Considering adding Reiki to you clinic?  Read more below.

If you are a Reiki healer, you may wonder if it’s feasible to add a healing modality such as Reiki to a clinic setting.  It is absolutely feasible and rewarding to offer Reiki in a clinical setting. 

In this post, I will offer my experience and some recommendations if you are considering performing Reiki in a clinical setting.

Gather Your Data

It helps to do some research on how Reiki has been tested clinically.  Leaders of organizations will need this information  in order to decide if Reiki is worth adding.

You can find free research articles in a number of places.  Here is a list of the databases I frequently use:

• Pubmed
• Google Scholar
• International Association of Reiki Professionals

These are resources where you can find research articles for scientific evidence of the efficacy of Reiki. You can simply type in any search you want in these databases and you should be able to have access to several articles that will be free.

I typically rely on PubMed because of the rigorous scientific process as required for any article to be listed on this database.

Google scholar is particularly helpful if you’re wanting to capture a large number of research articles.

The international association of Reiki professionals has collected several useful articles you can use for your own review as well as for literature to provide for organizational leaders.

Training Practitioners

Depending on the size and resources of any organization that’s considering adding reiki, it may be feasible to offer training through the organization. Most Reiki practitioner receipt training on their own. If they’re already trained the clinic or hospital May verify training by showing of a certificate.

Training individuals that are interested in Reiki should be fairly simple. Many courses can be completed within a few hours. Educating the staff of the availability of this training will likely be very pleasant as many individuals working in hospitals and clinics are natural empaths and will be attracted to this type of healing modality.

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Nuts and Bolts of Starting Practice

• Massage table or massage chair
• Recommended sanitation equipment such as hand sanitizer
• Option for distance session using teleconference or phone

There is very little need equipment to start making a practice. When I added Reiki to my own clinical practice I only added a few candles for aromatherapy. We opted to use the exam tables or a chair and dedicated one exam room for this treatment to share quiet.

Providing distance sessions especially during the pandemic is ideal. These could be scheduled just like any other appointment and would allow the client to remain in their home safely while they receive the treatment. From my experiences a physician is well as a Reiki practitioner, I would recommend offering distance sessions first.

Scheduling and Payment

In the United states, complementary treatments are rarely covered by insurance. Patients will need to be educated on this fact likely multiple times. Unfortunately, they will have to pay cash for their treatment. This is where the challenge will be the greatest. In a healthcare system where patients are not used to paying for cash up front for services, there will be resistance. However, if you are considering adding this treatment modality to your clinical setting, providing educational material, handouts, webinars will help the patients understand the value of this care.

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Should You try it?

Should You try it?

People suffering from fatigue have often sought all kinds of treatment. You may be wondering if you suffer from fatigue, is it worth it to consider Reiki?

Can Reiki help with fatigue

Using Reiki to heal fatigue, particularly Chronic Fatigue is a great idea. First, you want to make sure you have been evaluated to find all the reasons you have fatigue. I would recommend discussing your symptoms with your family physician or primary care provider.

I am always cautious when dealing with patients in my clinical practice or Reiki clients in terms of fatigue. In my experience, fatigue similar to insomnia, weight gain, and depression, it is often a symptom of some other condition. Although I do think it’s good to aim at treating fatigue as a standalone condition both practitioner and client need to realize that there are likely multiple underlying issues leading to the problem.

That being said, no matter what approach is taken eventually the person being treated needs to be offered a holistic solution. This may include medications, nutritional supplements, psychotherapy, and of course the subject we are discussing reiki.

When is Fatigue a problem?

There will be times we are all prone to feeling tired. This should happen daily, when it’s time to go to sleep. It may occur on a longer basis after a major life chance such as the birth of a child.

Chronic fatigue is defined as persistent undermitting fatigue that has been present for at least 3 months and usually 6 months. The diagnosis of chronic fatigue is not usually made until a complete work of has been done. Other conditions such as anemia, thyroid disease, malignancy or autoimmune disease need to be ruled out.

Getting to the Root of Fatigue

Fatigue needs to be fully evaluated since it can be a symptom of a serious disease. I always recommend talking to your physician about your fatigue even while your pursuing a holistic remedy such as Reiki.

Fatigue often is a symptom of anxiety or depression. This may likely come up during your evaluation. It is important not to be judgmental of yourself during this time. I’ve had many patients accept the diagnosis of depression or anxiety as a failure. This is not true of course. If your fatigue is a results of depression and anxiety, it simply means your disease is coming mostly from your neurological symptom rather than a condition of the body.

Reiki and Fatigue clinical evidence

Reiki can help with fatigue. Recently, while preparing for talk, I discovered two papers that showed Reiki can help with fatigue.

Individuals being treated for cancer have fatigue that often has no obvious treatment. Cancer is taxing in a number of ways. Cancer is hypermetabolic tissue, meaning it is using more or the body’s resources than other tissues. Treatments for cancer or also taxing. Side effects of radiation, chemotherapy and surgery are common unfortunately.

A small study conducted in Canada “suggests that Reiki treatments are moderately effective at reducing CRF [Cancer Related Fatigue] and may have more broad-ranging effects on overall quality of life.” ¹ A healing modality such as Reiki can and should be offered to patients as it will not cause harm and offers additional treatment options

A study completed in a rural academic center showed that as compared to massage, “Reiki showed a statistically greater improvement for fatigue and anxiety compared with massage therapy.²” Patients being hospitalized are under the highest stress levels imaginable. Being subjected to treatments as well as disrupted sleep increase stress levels to a point that any illness may be made worse.

What to expect using Reiki for Fatigue

If you are considering Reiki to help with fatigue, I would recommend getting at least 3-6 sessions. Fatigue, similar to insomnia, is often a symptom, so while you are starting your Reiki treatments, you should purse medical care to rule out issues such as anemia, vitamin deficiency as well as if you need testing for anxiety and depression.

Many people have a healing reaction after treatment with Reiki. Its typical to actually feel more tired or sleep more after treatment. I advise clients to allow for more time to rest after they’ve started a treatment course with Reiki.

If you are a Reiki practitioner, you may consider treating yourself in the mornings. Using the Mental/Emotional Technique for even 5 minutes in the mornings will likely bring some relief. Preferably, you should attempt to do full treatments on yourself. Consider journaling as well. I often use my journal to help me understand my on energy blocks after a self treatment session.

1. Tsang, K. L., Carlson, L. E., & Olson, K. (2007). Pilot crossover trial of Reiki versus rest for treating cancer-related fatigue. Integrative cancer therapies, 6(1), 25–35. https://doi.org/10.1177/1534735406298986
2. Vergo, M. T., Pinkson, B. M., Broglio, K., Li, Z., & Tosteson, T. D. (2018). Immediate Symptom Relief After a First Session of Massage Therapy or Reiki in Hospitalized Patients: A 5-Year Clinical Experience from a Rural Academic Medical Center. Journal of alternative and complementary medicine (New York, N.Y.), 24(8), 801–808. https://doi.org/10.1089/acm.2017.0409

Are there risks with Reiki? 

People curious about Reiki wonder if there are any risks associated with the treatment.  Many treatments have  benefits (which is what we want) and risks (unintended consequences of treatment).  Reiki is one of the safest healing modalities I am aware of.  I am used to prescribing medications which have considerable side effects that can be dangerous.  Any treatment can cause harm, but the question is can Reiki cause harm?

Adverse Reaction to Reiki

Emotional Release

Many people come to a Reiki session hoping for a session of relaxation.  Many clients will enjoy a relaxing session in which they drift into a light sleep or meditative state.  Some clients will not have such a peaceful session.  Reiki unblocks energy in the body, mind, and spirit.  Depending on the person’s experience,  some may have very strong emotional releases with crying or yelling.

Physical Sensations

It is fairly common to have physical sensations during a Reiki session.  Many individuals notice sensations of warmth, coolness, tingling or buzzing.  It is also very common to have muscle twitch briefly as the body makes adjustments.  Reiki is helping the body heal itself, so in particular those with painful joints may feel small movements in the affected area. 

Unfortunately, it is possible to have uncomfortable sensations that may interrupt the session.  When I’ve treated others, I’ve had clients become nauseous, vomit, or have pain.  Pain during the session may be alleviated by readjusting on the Reiki table.

Personally, when I receive Reiki sessions, it’s not unusual for me to have to use the restroom during the session as my body detoxes negative energies. 

Healing Reaction After Treatment

I advise all clients, new and returning, that there may be a delayed healing reaction.  I instruct clients after a session to avoid strenuous activities for at least 24 hours and to drink plenty of water.  The body’s energy has undergone major shifts.  This may lead to fatigue, sleepiness, or even cold-like symptoms.  I feel that it is best to let the body settle as well as the mind.

My clients frequently report vivid dreams after the session.  Many of my clients report  taking long naps after their session.  I’ve had clients who could not rest after the session but they seem to do okay.

When Reiki Doesn’t Work

Reiki simply may not work.  If the reason that brought a person to Reiki is severe, or the client is not completely open, Reiki may be ineffective. In this situation, money and time have been lost.  However, I would advise these clients to give it more time as the healing effect may be delayed.  I have had clients that did not respond and try additional treatments.  In these instances, there seems to be a response.

Understanding Expectations

In the previous podcasts, the Limits of Reiki, I discuss expectations coming to Reiki.  Reiki does not replace medical treatment.  Reiki can help any condition, but a severe condition that is rapidly getting worse will not likely respond to Reiki.  

Many individuals may seek Reiki out of desperation.  These individuals should be counseled that they may be experiencing a shock or grief response.  In these cases, I often ask for the individual to wait before deciding to initiate Reiki.  If they choose to proceed, I like to set treatment goals before starting the treatment.  

Relationship with Healer is Not Therapeutic

If you are being treated by an individual that you have not formed a therapeutic relationship with, the overall session may not be effective.  I feel that anyone that provides this healing service should be willing to have open and honest dialogue and should be available for questions after the session.

Is it Worth it to Try Reiki Again?

 If you’ve had a session that you feel did not work, I recommend using your intuition if you decide to try another session.  There may have been many factors that may have prevented the outcome you desired.  Possibly, the outcome you were pursuing may not have been in your best interest.  I feel it may be good to discuss with your practitioner the results, as you may have had a positive response that you did not originally identify. 

Reiki is a healing modality that hope becomes available to all people, but I feel it is important to understand there are limits to this healing modality, just as there are to all healing modalities.

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One of the most difficult concepts to explain about Reiki to those that don’t have experience with Reiki is the concept of healing beyond space and time.  Most of us equate healing with a hands on experience that is done face to face.

It’s easy to forget that healing encounters such as Reiki are not limited to any particular place or even a particular time.  In this blog post, I will explain how Reiki in its limitless healing can be used in ways that we are normally limited to.  

I was inspired to create this post due to a recent experience with a Reiki client. While working my client in a distance session, his “Inner Child” showed up.  My client is in his 40’s, but during this Reiki session, a younger version of himself appeared in the Distance Healing Reiki space. 

Healing the Past

In Energy medicine, “Inner Child” work usually refers to focused healing of the younger version of yourself.  The concept starts with your experience with trauma.  When we suffer traumas in life, major or minor, part of us will split off, and stay in that moment. This “Inner Child” will follow you throughout your life, echoing the painful emotions of that past trauma.  Triggers that remind you of the trauma may ignite the “Inner Child” to drive strong,  uncontrollable emotions.  

My client’s Inner Child was very helpful, in that his age marked the time of trauma for my client that opened the door to serious illness as an adult.  

Inner Child work is one example of how Reiki Healing is able to bypass the linear passage of time to provide deep healing.  During a Reiki session, its not unusual for past traumas to arise in this way.  Once this happens, although this can be uncomfortable, allows the client to arrive at the root cause of what they are experiencing.

In modern medicine we do take into account past medical history. This is done very frequently when we’re taking a history on patients and we review past surgeries and pass diagnosis. Interestingly, we do work with the future and conventional medicine. We sometimes make predictions on prognosis but we often stop there.  Clinically, there is some integration of childhood traumas when the Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs) are assessed.   Because of the structure of most clinical visits, although we do review past medical history we don’t coordinate issues such as past trauma and past emotional issues with ongoing medical issues. This is truly sad because we are missing one of the most important pieces of information into what’s causing someone’s illness.

According to Dr. Richard Gerber in his book Vibrational Medicine, human anatomy is “Multi-Dimensional”. The human being is much more than the physical structures that make up the body. The energy of humans  partly exists in the physical form, but the consciousness is above, within, and below the human body. This means that interactions need not be physical to be impactful. Healing operates the same way. Clients can rest assured that an encounter for healing is not limited by a point in time or a place.

If your ready to take the next step on your journey to healing, I now have the 21 Day Meditation Course .

If you’ve been thinking about learning Reiki, I am proud to share Reiki I for Self Empowerment, a self guided Reiki Training Course is now available.