"Touch is one of the fundamental media for interpersonal communication. Over recent decades, scientific efforts have been devoted to establishing the significance of touch, particularly affective touch, in the treatment and prevention of mental disorders and clarifying the underlying mechanisms of touch and massage therapy. This book contributes to this rapidly expanding area of research and gives new insights on recent clinical and experimental findings. A strong plea is made by the editors for well-designed clinical studies which require very special methodologies. A broad spectrum of various touch therapies are already available at present. Modern treatment and prevention of mental disorders should go beyond the pharmacological and psychotherapeutic approaches and should make use of the beneficial effects of touch therapies with the additional benefit of a very small risk of adverse outcomes." by Bruno Müller-Oerlinghausen(Editor), Michael Eggart(Editor)
Who is Bruno Müller-Oerlinghausen?
This information is cited from his CV biography online:
Dr. med. Bruno Müller-Oerlinghausen Specialist Pharmacology and Toxicology; Clinical Pharmacology Professor em. of Clinical Psychopharmacology Freie Universität Berlin / Charité Universitätsmedizin Berlin (Germany) Medizinische Hochschule Brandenburg Theodor Fontane Member and former chairman of the Drug Commission of the German Medical Association
Bruno Müller-Oerlinghausen , born 1936 in Berlin, obtained his training in medicine at the universities of Göttingen, Munich, Francfort/M., Freiburg, and Berlin (West). 1964 to 1969 he underwent a postgraduate training in pharmacology and toxicology at the Department of Pharmacology, University of Göttingen, and qualified as a lecturer in pharmacology and toxicology with a thesis on the influence of diabetes on the hepatic drug metabolism 1969 to 1971 he was assigned to the Department of Medical Sciences (Ministry of Public Health) in Bangkok (Thailand) by the government of the Federal Republic of Germany, as an expert in pharmacology. He built up a pharmacological research lab and trained the Thai staff in methods to investigate the pharmacology of old-style herbal medicine.
For many years he took a special interest in the methods of complementary medicine. Within this context he conducted a clinical trial investigating the effects of Slow-Stroke®-Massage in depressed patients and healthy volunteers. Because of the surprisingly positive effects he has continued clinical and experimental research in this area until today. In 2018 he published together with a body therapist a book on therapeutic touch. (ref. “Massage bei Depressionen”) In 2022 together with international experts he presented a general view on the benefits of theraputic touch in varous medical areas (ref. 698 Touch medicine - a complementary therapeutic approach with special consideration of depresslons treatment.)
His book I am reading is full of wonderful writings on this topic and I suggest it as a recommended reading material to learn more.
When you have a bodywork session, do you feel better or worse after?
- Yes, I feel much better
- No, I feel much worse
- I have no change.