Their claim has failed some tests. TT is endorsed by major nursing organizations and is said to have 40,000 practitioners in North America who can palpably sense an energy field that extends some 10 centimeters beyond the surface of the skin. Treatment consists of manually smoothing the field. For 20 years therapists have focused on which ailments can be treated by TT, without first determining if anyone can really detect such a field. The spring issue of Scientific Review of Alternative Medicine reports a rare test of TT designed by James Randi.
More research is needed.
After each flip, they either did or didn't insert their arm into the sleeve. This was done to verify that the practitioner's skills were not being baffled by the test conditions. The practitioner did no better than random at telling if the arm was in the sleeve. They were asked if they would like to go on, and they refused. Randi says he did not test Therapeutic Touch practitioners until 1998 because of a lack of volunteers.