A
Professional Hug
https://c2.staticflickr.com/2/1191/576490847_e6b976bcc7_z.jpg?zz=1
It was interesting in our last class
when a student (practicing as a clinician) shared how she wished she ‘could just hug her’ when her client started
crying. However, I think human touch is a natural and immediate comfort thought
when seeing another in distress. Physical touch, such as soothing hugs, can be
helpful to one’s healing process, but also, it can be unethical due to the
possible negative reactions. According to our textbook, “touch can communicate
care and concern, especially during moments of grief and trauma” (Young, 2017,
p. 69). Further, Young (2017) shared, “touch can engender powerful sexual and
transference reactions in the client” especially to clients who have been
abused (p. 69).
While a hug might be comforting, it
was found that “physical contact between a clinician and client does not
predict how well a client responds to treatment” (Cowen, Weissberg, &
Lotyczewski, 1983, p. 138). While, as future clinicians, we may feel the need
to hug our clients and fix their problems, but we can still help them by using
our application skills without using physical contact.
Touching clients can be done
appropriately, but is not recommended for new clinicians (Young, 2017, p. 69).
Johnson (2000) shared how non-verbals such as vocal tone, word choice, eye
contact, posture, and facial expression can be used instead of touch to express
warmth.
I would take the advice from Young
and Johnson, but I cannot say I would NEVER hug a client. I will try my best to
use good judgment to assess when physical contact is appropriate. How would you
react? Excited to hear your input.
Reference
Cowen,
E. L., Weissberg, R. P., & Lotyczewski, B. S. (1983). Physical contact in
interactions between clinicians and young children. Journal of consulting
and Clinical psychology, 51(1), 132.
Johnson, D. W. (2000). Reaching out. Interpersonal
effectiveness and seif-actualization.(7th
ed.). Boston. Ally and Bacon.
Young, M. E. (2017). Learning the
art of helping: Building blocks and techniques. (6th ed.).
Boston. Pearson Higher Ed.
Jenna,
ReplyDeleteI enjoyed your post. Your title was the first thing that grabbed my attention. I often say that in my head too as a reminder. It is both frustrating and amusing place to be wrestling with.
...“physical contact between a clinician and client does not predict how well a client responds to treatment.” I did not think deeply about this before. I come from a culture that hugs. I may not always initiate but I was often the receiver. I have hugged in times when another is distressed. I once held a vendor that was crying for a long time. SO right now it would be difficult to not hug someone who I can relate or a child that was crying. Yet, I now understand that it is not necessarily the best healing tool for a client. I am learning the gravity of truly causing harm with an action that may be considered harmless.
It's a real situation to consider. I hug to give comfort or I lightly touch to acknowledge or express understanding even in passing. In some ways I believe I speak more with my hands. It's quite a dilemma for me right now because I would instinctively, in the moment, if the client was in agony reach out a comforting hand. If the client gives the vibe of stay away then I would stay away but if there's a hug vibe it would be difficult to not reach out.
I hope to continue learning the context and appropriateness of doing either. We're all in the process of becoming it seems.
Jenna and Patrice,
ReplyDeleteYou are not alone in this instinct to comfort the client through physical touch. John Trent and Gary Smalley in a text they authored called, "The Blessing" talk about the healing power of physical touch including the increase of hemoglobin. So, there may be a time and place for it. However, it is not considered one of the core clinical skills we are practicing. Winnicott who studied object relations and was a British trained psychiatrist wrote on the topic of object relations. He stated that sometimes a clinical intervention (such as a deeply empathic paraphrase) can lead a client to feel understood, and can bring a sense of being understood or "held" that goes deeper than if a physical holding were to take place! This is a powerful concept, and perhaps has spiritual implications. Perhaps some questions to ponder is, "how does it feel to be held?" And how does it feel to be held by God? How are the feelings that bubble up from these experiences similar or different from the feelings associated with being understood? and being fully with/present with another?