Touch in Therapy: A Review of Literature.

Abstract

Therapy involves verbal and non-verbal exchanges between the client and the therapist. The utilization of touch as a non-verbal method by the therapist appears to have generated lots of controversies that merit attention. This paper, therefore, articulates these controversies by looking into what the research endeavour is saying about touch in therapy. Both dissenting and liberal voices including the positions of different ethical recommendations present a picture of debate that is ongoing and unfolding.

Keywords: Touch, Therapy, Client, Verbal, Non-verbal, Somatic Therapy, Therapeutic touch.