Introduction to Psychotherapeutic Touch

Most of us clinicians have been trained that touching a client is a slippery slope to boundary violations and sexual abuse…as if we cannot trust our own loving hearts, our professionalism and our goodwill towards our clients. This psychotherapy industry anti-touch approach is not based on unbiased research, but on a reaction to our founding forefathers’ lack of boundaries, the cultural inability to separate loving, supportive touch from sexuality and fears of litigation. Making “ethical” decisions on these bases is unethical and is a disservice to our clients.

Other clinicians are using touch with clients, but have not had the fundamental training necessary to practice within ethical boundaries. As mental health workers, a fundamental ethical requirement is not to operate outside the scope of our training, and yet how do we do that when, until now, no such training exists? Psychotherapeutic Touch™ is a comprehensive training program and criteria standard for the ethical and skilled use of touch in therapy. It is both didactic and experiential, and requires that the clinician courageously explore their own history and relationship to touch, for how can we help our clients if we haven’t done our own work?

Psychotherapeutic Touch Training is particularly critical when working with clients in NonOrdinary States of Consciousness (NOSC), whether the client is in a regressed or dissociative state, the clinician is using a model that cultivates NOSC (such as Internal Family Systems or Authentic Movement) or when the clinician is offering Psychedelic-Assisted Therapy or psychedelic attendance or support.

This four-hour zoom training provides an introduction to Psychotherapeutic Touch. While the training is clinical, it is led from a heart-centered and mindfulness approach. You will be enticed to engaged, explore concepts you hadn’t even considered, and challenged to think outside the box. By the end of this training you will:

$245 US, 40 participants maximum.

I recognize how systemic racism, meritocracy, capitalism, colonialism, patriarchy and white privilege have been an integral part of Western society and the field of psychotherapy. If you are a BIPOC or global majority identified person, or you are from another historically marginalized population, AND you are providing care to BIPOC or other historically marginalized populations AND have financial need, I offer 10% of these spots at a reduced price based upon financial need. If you feel this is you, please contact me directly.

Prerequisites:

There are no prerequisites for this course, though participants should have an understanding of basic psychological concepts.

Limitations:

This introductory course does not provide certification in or allow participants to state that they are trained in Psychotherapeutic Touch.  If you would like to become certified, please register for the 8-hour Level 1 Certification Course, or contact me about setting up a training for your organization. Anyone who successfully completes the Introduction to Psychotherapeutic Touch course will receive $95 off the Level 1 Certification Course.