For Intermediate level course on Touch in Therapy, click here.
Simply follow these steps:
1. Sign up securely online.
2. Read the articles via online links.
3. Submit online evaluation & post-test.
4. Print your certificate.
Part of the course material is in pdf format. You will need Adobe Acrobat Reader. If you do not have it click here for free download.
GENERAL COURSE DESCRIPTION
This is an advanced course on touch in psychotherapy and counseling which sheds light on what the standard of care in psychotherapy and counseling is and clarifies how clinically and ethically appropriate touch falls within the standard of care. It briefly reviews the importance of touch for human development and healing practices and describes the ethical application of touch in psychotherapy as adjunct to verbal psychotherapy. It looks critically at the prohibition of touch in therapy and examines its historical, professional and cultural roots. The course extensively covers different ethical aspects of therapeutic touch and provides a rare but thorough exploration of the meaning of touch in psychoanalysis and the role of touch in the therapeutic relationship.
The course includes four extensive, ground-breaking articles by first, Ofer Zur, Ph.D., on touch and the standard of care; second, by Courtenay Young, ex-President of the European Association for Body-Psychotherapy (EABP) and an authority on the topic of the ethics and clinical aspects of therapeutic touch; third, a refreshing and unique look at the meanings of touch in psychoanalysis by Dr. James Fosshage; and fourth, a cutting edge article by Aline LaPierre, "Neuroaffective Touch and the Relational Matrix," with an introduction by Dr. Allan Schore. Finally, the course provides an ethical decision-making process and a summary of California law in regard to touch in therapy. (Advanced Level)
Educational Objectives:
This course will teach psychotherapists to
Review the application of touch in psychotherapy and counseling.
Clarify what the standard of care in psychotherapy and counseling is and how touch fits within the standard.
Review the ethics of touch in therapy.
Discuss the application and meaning of touch in psychoanalytic practice.
Utilize ethical decision-making regarding touch in psychotherapy.
Review professional organizations' codes of ethics on touch.
Review the risk management concerns with touch in psychotherapy.
Review the California laws and regulations and updates that are relevant to touch in psychotherapy.
Course Syllabus:
Touch and the Standard of Care:
Forces and Influences in the Battle of Touch
Therapeutic Boundaries and Touch in Therapy
The Standard of Care: What It Is and What It Is Not
Touch in Psychotherapy
Therapeutic Touch and the Standard of Care
Risk Management, Slippery Slope & Sexualization of Touch
Risk-Benefit Analysis & Ethical Decision-Making
Touch in Context
Demonstrating Compliance with the Standard Of Care
The Ethics of Professional Touch:
Proper Boundaries
Overview of Clinical and Ethical Considerations:
Ethical Codes
Ethical Procedure
What is Touch: What? Where? Why? How? & When?
When to Touch and When Not to Touch
The Meaning of Touch
Consent, Autonomy and Touch
Inappropriate Touch
Therapist Abuse and Attraction
Supervision & Training
The Meanings of Touch in Psychoanalysis:
Historical and Theoretical Basis for the Prohibition of Touch
