Lesson 10

Develop a personal policy on what you believe appropriate touch is.: I personally suffer from a debilitating aversion/phobia/repulsion to personal touch. This likely stems from issues resulting from my horrible childhood. In order to function properly when interacting with others, I take precautions in order to limit my contact with others in ways that, to my mind, are both appropriate and effective. I adhere to the concept of the personal bubble, keep and use hand sanitizer when needed, wear gloves when possible, fist bump in lue of the palm to palm handshake, and avoid hugs and facial contact as much as possible. I only make physical contact with others in situations where it appears to be necessary to the successful accomplishment of the task at hand. However, in recent years, I have received great healings from certain people in my life so that I now have the ability to interact physically in sincere moments via empathy. So, as to policy--I will adhere to my aforementioned precautions, and only use touch via empathy in sincere moments and only with the permission of the client should they find themselves in need of it.