Perception of Touch in the Physiotherapist-Patient Relationship (original) (raw)
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"A touch of physiotherapy" -the significance and meaning of touch in the practice of physiotherapy
Touch, while ubiquitous and ever present in the practice of physiotherapy, is conspicuously absent from physiotherapy-related research. Based on a theoretical perspective inspired by phenomenology, this article explores and elaborates on the meaning and significance of touch in the practice of physiotherapy. The research data were generated through 16 close observations conducted in primary care clinics, and through interviews with 9 physiotherapists and with 9 patients suffering from chronic neck problems. The findings revealed how the use of touch in the practice of physiotherapy brings people into proximity in ways more complex than simple skin-toskin contact. Through nontouch, touch, and movements, physiotherapists invite their patients to participate in the process of creating and performing therapy; dialogue through touch and movement is vital. Touch in physiotherapy depends on the physiotherapist's embodied skills; those they cultivate in order to respectfully listen to their patients and guide them to explore their own bodily capacity, limits and possibilities. The findings also suggest that observing therapy from outside and from participating in it offer significant different experiences, information, understanding, and meanings. The differences between physiotherapy as observed expression and as lived experience would seem to have important implications for understanding the practice of physiotherapy.
Journal of bioethical inquiry, 2024
This paper presents a qualitative study investigating the application of physiotherapists' professional ethics in practice with respect to touch, intimacy, and corporeality during therapy, based on the experiences of elderly patients. As the relationship in a physiotherapy session is multidimensional, the study considered three levels: physical contact, verbal contact, and the conditions in which the therapy took place. The aim of this study was to find out what values are of importance to older people during a physiotherapy session, with emphasis on the categories of touch, corporeality, and intimacy. The studied group consisted of sixteen male and female physiotherapy patients aged between sixty-six and ninety-two years. The study was conducted according to the grounded theory methodology. The research material consisted of transcriptions of free targeted interviews, which were subjected to a process of coding and analysis. As a result of data analyses, three superior categories have been identified-safety, anxiety, interpersonal relationship-and three a priori categories stemming from the characteristic features of the study areatouch, corporeality, and intimacy. The a priori categories did not appear independently in statements made by the respondents, but instead seemed to be components of superior categories. The most important values indicated by the respondents concerned the interpersonal relationship with their physiotherapist and the feeling of safety and care. In terms of touch, corporeality, and intimacy, the respondents indicated, among others, the importance of predictability, a sense of security, privacy, and acceptance of the body.
Touching and Being Touched During Physiotherapy Exercise Instruction
Human Studies
This contribution focuses on a physiotherapy consultation in which the first author of the contribution is the patient and the second author is the physiotherapist. It features analysis of video excerpts in which (1) the physiotherapist instructs the patient how to do an exercise and (2) the patient turns the physiotherapist's instructions into a course of action while (3) the physiotherapist monitors, assesses, guides, and corrects the patient's instructed actions by deploying touch. The investigation draws on video-recordings and transcriptions of the physiotherapist’s and the patient’s interaction during the exercise instructions, the authors’ experience of touching/being touched during these instructions, and their shared understandings as discussed during data-sessions devoted to select video-clips of exercise instructions. In a learning process, the instructor’s instructional corrections are critical: they provide learners with relevant specifications and explanations ...
2020
Background: Verbal and non-verbal communications are an inherent component of physician-patient interactions. The psychological and physiological benefits of non-verbal communication such as gestures, expressions, eye contact, and particularly physical touch in healthcare have been previously explored by the scientific community, albeit insufficiently in the primary care context. Objective: This study aims to address this gap by investigating physician and patient perceptions of expressive touch and its effect on patient satisfaction in primary care consultations in Lebanon. Methods: We recruited 12 physicians and 13 patients and subjected them to audiotaped semi-structured interviews. We selected the patients from three hospitals, while physician responders were from the Faculty of Medical Sciences of the Lebanese University. We translated the survey instrument into Arabic and validated it using back translation sustained by a pilot study. We performed constant comparative qualitat...
Attitudes toward Physical Contact in a Therapeutic Setting: Role of Gender and Expertise
2010
Counselor initiated touch in therapy is a much debated topic. Yet there is a growing consensus about the positive effects of therapeutic touch while acknowledging that when used inconsiderately touch can harm clients. 61 counselors and therapists completed a questionnaire about attitudes toward touch in therapy and the frequency of touch use. Most counselors believed that non-erotic and ethical touch had positive effects on clients. There was a significant main effect of therapist gender on attitudes towards touch, F(1, 57) = 9.05, p<.003, and frequency of touch use, F(1, 57) = 6.4, p < .05. Female therapists had more positive attitudes toward touch and were more likely to use touch in therapy as compared to male counselors. The paper calls for an open discussion among therapeutic community about the benefits and possible negative effects of touch in a therapeutic relationship.
Exploring the use of touch in the psychotherapeutic setting: A phenomenological review.
Psychotherapy, Theory, Research, Practice, Training , 2009
This paper provides a synthesis of the literature concerning the duality of touch and talk between therapist and client in the psychotherapy setting. It discusses the ethical considerations, prohibitions, and attitudes about touch within the psychotherapeutic field. In addition, it looks at the client's perception of touch, types of touch, paradigms, rationales for the use of touch, religious and cultural considerations, the effects of touch, and research implications. Despite the reservations and lack of training around the use of touch in psychotherapy, there is a variety of literature to support its uses, benefits, effectiveness, and rationales, insomuch as there is a variety of literature about prohibitions, contraindications, and cautions of its use. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2016 APA, all rights reserved)