The Touch Taboo In Psychotherapy And Everyday Life

Touch has been a taboo in mainstream Western talking therapies since their inception. This book examines the effects on us of touch, and of touch deprivation – what we feel when we are touched, what it means to us, and the fact that some individuals and cultures are more tactile than others. The author traces the development and perpetuation of the touch taboo, puts forward counterarguments to it, outlines criteria for the safe and effective use of touch in therapy, and suggests ways of dismantling the touch taboo should we wish to do so. Through moving interviews with clients who have experienced life-changing benefits of physical contact at the hands of their therapists, the place of touch in therapy practice is re-evaluated and the therapy profession urged to re-examine its attitudes towards this important therapeutic tool. This book will be essential reading for therapists, counsellors, social workers, educators, health professionals and for any general reader interested in the crucial issue of touch in everyday life.

Gain the knowledge and skills you need to succeed in massage therapy! Mosby's Fundamentals of Therapeutic Massage, 8th Edition helps you prepare for licensing and certification exams as well as professional practice. The book provides an in-depth understanding of the principles of therapeutic massage and helps you develop the ability to reason effectively and make informed decisions — from assessing problems and planning treatment to mastering massage protocols and techniques. Hundreds of photographs demonstrate massage techniques step by step, and case studies allow you to apply concepts to real-world situations. Featuring dozens of online "how-to" videos, this resource from massage therapy experts Sandy and Luke Fritz is your text of choice. Comprehensive coverage includes all of the fundamentals of therapeutic massage, including massage techniques, equipment and supplies, wellness, working with special populations, and business considerations. Step-by-step, full-color photographs demonstrate massage protocols and techniques by body area. Competency-based approach helps you prepare for and pass licensing and certification exams, including the Massage and Bodywork Licensing Examination (MBLEx) and Board Certification in Therapeutic Massage and Bodywork (BCTMB). Information on massage in various health care settings provides the information needed to create a massage setting in different types of environments. Case studies offer practice with clinical reasoning and prepare you to address conditions commonly encountered in professional practice. Multiple-choice review questions in each chapter help you recall facts and use critical thinking to apply the material, with answers and rationales provided on the Evolve website. Resources on the Evolve website include three hours of video showing manipulation techniques, body mechanics, positioning and draping, and more — with each clip narrated and performed by author Sandy Fritz — as well as scientific animations, anatomy labeling exercises, review questions for licensing exams, and MBLEx practice exams. NEW! Updated MBLEx practice questions are provided at the end of each chapter, and additional questions are provided on the Evolve website, to prepare you for licensure exams. NEW! Updated and expanded information on implicit bias is included in the opening chapters. NEW! Information on COVID-19 safety precautions is added to the Hygiene, Sanitation, and Safety chapter. NEW! Updated information on trauma-informed care is provided in the Adaptive Massage chapter.

Should a therapist ever shake hands with a client, or touch a client's hand or shoulder? There are taboos against erotic touch in psychotherapy, for excellent reasons, but what about nonerotic touch? These latter forms of physical contact are not explicitly taboo and they can be powerful forms of communication. Research and clinical experience indicate that they can contribute to positive therapeutic change when used appropriately. What, then, is appropriate use?

Is the bias against touch in psychotherapy justified? Is ethical touch an oxymoron? Can the recovery process be complete without healing touch? Mental health professionals are entrusted with the awesome responsibility of providing appropriate treatment for clients in a safe environment that nurtures trust, a necessary ingredient for optimum movement through the therapeutic process. Though treatment approaches vary, most modalities are verbally based and, in theory, exclude physical contact. Fearing that any form of touch would likely lead to sexual feelings or interaction, clinicians tend to shy away from the topic. In this book, however, Mic Hunter and Jim Struve skilfully demonstrate that touch - a most basic human need - is intrinsic to

Are you sometimes challenged by how to apply ethical principles in your own practice? Looking to understand what ethical practice can look like from different theoretical standpoints? Linda Finlay takes you on an exploration of ethical therapeutic practice. She highlights how therapeutic decisions depend on the social and relational context and vary according to your theoretical lens. She provides you with guidance on how to engage in therapy relationally while remaining professional, ethical and evidence-based. Split over three parts this book takes you through: - The Context of Relational Ethics - introducing you to the foundational ideas, and considering how professional codes are applied within therapy - Relational Ethics within the Therapeutic Relationship – exploring the complex judgements demanded by the therapeutic process, and looking at how therapy needs to be situation specific - Relational Ethics in Practice – five extended, fictional case studies demonstrate relational ethics in practice, and discuss the issues raised.

Touch may well be one of the least understood or talked about subjects in the helping professions. A discussion on the importance and ethics of positive, caring, and appropriate touch in professions such as teaching, nursing and counselling is long overdue. Touch in the Helping Professions delivers just that, weaving together scholarly evidence, research and clinical practice from a wide range of perspectives encompassing philosophy, theology, psychology, and anthropology to challenge assumptions about the role of touch in the helping professions. The contributors to the volume focus not only on the overarching roles of gender, age, culture and life experience, but go beyond to encompass canine-assisted therapy, touch deprivation, sacred objects, as well as key ethical considerations. The prevailing lack of dialogue, due to fear of contravening ethical boundaries, has stood in the way of an open and responsible discussion on the use of touch in therapy. Touch in the Helping Professions is a welcome and much needed contribution to the field—a window onto a fundamental need. This book is published in English. - Cet ouvrage offre un ensemble de données probantes et de résultats cliniques à l’appui du toucher dans le développement physique et émotionnel. Il est structuré selon trois axes : la théorie sur le toucher; la pratique du toucher dans un contexte de thérapie, et les questions éthiques. Il aborde la question du rôle du genre, de l’âge, de la culture et de l’expérience de vie, des sujets comme la zoothérapie, la privation sensorielle, des objets sacrés, et des considérations d’ordre éthique. Les approches variées – philosophie, théologie, psychologie, anthropologie – remettent en question les présuppositions, offrent un contexte historico-culturelprofessionnel, et font appel à des données primaires. Les collaborateurs soutiennent que le toucher sain et non sexuel n’est pas suffisamment enseigné dans le cadre de la formation professionnelle. Cette absence de dialogue – engendrée par la crainte de dépasser des bornes éthiques, fait en sorte qu’une discussion ouverte et responsable sur l’utilisation du toucher dans un cadre thérapeutique ne peut avoir lieu, alors même qu’elle contribuerait aux balises théoriques de notre compréhension de cet enjeu fondamental. Ce livre est publié en anglais.