Therapeutic touch is based on the belief that the subtle manipulation of the body’s energetic biofield can promote well-being and healing. Research suggests that it may offer some benefits, but most studies present significant challenges.

Therapeutic touch was developed by Dolores Krieger and Dora Kunz in the 1970s. Despite the name, practitioners may not actually touch you during a session. Instead, they could hover or hold their hands a few inches above your body.

Therapeutic touch is sometimes referred to as touch therapy. However, this is a more general term for modalities that involve manual manipulation of the body’s tissues.

Therapeutic touch is considered a form of complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) focused on balancing a person’s biofield (subtle body energy) to facilitate emotional, mental, and physical well-being.

According to the Therapeutic Touch International Association (TTIA), a typical session does not exceed 20 minutes, and you may sit or lie down, according to your preference.

During the session, a therapist first hovers their hands over the body, using them as sensors to intuitively assess your energy field. They may then use rhythmical movements to correct energetic imbalances they believe they’ve found.

Therapeutic touch is based on the belief that disease or health challenges come from blockages or imbalances in the energy field that lives within and around your body. The goal of therapeutic touch is to get the energy flowing again to help the body return to balance.

Energy medicine (EM)

Therapeutic touch is sometimes considered a modality of energy medicine, which focuses on the assessment and correction of the body’s subtle energy to restore imbalances and blockages.

EM is based on the theory that the body has multiple and complex electromagnetic fields that regulate its functions and that certain devices, movements, and subtle manual manipulations, among others, can affect such fields.

Available research on energy medicine is limited and, in many cases, inconclusive. The field continues to be controversial within the Western medicine and research communities.

Research on the benefits of therapeutic touch spans about 45 years and suggests the practice may help with a wide range of conditions and challenges.

Therapeutic touch has been extensively researched in the healthcare setting among patients of all ages and healthcare professionals. However, many available studies have significant limitations, including small samples, methodological problems, and a moderate to high risk of bias.

That said, therapeutic touch is a noninvasive therapy with no known adverse effects. Individual experiences may vary, and many people report experiencing benefits after one or more sessions.

Here are a few of the most recent findings:

  • A small 2024 experimental study assessed the effect of therapeutic touch on sleep quality and fatigue levels of 48 women going through menopause. Researchers found that the 24 women who received 10 minutes of therapeutic touch per day for 5 consecutive days reported sleeping better and feeling less fatigued than the women in a placebo group.
  • A 2024 study examined the effects of combining therapeutic touch with standard care in 64 infants with infantile colic. Researchers found that adding therapeutic touch 3 days per week for 2 weeks was more effective at relieving colic symptoms, reducing crying outbursts, and increasing sleep time compared to standard care alone.
  • Another 2024 study with hospital personnel found that healthcare workers reported a significant reduction in stress levels after one session of therapeutic touch during a workday.
  • A 2021 study with 103 Turkish patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) indicated that participants saw improvement in sleep quality as well as reduced anxiety levels after three 10-minute daily sessions of therapeutic touch.
  • A 2021 small study involving 60 older adults living in a nursing home in Turkey indicated that therapeutic touch led to reduced anxiety levels and increased comfort in participants.
  • A 2021 controlled trial with 80 women in labor found that participants who received 15 minutes of therapeutic touch during different stages of childbirth reported decreased pain and anxiety levels and a more positive attitude toward labor. Women in the control group didn’t experience changes in anxiety levels or attitude and reported higher pain scores.

Therapeutic touch is an alternative medicine therapy or touch therapy based on the belief that correcting imbalances in the body’s biofield can facilitate healing and well-being.

There’s an extensive library of research on therapeutic touch, but many studies have problematic methodologies, small samples, and potential biases.

There are no reported adverse effects of therapeutic touch, and many people report experiencing benefits from it.