Healing Touch - Learning to Become a Healing Presence for Others

By our presence, we can bring a healing touch to ourcounselors practice this level of psychological
families, peers, work situations, churches,presence if they are to make a difference in
communities, towns, and cities. This is the first step insomeone's life.
learning how to be instruments of healing for others.3. Therapeutic presence calls upon the healer
Whether your professional background is-nursing,regardless of their professional background to
massage therapy, counseling, chaplaincy or any otherrespond to another with his or her whole being. This
service oriented profession- we are all called to be akind of presence comes from a place of openness,
healing presence for others.intuitive knowing, communion, and love.
Learning to be present to others means first learningIn healing work, we are called upon to practice all of
to be present with ourselves. This calls for an abilitythese forms of presence with those to whom we
to be in the moment. Here are three levels ofoffer healing. Being truly in the moment, connected
presence that healers need to practice to convey ato God, we cannot help but extend compassionate
healing touch:caring in our touch and in our word. In essence, we
radiate wholeness and beauty. This is not an easy
1. Physical presence calls upon skills of seeing,task, but it becomes easier with practice.
touching, doing, examining, hearing, and hugging. ForWhether you are practicing Healing Touch Spiritual
example, nurses and massage therapists do lots ofMinistry, Healing Touch, or other forms of energy
touching in their work in which they convey theirhealing-developing a keen awareness of your healing
connection to others through their physical contact.presence is an important step in your development.
2. Psychological presence uses the abilities ofAs facilitator's of healing for others, it is our job to
assessing, communicating, active listening, writing, andhelp the recipient be in a place of openness and
reflecting. These abilities refer to the healer'sreceptivity. This actually takes practice and what
counseling skills such as empathy, caring, accepting,better way to learn healing presence but through a
and being non-judgmental. Nurses, chaplains andreparable program of healing.