Leder Drew, Krucoff Mitchell W
Department of Philosophy, Loyola College in Maryland, Baltimore, MD 21210, USA.
J Altern Complement Med. 2008 Apr;14(3):321-7. doi: 10.1089/acm.2007.0717.
This paper investigates the healer's touch in contemporary medical practice, with attention to both allopathic and alternative modalities. Healing is understood as the recovery of an integrated relationship between the self and its body, others, and the surrounding world-the relationship that illness has rendered problematic. In this context, touch can play a crucial role in the clinical encounter. Unlike other modes of sensory apprehension, which tend to involve distance and/or objectification, touch unfolds through an impactful, expressive, reciprocity between the toucher and the touched. For the ill person this can serve to reestablish human connection and facilitate healing changes at the prelinguistic level. The healer's touch involves a blending of attention, compassion, and skill. The clinical efficacy of touch is also dependent upon the patient's active receptivity, aspects of which are explored. All too often, modern medical practice is characterized predominately by the "objectifying touch" of the physical examination, or the "absent touch" wherein technological mediation replaces embodied contact. This paper explores the unique properties of touch as a medium of perception, action, and expression that can render touch a healing force within the clinical encounter.
本文探讨了当代医学实践中的治疗性触摸，同时关注对抗疗法和替代疗法。治愈被理解为自我与其身体、他人以及周围世界之间的完整关系的恢复，而疾病使这种关系出现了问题。在这种背景下，触摸在临床接触中可以发挥关键作用。与其他感官感知方式不同，其他方式往往涉及距离和/或客观化，而触摸是通过触摸者与被触摸者之间有影响力、有表现力的互动来展开的。对于患病的人来说，这有助于重新建立人际联系，并在语言前层面促进治愈性的改变。治疗性触摸包含注意力、同情心和技巧的融合。触摸的临床效果还取决于患者的积极接受度，本文对此的一些方面进行了探讨。现代医疗实践常常主要以体格检查中的“客观化触摸”或技术中介取代身体接触的“无接触”为特征。本文探讨了触摸作为一种感知、行动和表达媒介的独特属性，这些属性可使触摸成为临床接触中的一种治愈力量。
