Biobehavioral Effects of Therapeutic Touch

Abstract

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.