I'm not a touchy-feely type at all. Nor is my therapist. But we hug every session sometimes at the beginning and the end. He always asks me for permission. And if I'm having a difficult session he draws up close to me and asks to if he can touch my hand. I don't feel that any boundary issues are being confused by this at all. He truly cares about me and likes to comfort me. A brief but secure bear hug is a great ritual greeting and ending. There have been times when we don't do this and I don't really miss it. It's not like I count on it. It's just part of how we interact.

I'm surprised to read that so many have no touch at all with their therapists. It seems like something that would arise spontaneously as people became closer in working together. And though people talk about boundaries, I can't really see how a short hug changes actual boundaries. Boundaries about what exactly? Maybe because my therapist is also a doctor, he feels less bound to reinforce certain codes that others may have been trained in. He is secure with his professional status as an MD and he knows that I am clear about the rules and boundaries of therapy so it seems like it would be following a rule book rather than being natural.