Abstract
Tactile touch is one of the complementary methods used in Child and Youth Psychiatry Clinics for youths suffering from anorexia nervosa. A qualitative study, aiming to describe how youths diagnosed with anorexia nervosa experienced tactile touch, was carried out. Ten youths, 16–25 years old, two men and eight women, participated. They received ten occasions of massage treatment, lasting 30 to 60 minutes. After the last treatment, an interview was undertaken. The interviews were tape recorded and analysed according to a qualitative method. The analysis contains the following three themes: «To feel relaxed», «To be aware of the body» and «To affirm the body». The results showed that the tactile touch had an influence on the ability to feel relaxed. The youths expressed that they sensed a feeling of existence during the massage. They also experienced a gaining feeling for the body. In everyday life, the massage influenced their capacity to sleep, as it helped to recall the feeling during the massage, which gave them a sense of relaxation. To conclude: tactile touch gives a sense of relaxation and offers a relief and a pause in the course of having anorexia nervosa