The Privilege to Touch and Enjoy
It all started one day, with a brainstorming discussion between Ilanit, Branca and Gila (me). We were talking about intimacy and the privilege to touch and enjoy.
But before I continue, let’s get acquainted with the three participants in this vibrant discussion:
Mrs. Ilanit Baum-Cohen (Msc.OT), an occupational therapist, is in charge of occupational therapy at the neuro-rehabilitation clinic and at the Parkinson’s disease (PD) rehabilitation unit, of the Sheba Medical Center in Israel. Mrs. Branca Tal (MSW) is a social worker, a couple therapist, and a sex therapist with broad experience in sexuality of people with disabilities. And me, Gila Bronner, one of the leading sex therapists in Israel, the director of the Sex Therapy Service at the Tel-Aviv Medical Center in Israel (also the former founder and director of the Sex Therapy Service at the Sheba Medical Center), and a world expert in sexuality and PD. I have also spoken at many MDS congresses and World Parkinson Congresses.
We all know that physical touch (like, hugging or cuddling) has a beneficial effect on health, by reducing stress, decreasing emotional pain, recharging optimism and energy, and improving the quality of life of everyone.
People with PD, as well as other persons who live with a disabling medical conditions, confront a variety of barriers obstructing their chances to experience intimate touch. These barriers include the shame to ask to be hugged, the shame to offer a cuddle, the belief that people with PD are not entitled to be physically close with their partners, the motor symptoms that impede a smooth and delicate touch, the instability that hampers a pleasurable embrace, and the fear to be rejected by a significant person.
However, the three of us had a robust and confident belief, that people who live with a chronic and progressive disease, as well as their partners, have the basic right to touch, to love, to be touched and feel good. This belief drove us to make a change, to send an important message to the world! We have decided to produce a guiding video “The Privilege to Touch and Enjoy”, demonstrating different types of touch, how to overcome “Off” episodes in PD, how to melt frozen masked faces, and how to express love in a delicate and effective way, without the need to say anything.
We found an Israeli couple, who volunteered to act out and demonstrate four scenes of touch. They were creative and cooperative, just the figures needed for such a sensitive project. Our volunteers were Tiki Adler-Raz, PhD, a couples therapist and an intimacy mentor and her husband Zeev Adler, a touch and massage instructor. (Note: Videos are in Hebrew.)
In the first part of the video we, the three experts give tips concerning communication, using cues to ignite a movement, and the importance of being patient. The video continues with four scenes acted by Tiki and Zeev, demonstrating how touch and massage are thawing frozen muscles in the body and the face. Focusing and planning in advance assist the person with Parkinson’s disease to move properly and hug his partner.
(Disclosure: the video was done in the Hebrew language. It can easily be translated to many other languages, by our Tel-Aviv Medical Center audio-video-film department).
Gila Bronner, MPH, MSW is a senior sex therapist, the director of the sex therapy domain at the Tel-Aviv Medical Center. She is the founder and the former director of the Sex Therapy Services, a researcher and a sex therapist at the Institute of Movement Disorders, at Sheba Medical Center in Israel. She has spoken at MDS congresses and at the World Parkinson Congresses.
Ideas and opinions expressed in this post reflect that of the author(s) solely. They do not necessarily reflect the opinions of the World Parkinson Coalition®