What really happens when one person touches another? How does a hand on your client’s head or shoulder translate into better health? Human touch can completely change the way the body functions. Studies indicate that touch is essentially a positive experience for the person receiving it as long as the touch does not impose more intimacy than the person desires or communicate a negative message. Therein lies the challenge: How do you know if your touch is too intimate or sends a negative message for any specific person?

We will explore the dynamics of touch: appropriate ways to ask clients if and how they want to be touched; potential emotional reactions to touch and how to respond; techniques to attune to clients’ verbal and nonverbal feedback; creating and maintaining healthy boundaries.

We will also address how to set up appropriate boundaries between practitioner and client, as well as within the AT teacher training organizations as teachers and trainees.