Curtis, F/ DeMilley, M. Nursing’s Caring Paradigm: A Story of Mutuality and Transcendent Healing, Alternative & Complementary Therapies, 1998, 4(1), 68-72. (Data-based/Peer Reviewed) MAR
Eschiti, VS. A light in the darkness: Rogers’ Science of Unitary Human Beings in 21st century practice. Visions 2004, 12(1), 50-53. MAR
Evanoff, A/Newton, W.P. Therapeutic touch and osteoarthritis of the knee [comment]. Journal of Family Practice 1999, 48(1), 11-2. DISC
F
Faggianelli, Patrick Victor Ph.D., Aikido and Psychotherapy: A Study of Psychotherapists Who Are Aikido Practitioners (Martial Arts), Saybrook Institute 1995. Q
Fawcett, J/ Sidney, J.S/ Hanson, M.J.S/ Riley, L.K. Use of alternative health therapies by people with multiple sclerosis: an exploratory study. Holistic Nursing Practice 1994, 8, 36-42.
Fedoruk, Rosalie B. Transfer of the relaxation response: Therapeutic Touch as a method for the reduction of stress in premature neonates (Doctoral dissertation) University of Maryland 1984. RES
Ferguson, Cecilia K. Subjective experience of Therapeutic Touch (SETTS): Psychometric examination of an instrument, (Doctoral dissertation) Austin: University of Texas 1986.
First healing touch course presented at Naval Hospital. The Examiner 1995, 3(7), 10. MAR
Fletcher, Katherine Susanne. Healing by touch: Energy-touch healing in the United Church of Canada. D.Min. dissertation, St. Stephen's College (Canada), DAl-A 63/12, p. 4350, Jun 2003 DISC
The central topic explored in this project dissertation is the emergence and development of energy-touch healing ministries in congregational settings of The United Church of Canada. Although energy-touch healing refers to a variety of healing techniques that use the hands to transfer energy, I use the term to identify specific Christian congregational ministries that are based on Reiki, Therapeutic Touch, and/or Healing Touch.
Two grounded theory research projects form the backbone of this work. The first explored how a group of United Church ministers integrated the concepts of energy-touch healing with Christian theology. The second focused on the experience of United Churches where energy-touch healing ministries have been established. In both cases, it was possible to extrapolate a theory from the experience of the participants. More specifically, a common process was employed for developing the energy-touch healing ministries in the congregations under study. The process is organic rather than linear and parallels the seasonal work of growing a garden. Certain factors that contribute to the growth of a healing ministry were isolated. These include spiritual leadership, healthy ministry relationships built on trust, and support of key members of the congregation. It was also discovered that leaders of energy-touch healing ministries draw upon similar strategies for addressing the challenges that arise as the program develops such as creating task groups to wrestle with specific issues, forming practice groups, and offering educational opportunities for practitioners and other members of the congregation. And finally, the establishment of all energy-touch ministry in the congregations under study produced a common outcome--a deepening of faith and spiritual intimacy in the participants that ultimately led to the formation of a healing community. A comprehensive description of this process is shared in the project--a guidebook titled "Growing Energy-Touch Healing Ministries in Christian Congregations." The second project also included the development of ethical guidelines for congregations and practitioners who practise energy-touch healing in a Christian context.
Fogel, Cindy Larae M.A., A Physio-Psycho-Spiritual Integrative Model of Therapy, Prescott College (Master of Arts Program) 1994. Q
Forbes, MA/ Rust, R/ Becker, GJ. Surface Electromyography (EMG) apparatus as a measurement device for biofield research: results from a single case, Journal of Alternative and Complementary Medicine, 2004, 10(4), 617-626. (Data-based/Peer Reviewed) CASE MAR METHODS
Healing Touch research summaries of Diane Wardell
The objective of this study was to determine if surface electromyography (EMG) equipment was capable of detecting electrical signals that can be used in Healing Touch and other biofield therapies to measure outcomes. Resting state data was compared to data collected during a Healing Touch back sequence on one subject. Electrodes were attached to the back of the subject at eight acupoints. The results indicated that an averaged baseline, "resting state" frequency spectrum was definable. When the HT practitioner attuned with the subject, higher frequency components of the spectrum increased in amplitude, peaked, then decreased throughout the intervention. The conclusion drawn is that the surface EMG apparatus has potential as a measurement device for biofield research.
Ford, D. Nurse uses energy to heal through touch. The Journal Gazette 1997, March 18, p. D1-2. POP
Forsman, S. The Healing Touch Experience in Elderly Home Care Clients. (Abstract), Healing Touch International Survey, Lakewood, CO. Healing Touch International, Inc. 2002 (Data-based). Q
Healing Touch research summaries of Diane Wardell
This qualitative study described the experiences of elderly home care clients who received Healing Touch. Five participants over the age of sixty-five were asked to describe their physical, emotional, mental, social, and spiritual experiences in response to Healing Touch. The interviews revealed several common themes: a) openness and willingness to try an alternative to traditional Western medical care, b) viewing Healing Touch as complementary to existing medical care, and c) recommendations that others try Healing Touch. Reported physical, emotional, mental and spiritual experiences were favorable and congruent with existing research.
France. M. A phenomenological inquiry on the child’s lived experience of perceiving the human energy field using Therapeutic Touch. (Doctoral dissertation) Denver, CO: University of Colorado Health Sciences Center 1991. Q
France, N/Quinn, J.F. A phenomenological inquiry on the child's lived experience of perceiving the human energy field using therapeutic touch. Rogerian Nursing Science News 1992, 5, 6-36. Q
France, Nancy E.M. The child's perception of the human energy field using therapeutic touch, Journal of Holistic Nursing 1933, 11(4), 319-331. Q
Freese, John. Healing Touch in the Hospice Environment.
Healing Touch research summaries of Diane Wardell
Under the sponsorship of Hospice and Palliative Care of Northern Colorado, the use of Healing Touch was explored as a therapeutic and palliative tool for the treatment and support of hospice patients. Eighteen hospice patients and one caregiver were given a total of 305 HT sessions ranging from 1-30+ sessions lasting from 15 minutes to 1 hour. The practitioners found that initially erratic and unstable energy fields seemed to open and stabilize rapidly as the number of therapy sessions mounted, and generally remained so until the patient approached the period of active dying. The service was found to be beneficial to the patients and was continued.