How Can I Find a Qualified Reiki Practitioner?
Although today people are accustomed to receiving healthcare from
professionals, this is not necessary with Reiki. Reiki has always been a folk
healing practice, and if you have a friend who is trained and who practices on
himself/herself regularly, you may want to receive treatments from your friend.
If you are happy with that experience, you can continue with your friend or
contact your friend's Reiki master.
If you don't
have a friend who does Reiki, you can look for a Reiki practitioner in private
practice or a healthcare environment. In recent years, Reiki practitioners are
increasingly setting themselves up as professionals in private practice or
offering Reiki in healthcare environments. In addition, more healthcare
institutions are incorporating Reiki into their model of care. Many nurses and
other healthcare professionals offer Reiki as part of their patient care, either
through integrating moments of Reiki touch into routine care or through longer
Reiki treatments.
Acccording to a national survey published in 2002, more than 2.2 million Americans had already experienced or practiced Reiki. Reiki is offered in prominent medical centers across the country, some of which include:
- Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center and New York-Presbyterian Hospital (N.Y.)
- Dana-Farber/Harvard Cancer Center (Boston, Mass.)
- Yale-New Haven Hospital (New Haven, Conn.)
- Johns Hopkins Hospital and Health System (Baltimore, Md.)
- M.D. Anderson Cancer Center (Houston, Tex.)
- George Washington University Hospital (Washington, D.C.)
- California Pacific Medical Center (San Francisco, Calif.)
One good strategy for finding a practitioner is word of mouth. Local
practitioners of complementary therapies (such as acupuncture, shiatsu,
reflexology, massage, herbalism, homeopathy, etc.) usually know one another by
reputation and sometimes they share offices or cross-refer.
As with
finding a Reiki teacher, you can also try looking at community bulletin boards
in yoga studios and health food stores. In addition, your local hospital may
have a complementary or integrative medicine service. Since Reiki is used by
many people to cope with chronic illness, any local organization that offers
services to people with illnesses such as cancer, HIV, fibromyalgia, or diabetes
may have a list of community resources or even sponsor a Reiki clinic.
How do I evaluate their qualifications?
Once you've found a Reiki
practitioner, how can you gauge qualifications? What should you look for?
Because the Reiki profession has grown out of a grass roots movement rather than
emerging from academic healthcare programs, many different perspectives and
practice styles have developed without oversight, and there are no common
standards of education or treatment that are agreed upon across all practice
styles.
Although Reiki masters often give their students certificates,
these certificates are not supported by educational standards that have been
agreed upon throughout the Reiki community. Therefore the possession of a
certificate is no guarantee that the practitioner has thorough training. You
need to ask some specific questions to determine training and experience.
What are some questions I should ask?
If you decide to seek treatment from a professional, look for someone who has been trained over a period of time and who has ample experience giving treatment to other people. Most important is that the practitioner practices Reiki self-treatment every day, as this is how the practitioner develops her relationship with Reiki and deepens her/his understanding.
Professional practitioners usually create a brochure and/or website that explain their training and practice guidelines. Look for the answers to the following questions, and any others you might have:
| Questions | Answers to Look For |
| What is your level of training (First or Second degree or Reiki master)? | You can receive hands-on treatment from someone at any level of
Reiki training. If you are looking for distant healing, you need a Second degree
practitioner. If you want to learn how to practice Reiki yourself, you need a
Reiki master. |
| When were you trained? | This will give you a sense of how long the person has been
practicing, although it also depends on how much she practices. For example,
someone who learned Reiki five years ago but uses it infrequently would be less
appealing than someone trained more recently who practices daily. |
| How long were the classes? | Eight to twelve hours for First degree and another eight to
twelve hours for Second degree training allows time for both instruction and
actual practice in class. |
| For Second degree practitioners or Reiki masters: were you trained to each level in separate classes, and if so, how far apart were the classes? | Preferably, the Second degree training occurred a minimum of
three to six months after the First degree class. This would give the
practitioner ample time to become grounded in hands-on practice before learning
the more involved and abstract distant healing techniques. Practicing an additional one to two years before becoming a Reiki master is the minimum desired; traditional Reiki masters often require students to have even more experience. |
|
What is your clinical experience-to whom have you given treatment, in what settings, and for how many years? |
If you are looking for a professional practitioner, it is
reasonable to expect years of experience giving Reiki treatment, not only to
family and friends, but to people beyond the practitioner's social circle who
are experiencing varying levels of health and wellness. |
| How do you describe Reiki? | This should not be a difficult question for a professional
practitioner to answer. You don't want to sense that he or she has never thought
about this before. The practitioner hould be able to describe the practice
clearly and authoritatively.
Be wary of practitioners who make claims of curing disease or who disparage conventional healthcare. The practitioner's response to this question is often when you start getting a good sense of the practitioner as an individual and if you will feel comfortable with him or her. |
| Describe your treatments, including length of time and fee. | You'll want someone who clearly describes the process and how he
or she structures the treatment so you have an idea of what to expect. (An
experienced professional will repeat this information at your initial
appointment.) Ask if the practitioner includes practices other than Reiki in the treatment and specify if you want Reiki only. (Consider: if you don't have a Reiki-only treatment, how can you tell if it is Reiki that is benefiting you?) |
| Do you practice Reiki on yourself everyday? | This is the most important question. Look for someone who practices Reiki self-treatment every day, as this is how the practitioner's relationship with Reiki continues to expand and deepen. |
If the above information is not readily available, it is reasonable to briefly interview a prospective practitioner on the phone or through email. A credible practitioner will welcome this inquiry.
What does Reiki Cost?
Currently Reiki is only covered by health insurance when it is part of a
treatment such as physical therapy, massage, or palliative care that is covered
by your insurance or when it is delivered by a nurse or licensed care
professional as part of routine care during a hospital stay. So, if you visit a
Reiki practitioner, plan on paying out of pocket.
The cost of a session
varies according to the experience of the provider, whether or not they are
professionals in full-time public practice, and the local economy, but fees are
generally upward of $50-75 for a session. Reiki students may offer treatment for
a lower fee as they gather clinical experience, and there are also Reiki clinics
or community circles where treatments are available by donation or for a low
fee.
References/Further Reading
Barnes, P.M., Powell-Griner, E., McFann, K., Nahin, R.L. (2004). Complementary and alternative medicine use among adults: United States, 2002. CDC Advance Data Report #343.
Miles, P., True, G. (2003). Reiki-Review of a Biofield Therapy: History, theory, practice and research." Alternative Therapies in Health and Medicine. 9(2):62-72.
Starr, B. (2007) Reiki: Learning to do it. Retrieved October 7, 2008, from http://www.religionandspirituality.com/view/post/11709123755600/Reiki_Learning_to_do_it/
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