Notes for the London TT Hospital Team

Notes for the London TT Hospital Team

By Barbara Janelle M.A.

Presented to Therapeutic Touch Network of Ontario Practitioners’ Day

Markham Ontario

May 9, 1998

The London Therapeutic Touch Hospital Team is a volunteer group serving acute care patients in London Hospitals at their (or their family’s) request. There is no charge for the Therapeutic Touch treatments, but patients are asked to pay for Team member parking fees.

The primary purpose of the TT Hospital Team is to help people in hospital. In addition, the Team brings Therapeutic Touch into London hospitals. Members of the Team not only use TT to help others but they also have the opportunity of expanding their skills by working with a highly varied set of physical problems.

Teams are organised to treat patients because it is difficult for one person to see a patient through the entire hospital stay. In addition, sharing the work with others provides support for all the members of the team.

Membership on the London Therapeutic Touch Hospital Team is by invitation to those who meet the following requirements:

1. Minimum 40 hours of Therapeutic Touch training,

encompassing Levels 1, 2 and 3

1. Minimum of one year’s experience using TT
2. Demonstrated ability to stay centered under difficult conditions

4. Living by the tenets of TT: see the beauty in themselves, others and the world around them: be mature, thoughtful, and compassionate in daily life.

Procedures for Establishing a Patient’s Team :

1. Request by patient or family member. If the patient is conscious and aware, he/she must want TT.

2. Initial treatment by the Team Leader to assess the situation and the patient’s response to TT.

3. Establishment of a team based on patient’s condition, hospital location, member location, scheduling convenience.

Responsibilities of Team Members:

1. See the patient on the scheduled day. Abide by hospital hours, but otherwise the timing is at your convenience.

2. If you are unable to go to the hospital, notify the Team leader who will try to make other arrangements.

3. If you are unable to go to the hospital and not able to reach the Team Leader, do a long-distance TT treatment for the patient.

4. Notify the Team leader of any changes in a patient’s condition or location. Please Note: because hospitals are releasing patients sooner these day, it is recommended that you call the hospital before going, to find out whether the patient is still there

5. Keep track of parking expenses and inform the Team Leader.

6. Please do not go to see a patient if you are not feeling well.

Guidelines for Treating Patients in Hospital:

The basic guidelines are:

1.) Be centered entering the hospital, meeting the patient, doing the treatment and leaving the hospital. Be at peace with yourself, be at peace with the surroundings.

Please be aware that a person who is ill and in hospital is extremely sensitive to other people’s thoughts, emotions and physical movements. By being at peace, you provide an atmosphere where healing can take place.

Current Team members have found the following things useful:

– the Sanctuary at University Hospital is a wonderful place to meditate and deepen center before seeing a patient

– visualise the room, ward, hospital filled with blue light that heals as it brings peace

– enter the room quietly, bringing peace, gentleness and compassion

2.) Be in the moment so that you deal with the person, the situation, and the field as it is. Leave preconceptions, judgements, and your own stuff in the parking lot.

3.) Be clear in your intent to be of service to the patient. We are there to do Therapeutic Touch and to offer calm, honouring support to the person.

If the patient wants to talk:

– listen without judging (practice FOCUSING)

– see the beauty in the person

– DO NOT GIVE ADVICE

– DO NOT DIAGNOSE

4.) Before doing TT:

a) wash your hands

b) introduce yourself to the patient and explain that you are there to do TT. In the case of someone who is semi or fully comatose, speak in a low voice.

c) observe the patient. Note colour, breathing, level of discomfort, any swelling, etc.

d) question the patient about level of comfort. The person may ask you to work on specific areas.

e) notice the arrangement of furniture and equipment. Some fancy footwork may be required to avoid stepping on lines and wires or bumping into machinery. You may want to move a table or chair a little way away from the bed; if so do it quietly and put it back when you are finished. Decide whether you want the curtains opened or closed.

f) be aware of the person’s position. If the person is conscious, you can ask that they separate their hands to support energy flow through the upper part of the field. It can be uncomfortable for a patient to lie flat with legs uncrossed, without support under the knees. Since this is seldom done in hospital beds, be prepared to work with the patient in a less than perfect position.

g) support the hospital staff’s work. If a nurse or doctor is working with the patient, wait until they are finished. Be prepared to interrupt your treatment if a nurse or doctor needs to get to the patient.

In the experience of the current Team, hospital staff are almost always welcoming and supportive of our work. A few take little or no notice. Nurses and doctors work long hours and often need just as much quiet, compassionate support from us as the patients do. Support them by seeing the beauty of the individual and by recognising the value of their work.

h) explain to the patient the need for quiet and rest after the treatment. Let the person know that when you are finished, you will say good-by and leave.

Give the patient any information, such as who is coming in the next day (if you know it), when you will be back (if you know it), before the treatment because you will leave immediately after the session.

5.) Do Therapeutic Touch

a) deepen your center. This enables you to perceive the field well 8 to 18 inches from the skin. By working in this way, you can “reach” distant and awkward areas.

b) use Tai Chi-like movements to prevent strain on your back and to support the patient’s comfort (short, abrupt movements are “felt” by the patient).

c) if appropriate, gently rub hands and feet to augment energetic flow through the secondary chakras.

d) access and respond to the field’s needs as best you can. Remember that TT is a conversation with the energy field.

e) consider supporting flow through the field by using grounding visualisations off shoulders, elbows, hands, hips, knees, feet.

f) notify the patient when you are finished. Quietly return any furniture to its former place, say good-by and leave. Do NOT ask the person how he/she feels, how the treatment was, or otherwise engage in conversation.

g) Wash your hands after the treatment.

6.) Miscellaneous

a) Therapeutic Touch is a complementary practice. TT works with allopathic procedures. Analgesic medication is as important to a person in pain as is TT. Do not be surprised or offended if a patient asks for medication during or after the treatment.

b) Be willing to give additional TT treatments to other patients, if asked.

c) It is necessary to check in with the nursing staff and volunteers who staff ICU and Pre-Op Patient Information desks before seeing patients on those wards.

d) Be quiet, pleasant and professional in your demeanour. Silently deepening center is the best way to deal with nervousness or difficult conditions.

e) Do not go to see a patient if you are ill.

f) If questioned by the patient or nursing staff about the condition of the patient, DO NOT DIAGNOSE. Either

i) return the question, e.g. “Do you see or feel any changes as a result of the TT? Are you sleeping better?”

ii) or respond in energetic terms. For example, use a statement like, “The field is responding to TT” rather than “The lungs are fine.”

g) Be prepared to give a brief description of TT to anyone who may ask. Do not overwhelm people with information. Let them question you if they want to know more.

h) Abide by rules of confidentiality:

– do not tell anyone, outside of the Team, a patient’s name, or give any information that would allow identification of the person to be made.

i) Please read and abide by the TT Network (ON) Code of Ethics

j) Go in, do your work, get out, leave no tracks (Merlin Homer)

LONDON TT HOSPITAL TEAM QUESTIONNAIRE

NAME_____________________________________________________

ADDRESS__________________________________________________

CITY_________________________ POSTAL CODE_________________

HOME TELEPHONE__________________________ TIME____________

WORK TELEPHONE__________________________ TIME____________

AREA OF THE CITY YOU LIVE IN________________________________

HOSPITAL PREFERENCE(S)___________________________________

__________________________________________________________

DAYS NOT AVAILABLE________________________________________

ANY CONDITION(S) YOU PREFER NOT TO WORK WITH:

__________________________________________________________

ADDITIONAL COMMENTS_____________________________________

__________________________________________________________