| EVIDENCE After 3 months of chemotherapy Ms. Reston's spleen enlarged
another 3 inches. It seemed as if this was the end for Ms. Reston. After her first treatment of Reiki,
however, Ms. Reston began to notice a change. "My first Reiki treatment was a miracle.
From the Reiki energy the spleen began to shrink. At my next visit with
the oncologist, he palpated the spleen, and declared it to be of normal size! "
Introduction
In the past, most of the support for Reiki came purely from an anecdotal
standpoint such as the one given here by Ms. Reston. She, however, is only one
of the many who believe in the spiritual healing powers of Reiki. The fact that
so many people use Reiki as a source of healing requires that we delve into this
area to see what aspects of Reiki have positive outcomes, in what area, if any
at all. The following information, adopted from 2 major review articles,
summarized below should give you some insight on how far research has come along
in the realm of Reiki.
Problems with Research2
1. "The healing method can not be masked, per se, so that double-blind
studies involving random assignment of subjects to standardized treatment
protocols and control groups are not possible".
2. "Reiki's holistic approach views an individual within a context involving
a dynamic interconnectedness of all aspects of an individual's life and environment, unlike Western biomedical practices that tend to focus
on parts of an individual and view symptom phenomena independently without a historical social
context."
3. Randomized grouping of individuals goes against Reiki teachings of
individual treatment. Standards of Eastern practices focus on "highly
individualized interventions depending on an individual's self reports of
symptoms, and individual's lifestyle, issues of quality of life, or an
individual's response to the conditions of which he or she seeks treatment."
4. "Eastern therapies have not had the advantage of traditional research
training, they do not have close links with institutions where research is
carried out , and they do not have access to research funding."
State of Research1
Summary of Randomized,
Controlled Studies of Reiki and Related Modalities
sEMG = surface electromyographic measurements; TT = Therapeutic Touch
Descriptive and Phenominalogical studies1
1. In 1997, Olson and Hansen took 20 volunteers who experienced pain from a
variety of causes, including cancer, and showed a significant decrease in pain
after receiving a single 75 minute Reiki session.
2. A 10 year Reiki Clinic, called, The Windana Society in Melbourne,
Australia, reviewed clinical records and conducted a clinical survey showing
reduced pain and improvements in client's sleep patterns, mood, and clarity of
thinking. The patients reported, "a well-being that enabled them to continue with their recovery and enhanced their counseling sessions."
3. A similar study by Engebretson and Wardell showed that "subjects expressed
feelings of safety and perceived relationship with the practitioner. Some also
described what the authors defined as a liminal state of consciousness,
hovering between awareness and sleep."
Directions of Future Research1
Goals
1. Incorporation of qualitative methods and mixed methodological design.
(I.e. focus on integrated reports of self-awareness, feelings of "centeredness",
and overall well being.)
2. Further research using objective markers such as a patient's hematocrit and inflammatory markers in response to Reiki.
Current/Ongoing
1. University of Michigan: Reiki's affects on diabetic neuropathy.
2. Albert Einstein Medical Center: Reiki's affects on quality of life and spiritual well
being for patients with advanced HIV/AIDS.
3. Department of Family Medicine of the University of Washington School of
Medicine: Reiki's affects on Fibromyalgia. |
