Cuddle Therapist

As we sat on the sofa, the man I'd just met leaned against me and I began to play with his hair. I asked if he wanted a cuddle and we hugged, before lying down close together so his forehead was touching the side of my face. Then I put my arms around him and felt his tense body melt into mine. After an hour, he got up to leave and asked me when he could see me again. But this wasn't a date – we were in my treatment room in Manchester, where I work as a professional cuddle therapist, charging £70 for an hour's session. It was 2021, and three years before, I'd had no idea that cuddle therapy even existed. One day, I was watching an episode of Law & Order, in which two detectives burst into a room where a woman was cuddling a man. The plaque on her desk said she was a 'cuddle therapist'. Intrigued, I Googled it and found it was a common therapy in America used to treat stress, loneliness and other mental health conditions. At the time, I was working in London as a nanny and was naturally caring. Cuddling children calmed them, so I could see how it could relax adults, too. I found Cuddle Professionals International, through which I was able to study for a diploma to be an accredited cuddle therapist. It cost £125 and was a mixture of online and in-person training, all done at my own pace. I was taught how to discuss boundaries and concerns before a session started, and to ask how the person liked to be cuddled and touched. Did they want their hair or face to be stroked first? And did they want a standing, sitting or lying-down hug, or a mix? I also learned the science behind why touch is so calming – it stimulates dopamine and serotonin, which lowers levels of stress and triggers the release of oxytocin, calming the nervous system. Touch also helps lower blood pressure and may help relieve pain, too.

Anikó Rose, 42, is a cuddle therapist and lives in Manchester. She explains how she helps clients through non-sexual physical touch therapy.