This volume offers a collection of 12 essays by mostly British psychoanalysts or psychoanalytic-oriented psychotherapists, one paper by forensic psychotherapists, and one by a body psychotherapist. The authors hope to break the silence in our literature about the meaning and dynamic importance that touch has in our lives and may have when encountered in a therapeutic setting. The book is about sharing experiences, not about advocating any particular position. The authors-therapists embrace different theoretical persuasions as well as different therapeutic modalities. Most therapists, though, have had a classic psychoanalytic training. Some of their papers seem like a timid exploration into possible meanings that an experience of touch may have, be it only