Mine does not. So far he hasn’t touched me at all. Not even a handshake.
We have explored various aspects of physical touch including hugging in two different sessions so far, both of which were remote so there was no acting on anything. At this point, and I told M this in today’s session, I feel the need to explore this verbally every so often, but I’m fine with not rocking the boat by introducing an actual physical relationship at this time.
That said, [Quora user] makes a great argument in favor of the incorporation of ethical touch in one of her recent answers. The bottom line is that when trauma is trapped in the body to the point of causing painful and/or debilitating physical symptoms, the intentional and ethical use of touch in therapy (not delegating that touch to another service provider… or the patient’s furry friend) could help the patient release the trauma and alleviate the physical symptoms.
I’m at a place in my therapy where physical touch from my therapist does not appear to be a need I have. I recognize now that this could change and I can think of reasons why, so I really appreciate what [Quora user] has done in laying out a framework for exploring it as my system feels the need.
If a therapist and patient decide together that physical touch is going to be a part of the therapy experience, I believe it is important that the two be on the same page about what forms of touch will be used, why they will be used, and that such touch is 100% ordered to the client’s healing and not about the therapist in any way trying to meet his own needs with that client. There should also be an understanding that the client will be very transparent with the therapist about any feelings that come up as a result of being touched, so that anything unexpected or unintended can be worked through. In other words, just like with anything else, physical touch can be incorporated into the therapeutic frame, which means expectations will be clearly laid out and agreed upon, the client consents to being treated in that way, and any side effects are effectively addressed. Physical touch should not be a random and unexplained part of the experience, nor tacked on as an afterthought.