Interpersonal touch represents the primal sensory experience between humans, fostering social bonding from the cradle to the death bed. A lack of touch in childhood is associated with negative consequences for psychosocial and physical health and the benefits of professional touch techniques in the prevention and treatment of various diseases have been shown over and over again in clinical studies.
However, its application in mainstream clinical applications remains limited. Here, we unfold the potential of Touch Medicine by focusing on the treatment of depression, which in our view is primarily a disorder of the lived body.
Controlled studies and systematic reviews have demonstrated the antidepressant, anxiolytic and analgesic effects of specific massage techniques. Underlying mechanisms of action are currently under investigation, ranging from interoceptive, endocrinological, to stress-related or psychological underpinnings. Touch Medicine represents a novel interdisciplinary field connected to various medical specialities such as neonatology, pediatrics, pain medicine, neurology, psychiatry, and geriatrics — but also clinical psychology and psychosomatic medicine might benefit from the integration of these findings into their daily practice.
Social touch constitutes a basic human need, conveying empathy, love, care, intimacy, and social belonging 1 , 2.
Nonetheless, accounts of miraculous interventions serve as timeless testimonials to the transformative power of compassionate touch. In recent decades, modern scientific approaches have demonstrated unequivocally how prolonged absence of affectionate touch in infancy and childhood causes long-term psychological and physical damage, increasing the risk of disturbed attachment patterns and depression later in life 4 — 6.
