Openness: A Qualitative Analysis of Nurses' and Patients' Experiences of Therapeutic Touch

Abstract

The constant comparative method was used to generate a grounded theory explaining the process of therapeutic touch for seven nurses and seven patients. Interviews and observations of one treatment session each indicate that the primary experience of therapeutic touch is opening to the flow of the universal life energy. This includes three major categories of experience: (a) opening intent--allowing oneself to focus on getting the universal life energy moving again; (b) opening sensitivity--assessing the quality of its flow; and (c) opening communication--participating in a healing relationship that unblocks, engages and enlivens its movement. Further research on therapeutic touch using qualitative methodology may deepen our understanding of the inner experiences of both patients and nurses to experiences that facilitate the healing process.