The mental health benefits of touch

Photo courtesy of Made for Life Organics

Although mental illness has represented a growing health crisis for some time in the UK, the recent Covid-19 pandemic has seen mental health problems become the single largest cause of disability.

However, a new report from The British Beauty Council, UK Spa Association, BABTAC and NHBF has comprehensively detailed the many positive effects that personal care services – such as spa therapies – can have on mental health, productivity and life expectancy.

The Effects of Personal Care Services on Mental Health and Wellbeing report also reveals that there is a huge opportunity now to support the National Health Service (NHS) and relieve the pressures linked to mental ill-health by incorporating personal care services, as part of a toolkit for social prescription and solutions within existing public health medical services.

Dr Neil Carpenter, NMC2

We spoke to the report’s creators, Dr Neil Carpenter of NMC2 (main interview), Yvonne Ebdon, general manager of the UK Spa Association and Helena Grzesk, COO of The British Beauty Council, to find out more.

What were the most surprising findings from your report?

Firstly, the fact that massage and touch therapies were considered to be mainstream medical interventions right up until the Second World War. It has only been in the last 70 years that the use of drugs has taken over for most medical interventions. Touch therapy has been relegated to the ‘alternative therapy’ category with the associated view they are not scientifically or evidence-based.

The Effects of Personal Care Services on Mental Health and Wellbeing report

The second most interesting finding was the amount of scientific evidence there is showing the benefits of touch therapy in mental illness and cancer care. That is not to mention the cost-effective nature of these interventions and the amazing payback they can deliver.

It is clear from the report that using touch therapy could have a massive benefit to the nation’s mental health; significantly reduce the £105bn (€123bn) costs associated with mental health; and increase our productivity through, in part, reducing the 17.6 million days lost each year in sick leave.

What should be addressed first?

Globally, there is lots of evidence that touch therapy works. However, the National Institute for Clinical Excellence (NICE) refuses to support its use in the UK in all but a few areas, typically around muscle problems. Their argument is that the clinical trials that have taken place have not been to the right standard.

With the pivotal role of NICE in approving therapies, these trials have to take place but the issue is how they can be funded. Currently our industry doesn’t really align to any of the research councils.

Photo courtesy of Made for Life Organics

The UK government has only recently recognised the importance of the industry and given us our own dedicated Personal Care Sector team, and we are currently closely working with the Department for Business, Energy & Industrial Strategy to identify the best avenue to move forward with this and create a robust plan.

The other key recommendation is around recognition of training. Spa therapists need to be able to have a training pathway to Degree, Masters or even doctorate standard.

How does the evidence show that touch therapy, as well as massage, can reduce mental health problems?

Traditionally, it has been difficult to quantify the benefits of touch therapy. However, as analysis technologies have improved, especially in areas like Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI), Electroencephalography (EEG) and chemical analysis, it has been possible to demonstrate not only the medical benefits of massage therapy but the emotional and mental benefits too.

The report details the advantages across a range of mental health areas, but one example is very relevant to our NHS staff after the tireless efforts they have made throughout the pandemic.

A randomised controlled trial in Australia demonstrated the effectiveness of a 15-minute weekly massage in reducing physical and psychological stress in nurses.

The trial demonstrated that a course of massage therapy treatment provides similar benefits in magnitude to those of psychotherapy, with massage’s greatest achievements being in reducing trait anxiety and depression.

Why is massage therapy unsupported in the UK within the private and national health services?

We seem to be focused on drug therapies above all other interventions and the double-blind trials desired by NICE reinforce this. It is easy to describe how drug trials work with some patients being given a drug and others being given identical doses without the active ingredient. It is not so easy with touch therapy.

Photo courtesy of Made for Life Organics

The separation between public health and the NHS also mitigates against its use with public health being a local authority responsibility. With their budgets being devastated, there has not been the support for the joined up interventions that used to be seen, such as heart-attack victims being supported through exercise classes or diabetes patients receiving diet advice.

However, the route to change is very clear and relatively simple. The industry has to provide evidence to the benefits that NICE can support. Staff need to be given the appropriate skills, such as cancer touch therapy, for example. The cost-effective nature of touch therapy interventions can then be easily shown. As already happens with services like physiotherapy, whether the services are then sought through government or privately can be up to individual.

Why is it so important for the newly named personal services industry to develop higher level qualifications?

Firstly, it is important to recognise that many people join the personal care industry due to the perception of not being required to be academically focused and therefore training needs to be given in a way that is accessible to everyone. Hence the reason apprenticeships and the other industry qualifications are important.

If the industry truly wants to support health and wellbeing, then the level and quality of training provided to staff needs to improved. Whether this is hairdressers being trained as talk therapists, as they are often the person people start to talk to about problems, or massage therapists being able to recognise the signs of skin cancer. It is also worth saying that staff are being confronted with these situations now, often without the training and skills to address them, which is not good for their mental health either.

Finally, the Personal Care sector is often the biggest employer in deprived areas, where there is the most need for these services. Improving their ability to support their community will not only improve their businesses but also have a significant benefit on the communities themselves.

The UK Spa Association calls for more industry recognition

Yvonne Ebdon, general manager, UK Spa Association: “Spa is not presently perceived as the professional and credible industry it is, or one that makes a difference to individuals mental health via touch and massage therapy.

Yvonne Ebdon, general manager, UK Spa Association

“We need the recommended research and funding so that we can align ourselves with the social prescribing initiatives as we frame ourselves as ‘allied health care professionals’, supporting the health sector in mental and physical health.

“The research trials are needed to gain support from NICE and raise the credibility and perception of our sector and the people that work within it. This then goes full circle into UKSA’s ‘Work for Wellness’ campaign, which aligns us as a professional career opportunity.”

Why spa and hospitality leaders should read the report...

Helena Grzesk COO, British Beauty Council: “Recruitment and retention will be vital too. Businesses should ensure that they have a full suite of training opportunities available to upskill their workforce as part of their business plan.

Helena Grzesk COO, British Beauty Council

"Investment for people should also be within budgets. This will serve to strengthen the reputation of the industry and provide robust career paths for entry into careers in beauty therapy.”

“This is a huge opportunity for spa and wellness leaders to take action, not only to protect their businesses going forward but for the future of the industry as consumer demand shifts.

“This presents us with an exciting opportunity to review and assess what we do. We need to lead from the front, championing the many health and wellbeing benefits that our services bring.

Read the full report here:

https://britishbeautycouncil.com/ wp-content/uploads/2021/05/NMC2_ Mhealth-reportfinal.pdf The report was produced by: The British Beauty Council www.britishbeautycouncil.com UK Spa Association www.spa-uk.org BABTAC www.www.babtac.com NHBF www.www.nhbf.co.uk/home