Category: Reiki Ability

Is it ethical for nurses to perform Reiki on their patients?

1/1/2019

While there is nothing unethical about using Reiki, it is important for nurses and other healthcare practitioners to follow a few basic rules to make sure that their conduct is ethical and appropriate.

Helping others is at the core of the nursing profession, and I am sure that every nurse who has ever done Reiki for a patient has only done it with the patient’s best interests at heart.

As someone who has seen first-hand the incredible positive effects that Reiki may have on people with various health conditions (scientific research to back this up is still lagging), I can tell you that for many nurses who know Reiki, it may feel unethical not to offer it. How could you not offer a patient something that has no side effects and that the nurse knows could potentially help the patient tremendously?

Because of this, many caring nurses who practice Reiki and other holistic modalities may accidentally cross some ethical and professional lines while trying to help their patients.

Here are a few basic rules that may help avoid some of these ethical dilemmas:

BE FAMILIAR WITH REIKI LAW Reiki is a beautiful, gentle healing art, but we don’t want to get into trouble or find ourselves in an ethical conundrum doing it. Each Reiki practitioner, whether or not he or she works in a healthcare setting, should be familiar with federal, state, and local laws that regulate the practice of Reiki. Unfortunately, Reiki laws in many places are very restrictive and/or contradictory. Until this changes, not only offering it to patients may be illegal in some areas, but it may also be unethical to perform Reiki without following specific rules outlined by the law. Giving Reiki ‘illegally’ would certainly go against professional nursing conduct. Learning what you can and cannot do with Reiki according to the law is each nurse's professional responsibility.

KNOW THE COMPANY POLICY REGARDING REIKI The nurse should confirm with management at her workplace ahead of time that doing Reiki for patients does not violate any company policies. Since Reiki (regardless of how amazing it is) is not a standard part of nursing care, it may be against the company policy to perform a ‘non-nursing’ activity including Reiki during working hours (especially while patients nursing needs have not been met). Giving Reiki while neglecting nursing obligations is unprofessional and can be considered unethical as well. If the nurse’s workplace does not allow Reiki, the nurse can advocate for a change in the company policy, as opposed to doing Reiki secretly. That would be the appropriate course of action. Also, on a side note, performing non-nursing tasks (including Reiki) for patients may cause boundary excursions and violations in some cases, and so it is important for nurses to be mindful of that possibility as well.

AVOID SELF REFERRAL Potential boundary violations may also arise when Reiki is offered to patients outside of the working hours, on nurses’ own time. In general, it may be unethical for a nurse to offer her patients to come for paid Reiki (or other) services. There are circumstances, where it may be unavoidable (like in really tiny communities), but for the most part, I would advise against self-referral because of the potential conflict of interest. Offering free Reiki to patients during nurse’s time off is not necessarily unethical, but it pushes professional boundaries, so extra mindfulness regarding this would be a good idea.

GIVE INFORMATION ABOUT REIKI FROM A MEDICAL PERSPECTIVE It is important that the patient is given information about Reiki, and that it is stated that Reiki is not a scientific/medical concept and that while many patients who receive Reiki have had amazing results, Reiki does not diagnose or treat any medical condition or ailment. As healthcare practitioners, we do not want to mislead our patients into believing that Reiki will “heal” or “cure” them or that it has been proven by science (a lot more research is still needed to prove it, and we should not jump ahead of ourselves, regardless of our personal experiences with Reiki). Being in a medical setting, we have a professional obligation to share information from a medical perspective. We can always share our experiences with Reiki, but they should be qualified as our experiences as opposed to medical or scientific facts. The patients themselves can find plenty of information online about the benefits of Reiki as described by non-medical professionals. They can also choose to experience those benefits for themselves.

GET CONSENT The nurse should always get consent from each patient (or patient representative, when appropriate) before doing Reiki. It would be unethical to perform Reiki (or do anything else for that matter) against the patient’s will. Depending on the organization where you work, that consent may be a part of other consent forms signed by the patient ahead of time, but it would be the nurse’s responsibility to know this, as well as to confirm with the patient that they open to Reiki (patients should have the right to refuse it). On a side note, many organizations may not take all the details of Reiki law into consideration when creating their standard forms and may not follow proper consent procedures for Reiki. That brings us back to point #1 - it would be the nurse's responsibility to know what the laws are and whether there are any specific Reiki consents that are mandated by those laws.

ASK FOR PERMISSION TO TOUCH (IF DONE) Since many Reiki styles involve touch, it’s important to check with each patient if there are any areas of the body that they do not want to be touched and to follow the patient’s wishes in that regard.

MAKE SURE THAT ALL YOUR REIKI TECHNIQUES ARE APPROPRIATE FOR EACH PATIENT There are many Reiki styles and numerous Reiki techniques. Some involve touch, others may involve massage-like motion, some may have the patient lying in a specific position, etc., etc., etc. It would be unethical to follow your Reiki style’s procedure exactly if the patient is unable to tolerate it. For example, if the patient is unable to lie face down, he or she should not be ‘forced’ to do it even if it is a part of the ‘regular’ Reiki ’routine’ that the nurse is used to. It would be unethical to use a Reiki technique that’s not appropriate for a specific patient.

BENEFITS SHOULD OUTWEIGH THE RISKS As the previous example indicates, nurses should be mindful of the appropriateness of the Reiki techniques they use for each patient. Although there are no circumstances that I can think of where Reiki itself would not be of benefit (at least in my experience), it is always important to approach Reiki from the perspective of potential benefits vs. potential harm. The main ethical question/challenge I foresee in this category would be not doing Reiki when it could be of benefit. For example, if a patient is open to Reiki, Reiki is allowed by law, the nurse knows that Reiki could relieve this patient’s suffering (benefit), the nurse knows that not doing Reiki would result in ongoing suffering (harm) - should the nurse do it even if it is against the company policy? I would recommend working on changing the policy and working with your organization’s ethics committee.

PATIENT VS. FAMILY If a clear-minded patient wants Reiki and you are allowed to do it by law and by your company, but the family refuses it, the ethical thing to do would be to follow the patient’s wishes. The opposite is also true - if a clear-minded patient does not want Reiki, but the family requests it, you should follow the patient’s wishes. In the same scenarios except for the patient being confused/unable to make decisions, follow the advance directives and/or family wishes (one may supersede the other depending on where you are practicing nursing).

REIKI ABILITY CANNOT BE ‘TURNED OFF’ The final and perhaps the most peculiar ethical aspect of Reiki in nursing relates to the fact that it is impossible to ‘turn off’ one’s Reiki ability. So anyone who comes in contact with a nurse who has had proper Reiki training will naturally receive Reiki during the nurse-patient interaction - any touch from the ‘Reiki nurse’ (and even proximity) will result in the patient getting some Reiki without the patient or the nurse even thinking about it. I’ve mentioned earlier that it is important for a nurse to get consent from each patient before giving Reiki, by that I mean that if a nurse offers a complete full-on Reiki session to a patient she must obtain proper consent. However, there is no way to get consent for Reiki every moment of a normal nurse-patient contact. Reiki will be given naturally in those moments - there is no way to prevent it - and I do not see any way to consent or not consent to it during normal patient care. Of course, there is absolutely no harm in getting Reiki. So patients should not be worried about inadvertently being harmed by Reiki if their nurses happen to know it. That’s not how it works.

There could be many other types of ethical scenarios of Reiki in nursing, but it is impossible to predict all of them. Some ethical questions and dilemmas are easy to answer and resolve, while others may be more challenging. Each situation is unique and must be addressed in a unique way while staying true to the fundamentals of professional and ethical behavior.

The bullet points above are a few basic ethical suggestions regarding using Reiki in nursing practice and they closely relate to the general principles of nursing ethics, which are justice, beneficence, nonmaleficence, accountability, fidelity, autonomy, and veracity. You can read more about these pillars of nursing ethics HERE.

Hope this helps bring clarity to the ethics of using Reiki in a nursing profession.

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12 Common Misconceptions About Reiki

12/1/2017

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Reiki does not involve physical touch. Although in some Reiki styles (as well as due to legal regulations in different states), some Reiki practitioners may hold their hands just above the receiver’s body, the original practice of Reiki has always involved direct contact and physical touch.
Reiki is a massage. This misconception may arise from the fact that many massage therapists also practice Reiki, and the clients may be unaware when massage ends and Reiki begins. Although Reiki does generally involve light touch, and, in some Reiki styles, it may even involve light patting and brushing over the back and the legs of the receiver, most definitely, Reiki is not a massage. There is no pressure or tissue manipulation during Reiki. The benefits from Reiki arise from energy shift in the body, with the body naturally readjusting itself to the most comfortable position, without manual manipulation.
Reiki is not real. Those people, who claim that Reiki is not real, approach the subject from the perspective of "if you can't see it, it is not real". If you use this kind of argument, then radio waves, electrons, and microorganisms that cannot be seen with a naked eye are also not real. We can't be this narrow minded in the 21st century. If we think this way, we are putting ourselves in the same category with some of our predecessors, who thought that Earth was flat, did not believe that matter was made of particles, and that many diseases were caused by germs. At the time they could not see it, and therefore it did not appear real to them. Fortunately, we have an advantage over them, since we know about many scientific discoveries that revealed what was previously hidden from our view, proving that it is indeed there, and it is real. This allows us to look at the world with an open mind. There are things that do not have an explanation (yet), but let's not ignore them by default, let's give them a chance. The truth about Reiki, is that although the actual Reiki energy itself has not been measured or quantified by science, this does not mean that Reiki does exist. Truth is stranger than fiction, and you really have to experience Reiki for yourself and see the benefits, which can be remarkable for many people. So let's not wait until the science is able to explain the Reiki phenomenon, let's enjoy it now.
Reiki is the same thing as Healing Touch. While both can be considered ‘energy therapies’, and both may have similar helpful effects that promote relaxation and natural self-healing, the origins and the actual practice of these two holistic modalities are quite different. Reiki was founded by Mikao Usui in Japan, and it is heavily rooted in the Japanese culture. Healing Touch was founded in 1989 by an American nurse Janet Mentgen, and it is based on her own experience with Energy work. Reiki (in its original form) involves direct hands-on touch; while Healing Touch practitioners generally have their hands hovering or gliding over the receiver’s body. There are many other hands-on healing techniques that exist around the world, and although there are many parallels between them, they are not all the same.
Reiki is the same thing as Chakra Clearing. Many people associate Reiki with working on the Chakra energy centers of the body. While Reiki may be beneficial for Chakra clearing, in reality, the Indian concept of Chakras was never a part of the original Reiki teaching, but was rather added onto the Japanese healing art of Reiki sometime after the 1970s. Any Chakra balancing and clearing techniques taught as a part of Reiki training, is extra information that was not a part of the technique developed by the Usui sensei.
Reiki is a Religious healing art. Reiki is not a Religious healing art neither in theory, nor in practice. The founder of Reiki, Mikao Usui sensei himself, had clearly stated that Reiki is not a religious healing method.
Reiki is just a placebo effect. Currently, there is no clear scientific explanation for how Reiki works; however, this does not mean that it either does not work or that it is a ‘placebo’ effect. As a medical doctor, I have over ten years of direct observational evidence of the effectiveness of Reiki at inpatient hospice unit, where it was utilized as a complementary therapy. In addition, I have several years of experience of using Reiki personally, and its effectiveness, by far exceeds what one would expect from a placebo effect.
Only few select people can learn Reiki and be good at it. Although some people may have a natural inclination towards holistic healing arts, anyone can learn Reiki. The beauty of Reiki is in its simplicity, and anyone can learn how to do it in just a few days. As with any healing art, practice makes perfect, and ongoing practice is encouraged after the training has been completed, to maintain and improve the Reiki ability.
I can learn Reiki online. Reiki is a hands-on healing art and the process of teaching Reiki involves certain elements that simply cannot be demonstrated or done online. You can certainly learn history of Reiki or various Reiki concepts online, but you may soon discover that when you try using Reiki, it will likely be only marginally effective. (After an online course you may get the “It felt relaxing”, type of a reaction from your clients, as opposed to, “Wow, this was amazing!” that you can expect after learning Reiki from a credentialed teacher at an in-person Reiki seminar.)
Reiki practitioners can absorb their client’s negative energy. Reiki energy flows through the practitioner, and out of the practitioners hands, promoting the flow of natural Ki within the person. The practitioner himself or herself is neither giving his or her energy, nor absorbing the client’s energy. So no “negative” energy can be absorbed by the practitioner.
Reiki can be sent to place, object, or a situation. Reiki can be done on living things, but not on objects or situations. When Mikao Usui developed Reiki, he developed it to help human beings on a mind-body level, and healing of objects or situations was not a part of the original Reiki. So if a Reiki practitioner is using techniques to send Reiki to an object or a situation, then those techniques are actually separate from Reiki as were developed taught by Usui sensei (even if the practitioner has learned them in a Reiki class.)
Reiki does not require regular appointments. Being completely different from something like a massage, Reiki should be done daily (or almost daily) until the problem is resolved. Think of it the way you would think of physical therapy, one session might help, but in order to get the full benefit, you must complete the whole course, and not just one session. With that said, in many cases, people experience immediate improvements of their symptoms with Reiki, and for many Reiki clients just a few sessions are needed to achieve great results.

P.S.: I am using the word "Reiki" referring to both Reiki energy (靈氣 - REI-KI) as well as the Reiki technique developed by Mikao Usui (心身改善臼井靈氣療法 - SHIN SHIN KAIZEN USUI REIKI RYOHO ) You can easily understand which "Reiki" I refer to based on the context.

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What to Do If You Are Not Sure About Performing Reiki Correctly

6/1/2017

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There could be a couple of reasons why you feel that you might not be able to do Reiki correctly:

You may simply need more supervised Reiki practice. If this is the case, do your best to attend the Reiki practice meetings (sometimes referred to as Reiki shares) hosted by your Reiki teacher. Repeating the training is also a great idea. (I personally, take a refresher course at least once a year, and in spite of the fact that I am already a Reiki teacher, I derive tremendous benefit from it.)
You may have learned Reiki in a style that has been modified from the original to the point of being purhaps less effective*, especially if you’ve learned Reiki online or through a quick course without enough hands-on practice. In that case, I would encourage you to find another Reiki class.
You may be overthinking it. Giving Reiki is a very simple and natural process, and sometimes all we have to do is let go of the idea that we are ‘healing’ someone, and allow Reiki to work on its own, so to speak. When we come from a deeper place, and let go of our regular ‘conscious, ego-based mind’ approach, Reiki often works much better. So sometimes all we have to do is ‘let it happen’. (When you experience it, you will know exactly what I mean.)

* Reiki was originally developed in Japan, and spread in the West by Mrs. Takata. For a long time it was believed that there was no one left in Japan who knew and practiced Reiki, and most of the Reiki classes today come from Mrs. Takata’s lineage. Unfortunately, since there was no communication between the Japanese Reiki practitioners and their Western counterparts, some of the newer Reiki styles have been progressively modified to fit the Western mindset, and a lot of information and important aspects of Reiki teaching and practice have been either skipped, lost in translation, mixed with other healing modalities, or diluted, in some cases to a significant degree. Reiki is Reiki, so it doesn’t mean that if you learn a Westernized version of Reiki that it is not going to work, but if you are noticing that you are not feeling 100% about your Reiki ability, then going to the source and learning traditional Reiki the way it was originally taught and practiced, may be the answer. As it turns out, Reiki was actually preserved in Japan in its original tradition all along, with the authentic Japanese style Reiki currently taught by the Jikiden Reiki Institute. I did an extensive research in different Reiki styles, and based on that extensive research, it appears that Jikiden Reiki is the closest to the original tradition out of all the Reiki styles that are available for us to learn today. I would highly recommend Jikiden Reiki (it is incredible that it is now so easily accessible to us!) if you are looking for an effective Reiki technique in its original form for your own wellness as well as to help others.

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Is it ethical for nurses to perform Reiki on their patients?

12 Common Misconceptions About Reiki

What to Do If You Are Not Sure About Performing Reiki Correctly

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