Guidelines for Evaluating Reiki as an Alternative Therapy

Reiki & the Bishops in the Boston Globe

Posted: 25 Sep 2009 06:32 AM PDT

Bishops Syndrome has made it to the Boston Globe.

A colleague from the North Shore sent me an alarmed email, referring to it as a “horrid article.” I respectfully disagree.

There are only minor inaccuracies: depicting Usui as a doctor who developed the practice at the turn of the century (he was not a physician and it was the 1920s), saying Reiki came to the U.S. in the 1940s (it was the late 1930s), and saying Takata taught Reiki “to a handful of Americans” (I don’t know of any data on this but Takata trained 22 Reiki masters, and since, like Usui and Hayashi, she reserved such training for a very few of her students, she clearly trained far more than a handful of Americans).

Of course a Boston Globe reporter would reach out to local hero and early proponent of mind-body medicine Herbert Benson, even though Reiki is not mind-body medicine. It would have taken a bit more digging to find a medical expert qualified to comment on Reiki, someone such as the NIH’s Ann Berger. Benson clearly is not well-versed in Reiki; he’s much more of a placebo kind of a guy, so it’s no surprise that he brought placebo into his comments. But it’s a valid point, one that many discerning minds would raise.

The overall evenness of the article is evidence that Reiki practice now has enough mainstream recognition to be taken seriously, regardless what the Catholic Bishops think. Remember the first rule of advertising: no publicity is bad publicity. Although I feel for the patients who are being denied care as a result of the bishops’ pronouncement, it sparked a fire of public interest in Reiki that’s warming this practitioner’s heart. Bishops’ Syndrom is raising Reiki’s profile, and in a sympathetic context, no less (public perception of Catholic bishops vs. patients in pain?–my money’s on the patients).

I encourage you to read the article. When a story on Reiki receives a lot of public response, it signals the media that Reiki is a topic of interest, which leads to more stories on Reiki. If you take the time to comment on the Globe’s site, and to compose your comment carefully, all the better. Self-righteous Reiki practitioners leaving poorly thought out comments gives evidence to support the bishops’ prejudice. It’s much more effective for people to simply share brief personal stories of how Reiki benefited their loved ones.

That’s what I think of Reiki in the Boston Globe. What do you think?

There are only minor inaccuracies: depicting Usui as a doctor who developed the practice at the turn of the century (he was not a physician....



....That’s what I think of Reiki in the Boston Globe. What do you think?

Reiki in the Name of Jesus
by Pamela Miles

Posted: 29 Oct 2009 10:30 AM PDT

The intersection of Christianity and Reiki has gotten a lot of press this year, starting in response to the American bishops’ pronouncement last March, and taking an unexpected turn when, contrary to the debunking by historians in recent years, the Reiki Digest unearthed evidence that Usui may have been involved with Christianity after all.

How does all this controversy play out in clinical practice? Case by case.

A hospital Reiki practitioner, a professional of many years, recently asked my advice after receiving a request for Reiki treatment that came with an unusual condition. The prospective client—we’ll call her Agnes—wanted a Reiki treatment done “in the name of Jesus.”

Reiki practitioners are sometimes put off by such a request, but not me. I liked that Agnes was giving deep thought to her healing choices. Agnes’s concern could be used as common ground from which to help her explore whether this would be a meaningful and safe healing connection—for her.

In this case, I knew that both the practitioner and the clinic were safe and nurturing. I also knew that even a stellar situation will not be the best match for everyone at any given time.

When we receive a request with a religious component, it’s wise to keep in mind that the person asking this question might be a diehard religious fundamentalist. In that case, an appropriate response would be either “Yes, that’s how I practice,” or “No, it’s not.” A fundamentalist is not interested in our interpretations.

But as practitioners, we want to avoid jumping to conclusions and preemptively closing the door to care, even while remaining mindful that Agnes might have a black-and-white perspective. Our responsibility to and care of our clients start long before we place our Reiki hands.

People often seek Reiki treatment because they are not feeling well. People who aren’t feeling well are often anxious, and anxiety is expressed obliquely at times. As practitioners, our job is to give prospective clients the facts while compassionately reaching out so they know that we care about their well-being, whether or not they choose to work with us.

Here’s what I wrote back:

Why don’t you have a conversation with Agnes, either on the phone or when she comes, to learn specifically what she has in mind. If you consider yourself a Christian, that may be all she needs. Perhaps she’s been told that asking for Reiki in the name of Jesus is how to make sure you’re not doing “devil” Reiki. But be very careful to let Agnes explain herself, and to express how you practice honestly, so that she can make an informed choice. If you reconfigure your approach in any way to make Reiki more appealing to Agnes, it could backfire.

What was the outcome?

In a follow-up conversation, the practitioner said that although she was originally uncomfortable with Agnes’s request, she felt very different once they met.

Agnes was not opposed to Reiki. What Agnes wanted was reassurance that the practitioner was not opposed to Christianity. She requested a few minutes to pray before and after the treatment, but showed no interest in having the practitioner join her in prayer. After speaking with the practitioner, Agnes felt that she could “accept Reiki from the practitioner and heal with Jesus.”

In the month since her initial request, Agnes has been returning for weekly Reiki treatment. She does not discuss her experiences with the practitioner, but her calm demeanor after each treatment speaks volumes.
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