Safe, Healing Touch in Psychotherapy
Touch, our very first language, is essential for healthy human development. Research shows that a lack of touch in childhood can impact folks’ emotional, psychological, neurological, and relational well-being throughout their lives.
While traditional talk therapy can address the verbal and emotional wounds of relational developmental trauma, touch can deepen the healing of the preverbal somatic layers and, therefore, reach the unreachable.
While touch in psychotherapy is often considered taboo due to concerns about crossing boundaries, the somatic psychotherapy field recognizes the healing power of touch when done ethically and professionally.
Relational Touch in psychotherapy, developed by Mira’s teacher Shirley Dvir, introduces safe, embodied, relational touch for healing relational developmental trauma. Relational Touch is touch that seeks true consent verbally and somatically from the client. It has no agenda, listens, and is done in full collaboration with the client.
Therapeutic touch often looks similar to Cranial Sacral therapy, but also contains elements of psychotherapy. It is always optional, radically consensual, and collaborative. Reach out to learn more.
