Greenwich Hospital surgical, labor and delivery, and oncology patients are among those who have received a healing boost through a form of energy therapy known as Healing Touch.
The hospital, known for its reputation of service excellence, is among a growing number of medical facilities utilizing Healing Touch, which is a gentle, noninvasive therapy shown to facilitate the relaxation response to enhance the healing process. Research shows that, in addition to inducing a deep sense of calm and relaxation, Healing Touch helps to reduce pain, decrease anxiety, promote sleep and improve an overall sense of well-being.
Healing Touch trained volunteers, gently place their hands on or above a person's "energy centers" of the body. The patient is fully clothed. The goal is to strengthen the body's ability to heal itself by restoring balance and harmony to the body's energy system.
Energy healing therapy involves the channeling of healing energy through the hands of a practitioner into the patient's body to restore normal energy balance and, therefore, health, as described by the National Institutes of Health's National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine.