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The Meaning of Touch in Sexual Therapy

Received: 17 July 2023     Accepted: 3 August 2023     Published: 22 August 2023
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Abstract

In the sexual counseling literature there is a topic, which finds so far little attention: physical touch. The subject of touch is not touched! In the sex-positive discourse on sexuality and especially in sexual counseling, it could get much more space. The clinical observation of the author over twenty years of practice has shown that most people do not have sufficient ›touch competence‹. In different sex therapy approaches even though the topic of touch has been considered, what is missing are practical, exercise-oriented interventions for the sexual counseling practice in individual, couple, or group settings. These would provide a qualitative holistic touch competence for the participants. The focus of this research is to highlight the importance of mindful sensual touch in sexual intimacy and how people with limited touch experience and competence can best acquire it. Mindful sensual touch - also known as ›Tantric Massage‹ is a form of touch that has been developed and taught by the German teacher Andro Andreas Rothe in his Berlin Institut Diamond-Lotus. In this article, this special version of Tantric Massage has been focused on. Rothe defines this particular form of touch as a sexual healing and therapeutic massage. People who have deepened their mindful sensual touch experience and competence through personal self-experience (individual setting) and/or attending courses in holistic sensual awareness (group setting) have been interviewed. Through qualitative interviews, it has been possible to explore how this experience positively impacts various components of sexuality and sexual well-being as defined by the WHO, such as feeling more confident in one’s sexuality, increasing the ability to experience orgasm for women who could not previously, a prolonged erection for men suffering under premature ejaculation, softening traumatic experiences or becoming more flexible in relation to sexual roles active/passive, male/female nevertheless reinforcing their sexual identity. Unfortunately, this form of massage has been increasingly boycotted especially since a recent law in Germany describes it as sex work disregarding the undeniable empirics data on its healing impact. Nevertheless, not a few sex-therapists do recommend to their clients this kind of experience to improve their sexuality. The aim of this work is to point out the positive benefits of a founded and professional use of this kind of touch experience to contribute to a solution of different sexological issues.

Published in Psychology and Behavioral Sciences (Volume 12, Issue 3)
DOI 10.11648/j.pbs.20231203.12
Page(s) 50-56
Creative Commons

This is an Open Access article, distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, provided the original work is properly cited.

Copyright

Copyright © The Author(s), 2023. Published by Science Publishing Group

Keywords

Touch, Mindfulness, Tantra Massage, Sexual Therapy, Self-Experience

References
[1] Field, T. (2011). Touch for socio-emotional and physical well-being: A review. doi: 10.1016/j.dr.2011.01.001.
[2] Montagu, A. (2004). Körperkontakt. 11. Auflage. Stuttgart: Klett-Cotta.
[3] Riedel, M. (2008). Alltagsberührungen in Paarbeziehungen. Empirische Bestandsaufnahme eines sozialwissenschaftlichen vernachlässigten Kommunikationsmedium. Dissertation Universität Freiburg 2007. Freiburg: Wissenschaftliche Gesellschaft.
[4] Wagener, U. (2000). Fühlen, tasten, begreifen. Berührung als Wahrnehmung und Kommunikation. Oldenburg: bis, Bibliotheks- und Informations system der Universität Oldenburg.
[5] Master, W. H., Johnson, V. E. (1970). Human Sexual Inadequacy. London: J. & A. Churchill Ltd.
[6] Desjardins, J. Y. (1996). Approche intégrative et sexocorporelle. In Revue Européenne de Sexologie Médicale. Déc. 96, Vol. 5, Nr. 21; Rome: European Federation of Sexology.
[7] Freud, S. (2007). Drei Abhandlungen zur Sexualtheorie (9. Aufl.). Erste Veröffentlichung 1905. Frankfurt a. M.: Fischer.
[8] Beier, K., Bosinski, H., Hartmann, U., Loewit, K. (2005). Sexualmedizin (2. Aufl.). München: Urban & Fischer.
[9] Briken, Peer & Berner, Michael (Hrsg.). (2013). Praxisbuch Sexuelle Störungen: Sexuelle Gesundheit, Sexualmedizin, Psychotherapie sexueller Störungen. Stuttgart: Thieme.
[10] Strauß, B., Kirchmann, H., Schwark, B., Thomas, A.. (2010). Bindung, Sexualität und Persönlichkeitsentwicklung. Stuttgart. Kohlhammer.
[11] Clement, U. (2004). Systemische Sexualtherapie. Fünfte Auflage 2011. München: Klett-Cotta.
[12] Gehrig, P. (2013). Das Konzept des Sexocorporel. In http://ziss.ch/sexocorporel/Sexocorporel-Grundlagen.pdf, gesehen am 26.5.2018.
[13] Arentewicz, G., Schmidt, G. (Hrsg.) (1980). Sexuell gestörte Beziehungen. Konzept und Technik der Paartherapie. Berlin, Heidelberg, New York: Springer Verlag.
[14] Hauch, M. (2013). Paarberatung bei sexuellen Störungen: Das Hamburger Modell: Konzept und Technik (2., unveränderte Aufl.). Stuttgart: Thieme.
[15] Diamond-Lotus. (2019). Die Entstehung der Tantramassage. In https://diamond-lotus.de/dl-massagen/die- entstehung-der-tantramassage/. Gesehen am 06.3.2019.
[16] Grunwald, M. (2017). Homo Hapticus: Warum wir ohne Tastsinn nicht leben können. München: Droemer- Knaur.
[17] Anzieu, D. (2013). Das Haut-Ich. 5. Auflage. Frankfurt a. M.: Suhrkamp.
[18] Jöhnsson, E. H., Bendas, J., Weidner, K., Wessberg, J., Olausson, H., Bucklung Wesling, H., Croy, I. (2017). The relation between human hair follicle density and touch perception. Scientific Reports. In www.nature.com/scientificreports, gesehen am 14.10.2018.
[19] Moberg. K. U. (2003). The Oxytocin Factor. Tapping the Hormone of Calm, Love, and Healing. London: Pinter & Martin Ltd.
[20] Linden, D. J. (2015). Touch. The Science of the Sense that Makes Us Human. London: Penguin Books.
[21] Tantramassage Verband e. V. (2019). Hintergründe der Tantramassage. In https://www.tantramassage-verband.de/tantramassage/hintergrunde-der-tantramassage/. Gesehen am 06.03.2019.
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    Susanna-Sitari Rescio. (2023). The Meaning of Touch in Sexual Therapy. Psychology and Behavioral Sciences, 12(3), 50-56. https://doi.org/10.11648/j.pbs.20231203.12

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    Susanna-Sitari Rescio. The Meaning of Touch in Sexual Therapy. Psychol. Behav. Sci. 2023, 12(3), 50-56. doi: 10.11648/j.pbs.20231203.12

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    Susanna-Sitari Rescio. The Meaning of Touch in Sexual Therapy. Psychol Behav Sci. 2023;12(3):50-56. doi: 10.11648/j.pbs.20231203.12

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  • @article{10.11648/j.pbs.20231203.12,
      author = {Susanna-Sitari Rescio},
      title = {The Meaning of Touch in Sexual Therapy},
      journal = {Psychology and Behavioral Sciences},
      volume = {12},
      number = {3},
      pages = {50-56},
      doi = {10.11648/j.pbs.20231203.12},
      url = {https://doi.org/10.11648/j.pbs.20231203.12},
      eprint = {https://article.sciencepublishinggroup.com/pdf/10.11648.j.pbs.20231203.12},
      abstract = {In the sexual counseling literature there is a topic, which finds so far little attention: physical touch. The subject of touch is not touched! In the sex-positive discourse on sexuality and especially in sexual counseling, it could get much more space. The clinical observation of the author over twenty years of practice has shown that most people do not have sufficient ›touch competence‹. In different sex therapy approaches even though the topic of touch has been considered, what is missing are practical, exercise-oriented interventions for the sexual counseling practice in individual, couple, or group settings. These would provide a qualitative holistic touch competence for the participants. The focus of this research is to highlight the importance of mindful sensual touch in sexual intimacy and how people with limited touch experience and competence can best acquire it. Mindful sensual touch - also known as ›Tantric Massage‹ is a form of touch that has been developed and taught by the German teacher Andro Andreas Rothe in his Berlin Institut Diamond-Lotus. In this article, this special version of Tantric Massage has been focused on. Rothe defines this particular form of touch as a sexual healing and therapeutic massage. People who have deepened their mindful sensual touch experience and competence through personal self-experience (individual setting) and/or attending courses in holistic sensual awareness (group setting) have been interviewed. Through qualitative interviews, it has been possible to explore how this experience positively impacts various components of sexuality and sexual well-being as defined by the WHO, such as feeling more confident in one’s sexuality, increasing the ability to experience orgasm for women who could not previously, a prolonged erection for men suffering under premature ejaculation, softening traumatic experiences or becoming more flexible in relation to sexual roles active/passive, male/female nevertheless reinforcing their sexual identity. Unfortunately, this form of massage has been increasingly boycotted especially since a recent law in Germany describes it as sex work disregarding the undeniable empirics data on its healing impact. Nevertheless, not a few sex-therapists do recommend to their clients this kind of experience to improve their sexuality. The aim of this work is to point out the positive benefits of a founded and professional use of this kind of touch experience to contribute to a solution of different sexological issues.},
     year = {2023}
    }
    

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Author Information
  • Sexology Department, Hochschule Merseburg, Merseburg, Germany

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