The Integrative Touch Healing Center

Isolation and trauma during rare illness is one of the most prevalent yet unaddressed issues for children who suffer and their families and caretakers. Integrative Touch was founded in 2005 to address the gap in the rare or chronic disease healing process: healing does not stop when the patient leaves the hospital, and a lack of attention to this holistic healing process affects the patients, their families, their caretakers, and ultimately healthcare systems in the form of costs. People affected by rare diseases already undergo costly diagnostic journeys, and InTouch is a solution for more effective treatment and, thus, better outcomes. InTouch is dedicated to deep, meaningful healing that transforms lives, and our programs reflect that. This center will serve as a safe haven for those in the community who are facing challenging medical circumstances, their families, their caregivers, and all who are touched by these hardships. At the Healing Center, everyone is entitled to care; we will never turn anyone away. 

Integrative Touch’s visionary InTouch Healing Center is a hub for transformative community healing. At the Integrative Touch Healing Center, we provide a wide array of healing modalities, ensuring our patients can receive care as unique as their circumstances. Some of these therapies include gentle massage, guided imagery, Healing Touch, meditation, acupressure, breathing techniques, play therapy, and more. However, the star of the show is Integrative TouchTM therapy, a revolutionary therapy pioneered by our founder after working with kids with special medical needs for over 20 years. The Healing Center also houses our community projects, including healing retreats & circles, and our Kids Compassion Camp. InTouch Healing Circles include day-long retreats offered at our Healing Center. Children and families participate in integrative therapy sessions, workshops, and support during the Healing Circles. Our Kids Compassion Camp allows local Tucson youth to give back to the community by becoming one of our camp counselors that oversee children who attend the camp, most of whom have complex medical needs. The Healing Center allows us to bring transformative Integrative Medicine to thousands in Pima County and across Arizona. 

Through utilizing holistic therapies designed to produce long-term healing for the mind, body, and soul, our Healing Center helps families like Amy’s. Amy is the mother of one of the children we have provided healing services to, Emma. While in our care, Emma experienced a 60% reduction in pain and anxiety and a 52% increase in well-being. Here is what Amy had to say about their experience.

 “This treatment today was truly amazing and couldn’t have come at a better time. The therapist gave me some ideas and educated me on how to send positive healing thoughts and energy to my daughter. The therapist also helped me to relax and did a shoulder and neck massage. I’m reading the handout she gave me regarding different pressure points on the hand. This helps me focus on something more positive, which will ultimately help me and my daughter. After consulting her care team/specialists, I will be bringing in scents and music from home, healing my daughter with the power of loving touch. Thank you for visiting me today.”

At our Healing Center, we treat the whole family, not just the individual suffering from health and medical challenges. In doing this, we are able to deliver deep and meaningful healing that transforms lives. In assisting Amy, we also helped Emma. and vice versa. This is the model and principle we live by and practice.

Integrative Touch serves anyone whose life has been touched by pain, trauma, or illness, as well as caregivers of those who face these challenges daily. With the opening of the Healing Center, there is a place for people to come to experience our customized therapeutic approach that is changing the way people experience health and wellness, one connection at a time. 

We are proud to offer a customized therapeutic approach to caring for children, their families and caregivers, and those in our community who are facing complex medical issues - one connection at a time - through a variety of integrative treatments, online services, and in-person programs, all of which are housed at the Healing Center.  

The Healing Center has several key initiatives, including CCRS Palliative Care Clinics, Healing Retreats, and Community Clinics. This project (Community Clinics expansion) will make a significant, sustainable difference by addressing structural barriers to health and creating increased access to care. Our solution is sustainable because our community clinics will reach more suffering children, families, and caregivers through our Healing Center.

Integrative Touch (InTouch) takes a humanistic approach to philanthropy. This means we focus on the people we serve and on building and cultivating lasting human relationships that improve long-term health outcomes, rather than on providing short-lived material goods. At InTouch, we believe that relationship-based, human-centered care is at the heart of high-quality philanthropy and take pride in our humanistic model. Our programs reflect this philosophy, and it's why our programs are so effective.

Additionally, we currently have seven full-time staff members and a host of part-time employees who deliver the transformative care we offer. We also have over 450 dedicated volunteers-including physicians, nurses, integrative therapists, youth, & adults, who make our programs possible. They provide 10,000+ hours of volunteer service to the organization each year. We have also recruited our first AmeriCorps VISTA, who will be serving with our organization until the end of August 2023. By the end of her service, she will have provided over 2,000 hours of service to our organization. This is thanks to a grant that allows us to have a VISTA until August 2025. At InTouch, we recruit interns interested in gaining professional and compassionate experience. We also have 11 highly qualified board members who offer their expertise on one of our various committees. This framework allows InTouch to access a wide array of skills and expertise while remaining agile enough to focus on programs, program improvement, and organizational sustainability.

Furthermore, InTouch has many systems in place to ensure good governance, stable leadership, & organizational sustainability. We have both a Board of Directors, an Advisory Council, and a Governance Committee that lead the organization and offer visionary insight. Our Board of Directors and Advisory Council members are extremely engaged with the organization and serve on several of our committees. We currently have 10 committees that plan and support our organization in a variety of ways, they include Governance Committee, Integrative Medical Committee, Philanthropy Committee, Gala Committee, Research & Evaluation Committee, Finance Committee, Marketing Committee, Grants Committee, Podcast Committee, & the Education Committee.

InTouch is successful because every employee has a voice in the work they do. Equal collaboration between our staff has yielded a host of new & great ideas as well as a higher quality of work & programs. InTouch holds monthly lunches for staff & bi-annual retreats. The organization conducts quarterly performance evaluations and offers a number of professional development activities, including Wellness Training, monthly Wellness Stipends, monthly DEIA activities, & coaching in personal and professional development. All of these things, & more, have created a culture of caring, & support at InTouch. We are a people-first organization, which applies to our staff in addition to those we serve. This leads to great employee morale, & therefore strengthens our sustainability while lowering our turnover.

From providing connection, wellness, and healing to those in our community, to ensuring we have optimal organizational sustainability and accountability, we know that we are well-positioned to deliver this solution.

In just the last year, we’ve offered over 4,500 hours of service through our Telehealth programs, We’ve provided approximately  $100,000 in scholarships to frontline healthcare providers so they can develop skills to better manage stress and prevent burnout, but in order to continue to serve these groups, we can’t do it without the financial support of our generous donors. Demand for Integrative Touch’s services is higher than ever, and we need more resources than ever to keep up with this demand. 

We’ve expanded our reach—our services are no longer limited to the children we can visit at Diamond Children’s or at our community-based centers. InTouch’s touch is being felt around the world. We’ve served doctors from California to New York and kids and parents from Canada to Laos. Additionally, we have just opened the Healing Center, the outpatient center for all our programs and services. In order to provide more sessions and continue to serve those across the world who need us most, it’s crucial we increase our therapist base. Integrative Touch seeks to minimize its expenses wherever possible so as to have more funds for the things that directly go towards helping children, caregivers, and hospital workers feel better. To do this, we need your help through funding to ensure we have the capacity to run our programs effectively and ensure we are reaching everyone who is in need.

Integrative Touch (InTouch) was created when founder Shay Beider’s life was forever changed by one little girl in the hospital, who was frightened and alone as she was about to undergo surgery.

As a pre-med student, Shay witnessed this little girl go under anesthesia in a state of intense fear and in that moment something inside of her said, “No. It doesn’t have to be this way.” Shay understood the profound importance of caring for the whole child in body, mind, heart and spirit. Integrative Touch was founded to honor that little girl, to protect children from unnecessary suffering, and to address all aspects of the healing process. InTouch’s founder went on to create a new therapeutic approach called Integrative Touch™ Therapy, which is designed to treat deep pain and suffering and to facilitate transformative healing for anyone.

As Founder and CEO of Integrative Touch (InTouch) and the driving force behind Integrative Touch’s Health-caring wellness model, Shay is a sought-after international speaker and educator. With a focus on the positive impact of blending compassionate care and evidence-based medicine, Shay regularly consults on research studies and publishes in the field of integrative medicine for medical journals, textbooks, and magazines. Shay received the Women’s Studies Achievement Award from UCLA and is recognized by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation as a Pioneer for Children’s Wellbeing. Most recently, she was recognized by the Community Foundation for Southern Arizona as the 2020 recipient of the Civic Leadership Award, which honors individuals who are working to make Southern Arizona a more inclusive and welcoming place. Shay holds a master’s degree in public health from UCLA.