She Spent Decades Listening to Babies: A NICU Nurse on Healing Touch, Energy & Coherence

What can babies teach us when we learn to listen without relying on words?

In this episode of The Energy Healing Podcast, Leila Briggs sits down with longtime nurse, Healing Touch practitioner and instructor Rita Kluny to explore what decades of working with babies have taught her about energy, healing, presence, and coherence.

Rita's journey began long before the NICU. A spiritual awakening in nature, an unexpected experience with healing, and her return to nursing eventually led her to the American Holistic Nurses Association—and to Healing Touch founder Janet Mentgen. Rita would go on to complete her Healing Touch training with Janet and become one of the early instructors teaching the work throughout the Atlantic Seaboard.

At the same time, Rita was working in neonatal intensive care.

Those two worlds eventually came together.

Rita shares how an experience with a newborn during her Healing Touch training helped shape her path and led colleagues to begin seeking her guidance about working with babies. In 2000, she created Healing Touch for Babies and later expanded her work through the study of pre- and perinatal psychology.

But Rita's work with babies isn't simply about technique.

She describes babies as “masters in coherence”—deeply sensitive to the state of the people around them. That means working with a baby may begin before we ever place our hands near them. It may begin by noticing what we are bringing into the interaction ourselves.

Rita explores what a baby's crying can stir within us, why our own regulation matters, and the difference between trying to stop a baby's distress and remaining present enough to witness it.

She also shares the ideas behind her book, Your Baby Remembers, her personal exploration of her own earliest experiences, and how that journey ultimately changed the way she understood her mother.

Rita began practicing Healing Touch at a time when energy medicine was often met with skepticism and even ridicule within healthcare. Decades later, both the conversation and the field have changed considerably.

Her story leaves us with an intriguing question:

If babies are communicating long before they have words, what might we discover when we become coherent enough to listen?

What You'll Hear in This Episode

How a spiritual awakening in nature first opened Rita to healing and energy
The unexpected experience that made Rita wonder whether she could work with healing energy herself
How nursing and the American Holistic Nurses Association eventually led her to Healing Touch
What it was like learning Healing Touch directly from Janet Mentgen
Rita's role as one of the early Healing Touch instructors
What she encountered when bringing energy medicine into healthcare decades ago
How her nursing career in neonatal intensive care intersected with Healing Touch
The newborn case study that became a pivotal experience in Rita's practitioner journey
Why colleagues began turning to Rita with questions about working with babies
How Healing Touch for Babies developed
Why Rita added pre- and perinatal psychology to her work
What Rita means when she describes babies as “masters in coherence”
Why babies may not need language to respond to the state of the people around them
How a baby's crying can activate our own reactions and experiences
Why practitioners may need to tend to their own state before approaching a baby
The difference between trying to stop distress and being present with a baby through it
How parents and practitioners can communicate safety, acceptance, and presence
The ideas behind Rita's book Your Baby Remembers
How exploring her own early experiences changed Rita's understanding of her mother
Why Rita believes working consciously with babies can be mutually beneficial
What decades of working with babies taught Rita about energy, healing, and coherence

Episode Chapters & Timestamps

00:00 Meet Rita Kluny
03:15 A Spiritual Awakening in Nature
04:00 Discovering Healing Before Knowing What It Was
05:00 Finding Healing Touch & Janet Mentgen
07:00 Birth, Nature & Putting Women Back at the Center
08:45 Learning Healing Touch Directly From Janet Mentgen
10:45 Healing Touch, Science & the Early Skepticism Around Energy Medicine
12:45 Teaching Healing Touch Despite Ridicule
14:00 When Healing Touch Entered the NICU
15:00 The Baby Case Study That Changed Rita's Path
19:30 Creating Healing Touch for Babies
20:00 Bringing Pre- & Perinatal Psychology Into the Work
20:30 Why Rita Calls Babies “Masters in Coherence”
22:30 What a Crying Baby Can Stir Within Us
23:30 Witnessing a Baby's Pain Instead of Simply Trying to Stop It
24:30 Why Our Own State Matters First
25:45 Babies, Families & Energetic Entrainment
28:00 Your Baby Remembers
30:30 Connection & Bonding Before Birth
31:00 Rita's Memories of the Womb
32:00 Early Memory, Compassion & Healing With Her Mother
35:30 Remembering Her Own Birth
39:00 Why Rita Still Misses Working With Babies
40:30 Healing, Early Experiences & Developing Patterns
41:30 What Babies Can Teach Us About Coherence

About Our Guest

Rita Kluny, RN, HTCP

Rita Kluny is a longtime nurse, Healing Touch practitioner and instructor whose work has included neonatal and pediatric intensive care, Healing Touch education, and decades of experience working with babies and families.

Rita completed her Healing Touch training with Healing Touch founder Janet Mentgen and became one of the early instructors teaching Healing Touch Levels 1 and 2 throughout the Atlantic Seaboard.

Her experience in neonatal intensive care eventually led her to explore how Healing Touch techniques could be adapted when working with babies. In 2000, she created Healing Touch for Babies and later expanded her education through pre- and perinatal psychology.

Rita is also the author of Your Baby Remembers, which explores prenatal and perinatal research alongside her own experiences and insights from working with babies and families.

Your Baby Remembers By Rita Kluny RN

About Your Host

Leila Briggs is the host of The Energy Healing Podcast, presented by the Healing Touch Program. A Healing Touch Certified Practitioner since 2015, Leila brings a lifetime of intuitive experience into grounded, heart-centered conversations about energy healing and lived spiritual practice.

The Energy Healing Podcast explores the world of Healing Touch through practitioner stories, education, research, and real-life experiences. Whether you're discovering energy healing for the first time, exploring your own healing journey, or considering becoming a practitioner, each episode offers practical insight and thoughtful conversations designed to help you discover, experience, and learn Healing Touch.

About the Podcast

The Energy Healing Podcast explores the world of Healing Touch through practitioner stories, education, research, real-life healing experiences, and healthcare perspectives. Hosted by Leila Briggs, the show helps people discover, experience, and learn Healing Touch—from first curiosity through practitioner education, certification, and professional practice.

Disclaimer

The information shared in this episode is provided for educational purposes only and is not intended as medical advice or as a substitute for professional medical diagnosis, treatment, or care. Experiences described by guests are personal accounts and should not be interpreted as evidence that Healing Touch cures or treats a particular medical condition. Healing Touch is intended to complement, not replace, conventional medical care. Always consult a qualified healthcare provider regarding medical concerns and take responsibility for your own health and well-being.

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