Touch in the Helping Professions - (Health and Society) by Martin Rovers & Judith Malette & Manal Guirguis-Younger (Paperback)

About the Book

Inappropriate touch cases have sparked public outcry and made headlines, but a discussion on the importance and ethics of positive, caring, appropriate touch in the helping professions such as teaching, nursing and counselling is long overdue.

Book Synopsis

Touch may well be one of the least understood or talked about subjects in the helping professions. A discussion on the importance and ethics of positive, caring, and appropriate touch in professions such as teaching, nursing and counselling is long overdue. Touch in the Helping Professions delivers just that, weaving together scholarly evidence, research and clinical practice from a wide range of perspectives encompassing philosophy, theology, psychology, and anthropology to challenge assumptions about the role of touch in the helping professions.

The contributors to the volume focus not only on the overarching roles of gender, age, culture and life experience, but go beyond to encompass canine-assisted therapy, touch deprivation, sacred objects, as well as key ethical considerations. The prevailing lack of dialogue, due to fear of contravening ethical boundaries, has stood in the way of an open and responsible discussion on the use of touch in therapy. Touch in the Helping Professions is a welcome and much needed contribution to the field--a window onto a fundamental need.

Review Quotes

This book is an exploration of touch in the context of psychotherapy, considering a range of perspectives, the appropriate use and the influence of both social and cultural values. (...) The collation of ideas is embedded with scholarly evidence, research and expert perspectives creating an interesting and thought provoking read.-- "PUO-UOP"

This collation of ideas is embedded with scholarly evidence, research and expert perspectives creating an interesting and thought provoking read. (...) I have recommended this book to a number of different people from a variety of backgrounds and professions. This book can aid medical professionals in their consideration of touch and both its therapeutic and detrimental effects.-- "PUO-UOP"