Therapeutic touch (TT) or healing touch is an energy therapy where the practitioner’s hands move through the patient’s energy field to assess and treat energy field imbalances (Shames & Keegan, 2000). The specially trained practitioner deliberately “centers” intention from an external focus to an internal focus of calm, then moves his or her hands over the patient’s body, but does not actually touch the body. TT has been studied as an intervention for anxiety and pain in patients with cancer.

Shames, K.H., & Keegan, L. (2000). Touch: Connecting with the healing power. In B.M. Dossey, L. Keegan, & C.E. Guzzetta (Eds.), Holistic nursing: A handbook for practice (3rd ed., p. 614). Gaithersburg, MD: Aspen.