To complement the article “Expert Advice” in the December 2014 issue of MASSAGE Magazine. Summary: Massage therapists can augment their service offerings by learning Healing Touch, a nurturing energy therapy.
Healing Touch is a highly nurturing energy therapy—and combining it with massage can be a powerful combination.
Healing Touch grew out of the nursing practice of Janet Mentgen, R.N., CHTP/I, in 1989, in collaboration with the American Holistic Nurses Association. Based on her nursing practice and the study and influence of other healers, including Alice Bailey, Rosalyn Bruyere, Brugh Joy and Barbara Brennan, the curriculum was developed as a continuing education program for nurses, massage therapists, physicians, allied health care professionals and anyone interested in learning the practice.
Credentialing as a certified Healing Touch practitioner and instructor was established through the American Holistic Nurses Association in 1993. Both curriculum and credentialing were assumed by Healing Touch International, now known as Healing Beyond Borders, Educating and Certifying the Healing Touch™ in 1996. Today, Healing Touch is offered in a wide variety of settings, including hospitals, spas, long-term care facilities, hospices and private practices.
The body’s biofield energy system
Energy systems are a measurable phenomenon in all living things, including humans. In Energy Medicine: The Scientific Basis, James Oschman, Ph.D., states, “In a few decades scientists have gone from a conviction that there is no such thing as energy fields in and around the human body to an absolute certainty that they exist.” This statement is supported by research conducted in 1990 by John Zimmerman, M.D., of the University of Colorado School of Medicine, in which he used a superconducting quantum interference device (SQUID) to measure the bio-electromagnetic field of an energy practitioner’s hands. He discovered a trained practitioner’s hands could have a frequency range of 3 to 30 Hz, with the average activity in the 7 to 8 Hz range. This range of frequency is enough to support nerve regeneration, bone growth and soft-tissue repair.
Scientists have also measured an energy field that expands beyond and surrounds the body. Additionally, Eastern philosophy posits that there are seven energy centers, or chakras, in the human body. Each chakra and energy level around the body correlates with the endocrine and nervous system, and specific organs. Through the natural bio-electromagnetic field of the massage therapist’s hands, Healing Touch helps open, balance and energetically connect the chakras, providing an opportunity for healing on the physical, emotional, mental and spiritual levels.
Education and certification
There are five levels of classes in the HTI Healing Touch Certificate Program curriculum taught through Healing Beyond Borders, Educating and Certifying the Healing Touch.™ This nonprofit organization is an approved provider of continuing education through the National Certification Board for Therapeutic Massage & Bodywork and the American Holistic Nurses Association, and an approver of continuing education for the American Nurses Credentialing Center. It is also the only nonprofit Healing Touch association dedicated to service with platinum standards, ethics and research; its curriculum has been endorsed by the American Holistic Nurses Association since 1997.
Successful completion of all five levels provides the student with designation as a Healing Touch Practitioner. Credentialing as a Certified Healing Touch Practitioner is attained through successful application and approval by the autonomous Certification Board of Healing Beyond Borders.
Healing Touch techniques support wellness and balancing of the human body and energy systems. Coupled with massage, Healing Touch provides therapists a way to offer clients an experience that not only relieves pain and tension, but also positively affects the mind and spirit.
About the Authors
Kimberly Gray (far left), R.N., H.N.-B.C., L.M.T., N.C.B.T.M.B., CHTP/I, is an integrative health-and-wellness consultant, and a certified Healing Touch practitioner and instructor. Evie Caprel (immediate left), CHTP, is vice president of Healing Beyond Borders, Educating and Certifying the Healing Touch.™ They wrote this article on behalf of Healing Beyond Borders, Educating and Certifying the Healing Touch (www.healingbeyondborders.org), a nonprofit organization for Healing Touch endorsed by the American Holistic Nurses Association.