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Therapeutic touch for anxiety disordersRobinson J, Biley FC, Dolk H
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SummaryTherapeutic touch for anxiety disordersAnxiety disorders are a common occurrence in the general population and have considerable impact on quality of life. This review aimed to assess the effectiveness of therapeutic touch on anxiety disorders. However no randomised controlled trials investigating the effects of therapeutic touch for anxiety disorders were identified, and highlights the need for high quality randomised controlled trials on this topic.
This is a Cochrane review abstract and plain language summary, prepared and maintained by The Cochrane Collaboration, currently published in The Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews 2010 Issue 1, Copyright © 2010 The Cochrane Collaboration. Published by John Wiley and Sons, Ltd.. The full text of the review is available in The Cochrane Library (ISSN 1464-780X).
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July 18. 2007 AbstractBackgroundAnxiety disorders are a common occurrence in today's society. There is interest from the community in the use of complementary therapies for anxiety disorders. This review examined the currently available evidence supporting the use of therapeutic touch in treating anxiety disorders. ObjectivesTo examine the efficacy and adverse effects of therapeutic touch for anxiety disorders. Search strategyWe searched the Cochrane Collaboration Depression, Anxiety and Neurosis Controlled Trials Registers (CCDANCTR-Studies and CCDANCTR-References) (search date 13/01/06), the Controlled Trials website and Dissertation Abstracts International. Searches of reference lists of retrieved papers were also carried out and experts in the field were contacted. Selection criteriaInclusion criteria included all published and unpublished randomised and quasi-randomised controlled trials comparing therapeutic touch with sham (mimic) TT, pharmacological therapy, psychological treatment, other treatment or no treatment /waiting list.The participants included adults with an anxiety disorder defined by the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual (DSM-IV),the International Classification of Diseases (ICD-10), validated diagnostic instruments, or other validated clinician or self-report instruments. Data collection and analysisTwo review authors independently applied inclusion criteria. Further information was sought from trialists where papers contained insufficant information to make a decision about eligibility. Main resultsNo randomised or quasi-randomised controlled trials of therapeutic touch for anxiety disorders were identified. Authors' conclusionsGiven the high prevalence of anxiety disorders and the current paucity of evidence on therapeutic touch in this population, there is a need for well conducted randomised controlled trials to examine the effectiveness of therapeutic touch for anxiety disorders. |