The lived experience of spiritual healing touch in older women with chronic pain

Abstract

The Parse research method of phenomenology was used to explore the universal lived experience of Spiritual Healing Touch in older women with Chronic Pain. Three individuals with chronic non-malignant pain naive to touch modalities received one treatment and participated in audio-taped dialogical engagement. The taped discussions were analyzed using Parse's procedure of extraction-synthesis. Three core concepts emerged to formulate a structure of the lived experience of Spiritual Healing Touch. The core concepts identified were: 1) Transcendence of body, mind and spirit emerges with relaxation while pain intensifies-dissipates in the presence of integrated wholeness; 2) Co-transcending the physical boundaries of energy emerges into the unique experience of beneficial comfort in the presence of transformational uncertainty; and 3) Energy is experienced and meaning and value is placed on it throughout the treatment process. The structure was linked to the Human Becoming Theory and beyond through a process of heuristic interpretation. The findings from the study produced new knowledge and understanding regarding the human experience of Spiritual Healing Touch.