Tellington TTouch is a subject I have long avoided, as I tried to avoid talking about pet psychics, because it is such vapid nonsense that there is really very little to discuss. As Thomas Jefferson once said, in another context,
Ridicule is the only weapon which can be used against unintelligible propositions. Ideas must be distinct before reason can act upon them…
The description provided by the inventor of this magic ritual may help to illustrate the problem with trying to take TTouch seriously as a medical practice:
[TTouch] is a bodywork and training method based on circular movements of the fingers and hands all over the body. The intent of the TTouch is to activate the function of the cells and awaken cellular intelligence — “turning on the electric lights of the body.” The TTouch is done on the entire body, each circular TTouch complete within itself. It is not necessary to understand anatomy to be successful in speeding up the healing of injuries or ailments, or changing undesirable habits or behavior.
This collection of impressive-sounding but meaningless words is worthy of a Deepak Chopra quote generator. “Cellular intelligence” gives the game away by its similarity to the “innate intelligence” of Palmer’s chiropractic, or the “vital force” of Hahnemann’s homeopathy, as well as “Q’i,” “Prana,” and all the other mystical energy forces that cannot be identified or evaluated by science but which magic healers claim to be able to manipulate to affect health.
TTouch, like Reiki, Therapeutic Touch, and all the other varieties of faith-healing and “energy medicine” out there, is simply a spiritual practice masquerading as a medical treatment. None of the “energies” that are claimed to be behind these therapies and to have such tremendous power have ever been shown to actually exist, and none of the therapies themselves can provide convincing evidence of any effect beyond the placebo.
Ms. Tellington further illustrates the fundamentally faith-based nature of this personal religious healing practice in her use of language. She notes that, “My philosophy that all beings–humans and animals alike–are reflections of the Divine Whole formed the early basis of Tellington TTouch and anchors it today.” She frequently refers to “the magic of TTouch. And, of course, she employs the vague and deceptive references to “quantum” phenomena that are so common in efforts to make faith-healing methods sound scientifically legitimate:
This book is an introduction to quantum science, explaining how we can be effective with our intention working from a distance. This is not new but many people are just now awakening to the “infinite possibilities” offered by quantum science…you will discover fascinating studies that have been done around the world with many universities and research institutions about the effect of intention and the understanding that all information is contained in the quantum field and is available to us when we learn to listen.
The claims made for the effects of TTouch are broad, covering almost every aspect of the physical, psychological, social, and spiritual dimensions of life:
a simple and effective means to relieve a vast range of common and uncommon health issues — from a simple headache to a life threatening emergency.
can improve performance and health
solutions to common behavioral and physical problems
helps establish a deeper rapport between humans and animals through increased understanding and more effective communication.
a newfound sense of well-being and renewal
relief from everyday physical and emotional issues such as headaches, backache, neck pain, depression, and sensitivity to touch.
can be effective in relieving asthma
teachers are using these techniques in the classroom to address behavioral issues and to facilitate problem-solving and positive growth and development in their students.
enhance relationships beyond the constraints of language. Parents are finding new channels to connect with their children. Spouses are deepening their relationships and discovering new ways to nurture one another in a non-sexual context. Friends come to new levels of understanding and appreciation. TTouch is a powerful tool to enrich all your interpersonal relationships.
TTouch-for-You is used successfully for:
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Fostering a sense of well-being
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Reducing stress
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Pain relief in neck, back and legs
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Migraine relief
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Depression
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Releasing unfounded fear and anxiety
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Managing panic attacks
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Management of arthritis pain
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Stroke support
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Enhancing focus and learning in the classroom
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Helping youth at risk
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Improved quality of life for seniors
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Deepening interpersonal relationships
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And much more
That’s a pretty impressive list of accomplishments for a system of touching rituals made up by one person based entirely on her own intuition. Unsurprisingly, however, there is absolutely no reliable evidence to support any of these claims. The TTouch web site claims, “We have also gathered a rich legacy of anecdotal evidence to support the effectiveness of TTouch to enhance personal wellness and quality of life” without any apparent recognition that this is meaningless in terms of validating the claims made for the treatment (see discussion of anecdotal evidence below).
However, as is so often the case, there is an understanding on the part of those selling quackery that science has marketing value and people want to believe that such a powerful, life-changing treatment has been scientifically validated, even if they rely primarily on anecdotes to judge the practice themselves. So there is a page devoted to “Research and Studies.”
Nothing could illustrate more clearly the contempt and lack of understanding of science than the collection of links grouped under this heading. They consist almost entirely of anecdotes dressed up as science. Uncontrolled case reports or case series with no placebo control, subjective measures of effective, and little to no effort to account for chance and bias are the meat and potatoes of faux science used to promote rather than investigate alternative therapies.
The few links that lead to actual scientific research concern only the effects of touch in general. While there is evidence that some domesticated animal species seek human touch and that they both appear to enjoy it and exhibit physiologic responses that support this interpretation, that says nothing about the validity of the grand claims made for TTouch. Gentle touching almost certainly does have calming effects and generates real physiologic responses in domestic animals. But this gives us no reason to think the specific methods of Tellington TTouch are superior to, or any different at all, from ordinary petting or that there is any mystical energy involved. And it certainly does not justify claims to improve the healing of serious, even “life-threatening” disease!
Ultimately, TTouch is just one in a seemingly endless collection of magic rituals invented and successfully marketed by one individual based entirely on wishful thinking and anecdotes. There is no reason to think it has any more value than any gentle, kind touch, or that it can prevent or treat disease. TTouch is, however, a marvelous illustration of an impressive number of Warning Signs of Quackery. Here are a few of the items on Dr. Walt’s list that appear just on the first few pages of the TTouoch web site:
Is the product or practice promoted as a “Major Breakthrough,” “Revolutionary,” “Magic,” or “Miraculous”?
Do the promotions try to simply elicit an emotional reaction rather than present clear information to help you make an informed decision about the product?
Is only anecdotal or testimonial evidence used to support claims of effectiveness?
Are claims made about scientific support without giving specific details?
Is the information about the therapy or product being provided by a professional lacking in the proper credentials?
Are technical words used without a clear definition?
Would a treatment require you to abandon any well-established scientific laws or principles?
Is the treatment said to be effective for a wide variety of unrelated physiological problems?
Is the product a quick and easy fix for a complicated and frustrating condition?
Do proponents use statements that are basically true but unrelated to the therapy?
Does the proponent disguise the truth with vague and misleading statements?
A Word about Anecdotes and Testimonials
As has happened for every other product or practice I have criticized on this blog, I have no doubt I will receive a steady trickle of comments about TTouch saying, in essence, “I tried it and it worked” or “How can all those people who have used it be wrong?” I will try to pre-empt some of this by referring readers to this collection of articles explaining why anecdotes and testimonials prove absolutely nothing.
- They are unreliable because uncontrolled observation is very prone to error and misinterpretation.
- There is a bias in the posting of testimonials. People with positive experiences are more likely to share them than people with negative experiences, so they misrepresent what people are actually experiencing.
- Similar testimonials can be found to support every single treatment ever invented, including those proven to be useless or even harmful. If we accept testimonials as evidence, than everything works. It’s a test no treatment ever fails.
- Tens of thousands of year of trial-and-error and anecdote led to virtually no improvement in human health and longevity. A mere couple of centuries of relying on science instead has double our life expectancy, dramatically reduced death, disease, and suffering, and proven that science work better than stories.
I encourage you to read these articles that discuss in much more detail why anecdote simply don’t help us evaluate medical treatments.
Why We’re Often Wrong Testimonials Lie
The Role of Anecdotes in Science-Based Medicine
Why We Need Science: “I saw it with my own eyes” Is Not Enough
Don’t Believe your Eyes (or Your Brain)
I am not sure that it matters how you do it, but slow firm petting does release oxytocin in both dogs and humans, there controlled studies on this. Also, when I have a long massage on my back, I can hardly move afterwards and it feels like I have had a load of Valium from the released endorphins. As the muscles and nerves are very similar in this respect, I can well believe that good slow firm petting on the back, thighs and shoulders will release endorphins in the dog and the dog will get a FeelGood feeling, just like humans. And the FeelGood may help pain and depression temporarily. But that is as far as it goes I think, everything else I agree with the Skeptvet.
curious as to when the ‘theory’ of research practiced by fallible and prejudiced humans became ‘factual’,,, interestingly, many ‘factual’ historical and scientific hypotheses, pre-suppositions, conjectures etc etc become disproved time and again. Perhaps someday Science might invent instruments capable of measuring thermographic and electro-magnetic fields of cells, or even ofatomic particles, which are undergoing changes caused by as-yet-un-measurable frequencies delivered by either living being or human-designed instrument? have you ever experienced massage therapy or cranio-sacral therapy? have you heard of PTSD and the various modalites developing to assist the treatment of PTSD. Have you heard of Remote Viewing, used by the military in the 20th century, techniques of which are being revealed just recently? thankfully, many scientists are willing to remove the myopic monacles. Have you heard of the Neuro-scientist Ms. Candace Pert? interesting studies for the interested scientist.
Yes, I did say that there is evidence that touch has measurable physiologic and behavioral effects on some domestic animals, so this is the sort of relationship I was referring to. The problem with TTouch is that it tries to distinguish itself as special, different from ordinary touch and with dramatic healing properties, when there is no reason to think it is anything other than regular petting.
Basically, what you’ve just said is that 1. If science can’t demonstrate it exists I am allowed to claim it does without proof, 2. Because science is sometimes wrong sometimes anything that contradicts science or lacks scientific evidence to support it has to be treated as if it were true, and 3. There actually is scientific evidence to support what I believe (which is both hypocritical, given 1 and 2 and also disingenuous since it means paying attention only to the scientific evidence that agrees with what you already believe). All of this is just a way of getting special treatment for beliefs you hold so that they don’t have to prove themselves by a method that has worked dramatically better than any other and that has given us unprecedented relief from disease and suffering. Not convincing.
And if you think there is any legitimacy to “remote viewing,” then you’re completely in fantasy land.
Appreciating the time and energy you put into your blog and detailed information you offer. It’s awesome to come across a blog every once in a while that isn’t the same unwanted rehashed material. Great read!.
I’m wondering what you think about “thunder shirts?”
I attended a TTouch seminar a decade ago (before the thunder shirt was made and marketed to the public), and the only thing that made any sense to me were suggestions to help fearful dogs or those with anxiety by having them wear a t-shirt or by wrapping an Ace bandage around the body and back legs.
At the time I had a border collie afraid of thunder. The t-shirt had no effect, and wrapping an ace bandage was too cumbersome. However, I did purchase a tight fitting (with lycra) shirt with straps that went around the back leg (it was said that dogs “hold stress in their back legs). I think it was called an anxiety wrap. I was greatly surprised how calm my boy seemed (that is, his behavior changed: he didn’t crawl up on me and try to melt into my skin) while wearing it during thunder,
However, even though the wrapping was talked about at the TTouch seminar, my understanding was that it was not based on TTouch philosophy but rather information from Temple Grandin’s “squeeze machine” and deep pressure stimulation.
It could have been my imagination, but it seemed that the straps around the legs were what produced the affect (real or imagined!), considering the t-shirt didn’t work (but perhaps it wasn’t snug enough?), so I didn’t think the thunder shirts would be effective because it wraps only around the body and not the back legs.
I realize my anecdotal evidence of my one experience doesn’t show anything, so I was wondering if there had been any testing of the efficacy of anxiety wraps or the thunder shirt and what are your thoughts about it? More mumbo jumbo? (:
Enjoying your posts!
lee
Ugh. Wish there were an edit button to make corrections to my post.
lw
A guest author wrote a post on the subject of pressure wraps a while ago. In general, the evidence for their efficacy is pretty weak, so they might or might not be helpful and they probably do no harm.
Thank you! I look forward to reading the article.
Because I just recently “found” you and this website from a RT on twitter, it looks as if I have a lot of reading to catch up on! (:
As an aside, when at the dentist I always request the heavy vest for blocking x-rays after I noticed my discomfort rising when the vest was removed. It seems the “pressure” slightly helped my anxiety, but by my behavior (squinty eyes and white knuckles on the chair) probably didn’t change.
So, without the English language for dogs to tell us how they’re feeling and with only observable behavior to judge, perhaps there’s some difference just not one we humans may know about. Maybe? Possibly? (:
Thanks again for answering!
Evaluating subjective feelings and experiences in non-human animals is one of the great challenges not only of animal behavior but veterinary medicine. It is all too easy to project our feelings and expectations onto our pets, and it is difficult to objectively assess how they feel. We know that owners and vets will, for example, believe that dogs with arthritis feel better even when it turns out the dogs are actually being given a placebo that isn’t doing anything. This makes it important to be as objective as we can in assessing how our animals respond to the things we do so we don’t simply fool ourselves into believing we have helped them when we haven’t.
You might find this article interesting:
Caregiver Placebo Effects: New Study Shows that Owners and Vets Often Believe an Ineffective Therapy is Working When it Isn’t
Thank you for this!
Good article and I couldn’t have said it better myself.
I confess from the start that I do sincerely believe that there are things in this world that can have an effect on us, and on animals that we cannot yet explain with science, and some of those things have in fact been studied by science and been shown to be effective, though the scientists couldn’t explain why.
What I despise is the fact that there are people who invent things and then package them up and sell them for a lot of money. They charge money in order to teach individuals to become “practitioners” of whatever it is they are selling, who in turn, once “qualified” can do the same to other individuals. In my view it’s a money making machine and sadly, there is no shortage of people out there who like to invent stuff like this and persuade people that it’s something real.
I came upon your posts/blog accidentally while searching to do another T-Touch Seminar. I attended two many years ago. What ever Linda does is magic. I have worked with animals all my life and I have never seen a person who connected and trained an animal as quickly and gently as her! I saw her work with a deaf Great Dane and all the students watched in amazement as in about 30 minutes she trained this deaf, giant dog to obey commands with gentle tugs with the harness. We also had a couple show up with a very aggressive dog that none of the students wanted to work with that day. By the end of the afternoon he was a changed animal. We all could walk right up to him and pet him and he did not growl any more or show his teeth. I saw several other demonstrations and have used many of her techniques over the years and most have been successful. If you have never seen Linda work – I suggest you do. I am a skeptic, a scientist and an animal lover. She is amazing!
I have been to a few TTouch sessions with my nervous hound and I felt a lot of it was mysticisim, and did not work for me, but I did find the lead stroking and the groundwork – similar to horse groundwork really helped him, I did not think wrapping him in a bandage made any difference – he does not react well to tight things around his body. I guess you can take from it what works for you and your animal.
I love this. As a highly trained, highly experienced Horse Riding Instructor, I’m constantly dumbfounded at not only the lofty claims of horse “”whisperers” but the complete lack of cynicism with its followers. Im surrounded by quacks. It seems that if you can move a horse with your “energy” (your not, your moving it with your body language, as subtle as that may be, and I can do it easily because I’ve studied horse body language and behaviour, not because I’m a horse whisperer!), or you can communicate with your horse by “being” and “letting go of expectation” (you might do that but hey, the horse sees you relax in your body language and therefore feels that your removing pressure and so relaxes) then you can charge twice as much as a qualified Instructor! It’s become a whole new playing field of projection, and does help the horse, but no more than clarity of training. Today, I had a client tell me she has employed an animal communicator to see what her horse wants to tell us. Good lord. It’s simple. The horse is saying “just be clear and consistent, kind, remove pressure when I do the right thing, make sure my saddle and tack fits and keep me well. Make sure I go back to my friends because Im a herd animal and yes a carrot would be great thanks!’ SCIENCE!!!!!
I’m a great believer in the benefits of Ttouch and dismiss entirely your ‘quack’ theories. I have studied it and used it to great success, not only on my own dogs, but assisting dogs of friends etc..
Oh, well if you believe in it and think. it works, then I guess the rest of us can stop thinking for ourselves. or worrying about science and evidence.
The truth as I see it is that T T is merely massage. Any animal or person will respond to gentle massage and words which normally has a calming effect. It is not some magical or mysterious system that is “different”. Anyone can do it without needing to actually go somewhere and learn it.
Someone mentioned the wraps etc. These do I believe derive from the relief that Temple Grandin felt when she invented her squeeze machine and I believe other people with autism have experienced the same relief when wrapped up in something tight.
So as far as wrapping a dog in a Thundershirt or stretchy material then I am happy to agree that this might work and it appears that some people have a lot of success with it. I don’t think TT invented this at all as far as I can see – surely they just took the idea from Temple?
It seems there is always a new “alternative therapy” for everything and in order to participate in said alternative therapy people are persuaded to part with their money to experience it or learn how to do it.
What I despise is people who think they have invented some miraculous thing and then charge people a substantial amount of money per session to administer it. Worse still, they also charge people large sums of money to learn it and once those people have learned it, they can then do the same. They can then give themselves some sort of title which makes them sound important.
Now – let me say up front that though I am a born sceptic I believe very strongly that there are things in this world that we have yet to explain but I always look for the most logical explanation first. In my opinion the most logical explanation for TT is that it works as massage would work on human or animal and that is all it is.
Thank you. I found a woo woo Facebook post to on TT and so googled it plus using the word sceptic. Found your article. Great article and website. Thanks for the antcidotal links at the bottom of the article. Great recource.
Maybe you should just try it yourself and see the outcome…. ???
Besides, it is not only touching there is much more behind the tecniques of the method although this is not even mentioned.
You say that petting everybody can do it. Sure we all do, but there are different ways of petting. DOing it without even thinking nor feeling or really being aware of your movements and aware of how your animal is responding. More important is to get the owner to be aware of the response of the dog instead of petting without knowing whether your animal likes it or not .
Nope, “try it for yourself” is not a reliable alternative to legitimate scientific testing. Anecdotes are simply misleading-
Here’s a bit more on why:
Have you tried all the methods you criticize for yourself? How can you know if something works or not without trying it?
A core belief that seems to run through all kinds of alternative medicine is that personal experience is the best way to evaluate a medical treatment. This is the central issue that divides scientific medicine from pseudoscience and faith-based medicine. If you believe that the personal experience of pet owners and veterinarians is as reliable, or even better than, objective scientific research, then nothing I say in this blog is going to make any sense to you.
I am often criticized for being arrogant, for thinking that just because I have studied the scientific evidence I know better than people who have practiced or used alternative medicine for years. The truth is that arrogance is believing our own perceptions and impressions are trustworthy and sticking with what we believe regardless of the amount of evidence against it. True humility lies in recognizing our limitations and acknowledging that we are easily fooled, especially by ourselves. We see what we want and expect to see, we notice facts that support our beliefs and ignore those that contradict us, and we cannot suspend or compensate for our own biases just by willpower and honest intentions. Sure, I’ve tried some alternative therapies, and some seemed to help while others didn’t. But I know enough to know that that is not how I should decide whether or not they work!
The history of medicine makes it clear that the scientific method is not simply one of many equally valid ways of looking at heath and disease. It is a more effective way because it compensates for the innate flaws in human perception and judgment. In only a couple hundred years, science has allowed us to double the average life expectancy of human beings (at least where modern nutrition, sanitation, and healthcare practices are available), eliminate some diseases all together (such as smallpox), and make other improvements in health and well-being that were never achieved in the thousands of years we relied on intuition, tradition, and individual experience to evaluate the causes and treatments of disease and the best ways to maintain health. Pre-scientific medicine persisted in practices such as bloodletting, purging, and the use of toxic “natural” medicines such as mercury because they seemed to be effective, although they actually did more harm than good.
In the modern era, many practices that patients and doctors believed were effective based on personal experience and judgment turned out, when studied scientifically, to be worthless or even harmful. Mammary artery ligation surgery and arthroscopic debridement and lavage of arthritic joints are a couple of examples in human medicine. And there are just as many examples in veterinary medicine. For years we gave antibiotics to young cats with blood in their urine because we thought they had urinary tract infections. They almost always got better on the medication, so the vet got the credit and everybody was happy. Unfortunately, controlled scientific researched showed that the cats didn’t really have infections and they would get better just as often and just as fast if we didn’t give them antibiotics, and without the risk of vomiting and diarrhea from the medication.
Personal experience and anecdotes are incredibly powerful and persuasive. They just aren’t reliable guides to the what really works and what doesn’t. And the hardest part of accepting science-based medicine, and all the remarkable successes that have come from it, is having the humility to acknowledge that what seems obvious to us isn’t necessarily so.
In regards to the thundershirt, I am not covinced that it is doing anything other than overshadowing other stimuli. While this may not be a bad thing in the case of certain unavoidable anxiety disorders but I wonder what a pulse rate or cortisol study would show.
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