Reiki – studies and use in hospitals

http://www.ayamereiki.com/english/validation-recognition.php

validation>Recognition

The benefits of reiki are starting to be recognized by communities around the world. Public, private and veterinary hospitals, universities, schools of nursing, health insurances, foundations and charities promoting health or supporting the sick, are thus starting to take an interest in reiki treatment. Depending on their calling, they offer information, treatment, contributions to scientific research, initiation and reimbursement of treatment fees.

Below are links to the websites of some of these establishments in the United Kingdom, Canada, United-States, Australia, Germany and Switzerland, taking you directly to the pages concerned (new windows ; if necessary, type « reiki » in your browser search box).

United Kingdom

University College London Hospitals NHS, London :
- reiki treatment offered to patients with stress and mood disorder
- reiki treatment offered to complement conventional cancer treatments
- reiki treatment offered to complement the treatments of endometriosis

Southampton University Hospitals NHS, Southampton :
- reiki treatment offered to palliative care cancer patients (day care)

Aintree University Hospitals NHS, Liverpool :
- reiki treatment offered by elderly medicine services

Wallace Cancer Care (works with Addenbrooke’s Hospital-Cambridge University Hospitals NHS), Cambridge :
- reiki treatment offered to complement conventional cancer treatments

South Tees Hospitals NHS, Middlesbrough :
- reiki treatment offered to complement conventional cancer treatments

The Prince’s Foundation for Integrated Health (HRH Prince Charles’s foundation) :
- information about reiki (complementary therapies)

Breast Cancer Care (charity) :
- information about reiki in a guide on complementary therapies (pp. 12-13)

Canada

University Health Network-Princess Margaret Hospital, Toronto, Ontario :
- reiki treatment given by nurses at the lodge for cancer patients and families
- information on complementary therapies including reiki (guide on breast cancer survivorship, p. 80)

Université de Moncton, Moncton, Nouveau-Brunswick  :
- reiki offered as a customized training (Santé et mieux-être section)

United-States

The Cleveland Clinic (America’s Best Hospitals 2009), Cleveland, Ohio :
- reiki treatment offered to patients (integrative medecine)
- reiki treatment offered to patients and hospital staff (patient experience)
- reiki treatment offered to gynecology patients
- reiki treatment offered to heart patients (integrative approach)
- reiki treatment offered to heart patients and their families (resources)
- reiki treatment offered to complement conventional cancer treatments
- research : effects of reiki on stress
- research : reiki and prostate cancer

Brigham and Women’s Hospital (America’s Best Hospitals 2009), Boston, Massachusetts :
- reiki treatment offered to complement conventional cancer treatments (handbook for patients, families and friends, pp. 7, 10)
- reiki mentioned in a handbook on coping with cancer pain (p. 4)
- monthly reiki share sessions offered to nurses and visitors (newsletter for nurses, Feb. 2009)
- reiki initiation offered to nurses (newsletter for nurses, Nov. 2006)
- peri-operative nurses inform their colleagues on complementary therapies including reiki (newsletter for nurses, Dec. 2007)
- nurse-reiki practitioner’s testimonial (newsletter for nurses, Aug. 2005)
- study of complementary medicines including reiki in men with prostate cancer (radiation oncology research)

Johns Hopkins Hospital (America’s Best Hospitals 2009), Baltimore, Maryland :
- part of complementary therapies, including reiki, in the nurses’ practice and education (school of nursing journal, spring 2007, pp. 26, 29, 32-33)

Morgan Stanley Children’s Hospital of New-York Presbyterian (America’s Best Children’s Hospitals 2009), New York, New York :
- reiki treatment offered to children to complement conventional cancer treatments

Yale-New Haven Hospital (America’s Best Hospitals 2009), New Haven, Connecticut :
- reiki treatment offered to families and intensive care heart patients
- reiki treatment offered as a complementary therapy to cardiology patients
- complementary therapies, including reiki, recommended to cancer survivors (newsletter July 2007)
- reiki practitioners recruitment (newsletter Sept. 2006)

Harvard University, Boston/Cambridge, Massachusetts :
- reiki treatment offered at the Harvard Cancer Center (David Rosenthal M.D.)
- reiki treatment offered to all by the university health services (well-being)
- reiki mentioned as a best practice by an insurance company working with the university (best practices)
- hypothesis on cortical dynamics as a therapeutic mechanism for
touch healing including reiki (Harvard Medical School/Massachusetts Institute of Technology)

Columbia University Medical Center, New York, New York :
- reiki treatment offered to children with cancer
- reiki treatment given during Employee Health and Wellness Day (journal June 23rd 2003)

New York University Medical Center (America’s Best Hospitals 2009), New York, New York :
- reiki treatment offered to children with cancer or blood disorder
- reiki treatment offered to patients with joint disease (services)
- reiki treatment offered to patients with multiple sclerosis (programs)
- reiki treatment offered to women with disabilities

Concord Hospital, Concord, New Hampshire :
- reiki treatment offered to patients nearing the end of life

Cooper University Hospital-Cooper Cancer Institute, Voorhees, New Jersey :
- reiki treatment offered to complement conventional cancer treatments

Lowell General Hospital, Lowell, Massachusetts :
- reiki treatment offered to complement conventional cancer treatments

St. Joseph Hospital, Nashua, New Hampshire :
- reiki treatment offered to seniors

Washington Hospital Center, Washington DC :
- reiki treatment offered to complement conventional cancer treatments

York Hospital, York, Maine :
- pre-op, post-op and inter-op reiki treatment offered to surgical patients (wellness)

St. Mary’s Hospital, Amsterdam, New York :
- reiki initiations offered (center for complementary therapies)

George Washington University Medical Center, Washington DC :
- reiki treatment offered to patients

California Pacific Medical Center, San Francisco, California :
- reiki treatment offered to patients (clinical massage and bodywork)

Children’s Hospital Boston, Boston, Massachusetts :
- reiki treatment offered to children (integrative therapies)

Saint Agnes Medical Center, Fresno, California :
-  reiki treatment offered to patients

Hawaii Pacific Health-Wilcox Memorial Hospital, Lihue, Hawaï :
- reiki treatment offered to patients (patient support services)

Hartford Hospital, Hartford, Connecticut :
- reiki treatment offered to patients

Stamford Hospital, Stamford, Connecticut :
- reiki treatment offered to patients (services)

Windham Hospital, Willimantic, Connecticut :
- reiki treatment offered to patients (integrative health services)
- reiki treatment offered to patient visitors (family and friends)

Englewood Hospital and Medical Center, Englewood, New Jersey :
- reiki treatment offered to patients (massage, healing and relaxation therapies)

Carroll Hospital Center, Westminster, Maryland :
- reiki treatment offered (complementary health)

South San Diego Veterinary Hospital, San Diego, California :
- reiki treatment offered for animals (approach to pets’ care)

Australia

St Patrick’s Care Centre, Fremantle, Western Australia :
- reiki treatment notably offered to people with alcohol or drug problems (Drug and Alcohol Office)

Mission Australia – Youth Withdrawal and Respite Service, East Perth, Western Australia :
- reiki treatment offered to young people wanting to withdraw from alcohol or other drugs (Drug and Alcohol Office)

Queensland’s Health  :
- relaxation services including reiki sessions for Central Highlands Health Services
staff (magazine nov. 2005, p. 14)

Germany

CGG Klinik (Centrum für ganzheitliche Gynäkologie), Mannheim :
- reiki treatment and initiations offered for pain management and to complement conventional cancer treatments

St. Augustinus Krankenhaus, Düren :
- reiki treatment offered (well-being)

DRK Krankenhaus Lichtenstein (Red-Cross), Lichtenstein :
- reiki treatment offered (physiotherapy)

Switzerland

Groupe mutuel’s insurances :
- reiki treatment repayment (special conditions, p. 2)

SWICA insurance :
- reiki services repayment (preventive health)

Supra insurance :
- reiki treatment repayment (special conditions)

ASCA (foundation for the recognition and development of alternative and complementary therapies) :
- certification for reiki practitioners (therapies, p. 3 ; health insurances)

RME (register of empiric medicines) :
- certification for reiki practitioners (therapies)

validation>Scientific studies

Though using only small samples, scientific studies on reiki have begun to appear. Below are data from the abstracts of several published studies on reiki and other energetic practices with links to the complete abstracts on the Pubmed website (a service of the National Library of Medicine and of the National Institute for Health, developed by the National Center for Biotechnology Information of the United-States) :

• yoga, tai chi, meditation and reiki : effect on nurses – USA
• reiki and autonomic nervous system – United Kingdom
• reiki and relaxation - USA
• reiki and pain – Canada
• reiki and pain (cancer patients) – Canada
• reiki and pain, anxiety (hysterectomized patients) – USA
• reiki and fatigue, pain, anxiety, quality of life (cancer patients) – Canada
• hands-on reiki and distance reiki : effect at 1 year on depressive symptoms
• alternative therapies and psychotherapy (DSM-IV diagnosed subjects) – USA – several therapies including reiki
• reiki and memory, behaviour deficiencies (mild cognitive alteration, mild Alzheimer) – USA
• distance treatments : effect at 6 months for advanced aids patients) – USA – several distance therapies not named in the abstract

“The effectiveness of tai chi, yoga, meditation, and reiki healing sessions
in promoting health and enhancing
problem solving abilities of registered nurses”

Authors : Raingruber B., Robinson C. (University of California-Davis Medical Center, Sacramento, California, USA)
Year : 2007
Publication : Issues in Mental Health Nursing , 28(10) : 1141-55

Protocol

• Subjects : nurses
• Program : yoga, tai chi, meditation classes and reiki healing sessions
• Measures : self-care journals, analyzed with a Heideggerian phenomenological approach

Among the results

• Relaxing sSensations of warmth, tingling, and pulsation
• Enhanced problem solving ability
• Increased ability to focus on patient needs

• read the study abstract on Pubmed

“Autonomic nervous system changes during reiki treatment :
a preliminary study”

Authors : Mackay N., Hansen S., McFarlane O. (Institute of Neurological Sciences, South Glasgow University Hospital, Glasgow, Scotland, United Kingdom)
Year : 2004
Publication : Journal of Alternative et Complementary Medicine, 10(6) : 1077-81

Protocol

• Subjects : 45 people
• Program : 3 random groups assigned each to 1 condition, no treatment (rest), reiki treatment, placebo treatment
• Measures : quantitative measures recorded, values during and after the treatment period compared with baseline data

Significant outcomes in the reiki group compared to both placebo and control groups

• Heart rate decreased
• Diastolic blood pressure decreased

• read the study abstract on Pubmed

“Biological correlates of Reiki touch(sm) healing”

Authors : Wardell D.W., Engebretson J. (School of Nursing, University of Texas Houston Health Science Center, Houston, Texas, United-States)
Year : 2001
Publication : Journal of Advanced Nursing, 33(4) : 439-45

Protocol

• Subjects : 23 essentially healthy people
• Program : 30-minute reiki session
• Measures : data collected before, during and immediately after the session

Significant results

• During the session :
• skin temperature increased
• muscle tension decreased
• Before/after the session :
• anxiety reduced
• salivary IgA levels rose
• drop in systolic blood pressure

• read the study abstract on Pubmed

“Using reiki to manage pain : a preliminary report”

Authors : Olson K., Hanson J. (Cross Cancer Institute, Edmonton, Alberta, Canada)
Year : 1997
Publication : Cancer Prevention and Control, 1(2) : 108-13

Protocol

• Subjects : 20 volunteers experiencing pain at 55 sites and using opioid therapy
• Program : reiki treatment
• Measures : pain measured before and after the treatment

Significant results

• Highly significant reduction of pain

• read the study abstract on Pubmed

“A phase II trial of reiki for the management of pain
in advanced cancer patients”

Authors : Olson K., Hanson J., Michaud M. (Faculty of Nursing and International Institute for Qualitative Methodology, University of Alberta, Edmonton, Alberta, Canada)
Year : 2003
Publication : Journal of Pain and Symptom Management, 26(5) : 990-7

Protocol

• Subjects : 24 patients with cancer pain
• Program : 2 groups, either standard opioid management plus rest (2 rest periods within 7 days) or standard opioid management plus reiki (2 reiki treatments within 7 days)
• Measures : pain ratings, blood pressure, heart rate and respiration before and after treatment/rest periods ; analgesic use and pain ratings reported for 7 days ; quality of life assessed on days 1 et 7

Results for the reiki group compared with the rest group

• Improved pain control following treatments
• Improved quality of life

• read the study abstract on Pubmed

“The effect of reiki on pain and anxiety in women with abdominal hysterectomies : a quasi-experimental pilot study”

Authors : Vitale A.T., O’Connor P.C. (Community Medical Center, Toms River, New Jersey, United-States)
Year : 2006
Publication : Holistic Nursing Practice, 20(6) : 263-274

Protocol

• Subjects : 22 women after abdominal hysterectomy
• Program : 2 groups, the experimental one receiving traditional nursing care plus 3 30-minute sessions of reiki, the control one receiving traditional nursing care

Results for the experimental group compared to the control group

• Less pain
• Fewer analgesic requested
• Reduced state anxiety on discharge at 72 hours postoperation

• read the study abstract on Pubmed

“Pilot crossover trial of reiki versus rest
for treating cancer-related fatigue”

Authors : Tsang K.L., Carlson L.E., Olson K. (Department of Psychology, University of Calgary, Alberta, Canada)
Year : 2007
Publication : Integrative Cancer Therapies, 6(1) : 25-35

Protocol

• Subjects : 16 cancer patients
• Program : 2 conditions, reiki condition (daily reiki sessions, then days without treatment, then reiki sessions, then days without treatment) and resting condition (rest sessions instead of reiki sessions)
• Measures : questionnaires before and after reiki/rest sessions

Significant results in the reiki condition

• Fatigue decreased over the course of all treatments
• Improvements in quality of life compared to the resting condition
• Scores of presession 1 versus postsession 5 (results not seen in the resting condition) : significant decreases in tiredness, pain, and anxiety

• read the study abstract on Pubmed

“Long-term effects of energetic healing on symptoms of
psychological depression and self-perceived stress”

Author : Shore A.G. (PhD)
Year : 2004
Publication : Alternative Therapies: A Guide to Complementary Medicine, 10(3) : 42-48

Protocol

• Subjects : 46 participants
• Program : 3 random groups, receiving either hands-on reiki, or distance reiki, or distance reiki placebo ; 1 to 1,5 hour treatment each week for 6 weeks
• Measures : symptoms of psychological depression and self-perceived stress

Significant results for the treatment groups compared with the placebo group

• Reduction in symptoms of psychological distress
• Differences still present 1 year later

• read the study abstract on Pubmed

“Integrating complementary therapies into
community mental health practice : an exploration”

Authors : Collinge W., Wentworth R., Sabo S. (Collinge and Associates, Kittery Point, Maine, United-States)
Year :  2005
Publication : Journal of Alternative and Complementary Medicine, 11(3) : 569-74

Protocol

• Subjects : 25 people receiving ongoing psychotherapy, with a mean history of 7.4 years of mental health treatment, all histories including trauma, and a DSM-IV diagnosis of post-traumatic stress disorder, major depression, anxiety disorder, or dual diagnosis
• Program : 5 sessions in the mean of either massage, or acupuncture, or reiki, or healing touch
• Measures : interview data before treatments ; ratings of satisfaction and perceived changes in four dimensions of trauma recovery after treatments

Results

• High levels of satisfaction of the service
• Significant levels of perceived change on each outcome measure
• Enhanced psychotherapeutic outcomes reported by mental health clinicians

• read the study abstract on Pubmed

“Using reiki to decrease memory and behavior problems
in mild cognitive impairment and mild Alzheimer’s disease”

Authors : Crawford S.E., Leaver V.W., Mahoney S.D. (Passamaquoddy Tribe at Pleasant Point, Perry, Maine, United-States)
Year :  2006
Publication : Journal of Alternative et Complementary Medicine, 12(9) : 911-3

Protocol

• Subjects : 24 participants, aged from 60 to 80 years old, with mild cognitive impairment or mild Alzheimer’s disease
• Program : 2 groups, either 4 weekly reiki treatment, or no treatment
• Measures : before and after treatment

Significant results

• Increase in mental functioning
• Improvement in memory problems
• Improvement in behavior problems

• read the study abstract on Pubmed

“A randomized double-blind study of the effect of distant healing
in a population with advanced AIDS. Report of a small scale study”

Authors : Sicher F., Targ E., Moore D. 2nd, Smith H.S. (Geraldine Brush Cancer Research Institute, California Pacific Medical Center, San Francisco, California, United-States)
Year :  1998
Publication : Western Journal of Medicine,169(6) : 356-63

Protocol

• Subjects : 40 patients with advanced AIDS
• Program : 2 groups, either 10 weeks of distance healing treatment (by healers located throughout the United States), or no treatment
• Measures : psychometric testing and blood draw at enrollment, and subjects followed for 6 months

Significant results at 6 months for the treatment subjects compared with the control group

• Fewer new AIDS-defining illnesses
• Lower illness severity
• Fewer doctor visits required
• Fewer hospitalizations required
• Fewer days of hospitalization required
• Better mood

• read the study abstract on Pubmed

How Many Hospitals?

So how widespread is it? Hard to tell. A 2008 USA Today story, citing the American Hospital Association, implied that a full 15% of hospitals made Reiki available (that would be about 800). More concretely, the Center for Reiki Research maintains an updated list of hospitals with active Reiki programs. It currently identifies 74 hospitals, including some of the most prestigious in the nation, like the Cleveland Clinic, Memorial Sloan-Kettering, and a number of university teaching hospitals.

 Here is a PDF list of the 74 hospitals- warning, it has no real organization.
If you visit the Center for Reiki Research website, you can browse and sort the entire list, access detailed information about the program at each of the hospitals, and read aboutscience-based Reiki research (note:you will have to establish a free login) –www.reikiinhospitals.org

So how do you find out if your hospital has Reiki available? Besides checking this list, you can ask:

Ask patient services / patient relations. Ask your care coordinator. Ask a friendly nurse working with you. Be your own best advocate for integrated, comprehensive care that will help you feel healthy and supported.

The National Institutes of Health – NIH – might be seen as a bastion of the medical canon of this country. Happily, NIH now includes the National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine (NCCAM). As part of the 2007 National Health Interview Survey, NCCAM released data on alternative medicine use in this country. At that time, their super-systematic, government-reviewed data produced an estimate that in the prior year 38% of adults had used alternative medicine, with 1.2 million adults and 161,000 children in the U.S. receiving one or more energy healing sessions such as Reiki.

Not so alternative any more, eh?

Reiki therapy at Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical Center
(Ross Hutchinson)

From: http://panzadeoro.com/reiki-in-hospitals/

MEDICAL RESEARCH, AND OTHER PAPERS ON REIKI

MEDICAL RESEARCH, AND OTHER PAPERS ON REIKI
- an incomplete list...
Compiled 2004 -2007 byJames Deacon

At the time of compilation of this list, several of the following papers/articles were freely available on the internet...

Alandydy, P. (BSN, RN,,CNOR), Alandydy, K . (BA) [1999] Using Reiki to support surgical patients. Journal of Nursing Care Quality. Apr; vol 13, no 4, pp 89-91. Algarin, R. [1995] Using Reiki as a harm reduction tool and as a stress management technique for participants and self. Northeast Conference: Drugs, Sex and Harm Reducation Conference Syllabus, [1995], Harm Reduction Coalition and the Drug Policy Foundation, the ACLU AIDS Project and the City University of New York. A RK, Kurup PA. [2003] Changes in the isoprenoid pathway with transcendental meditation and Reiki healing practices in seizure disorder. (Department of Neurology, Medical College Hospital, Trivandrum 695-003, Kerala, India). in Neurology India. 2003 Jun; vol 51, no2, pp211-4. Author Unknown [?] Autonomic Nervous-System-Changes During Reiki Treatment: A Preliminary Study. The Journal of Alternative and Complementary Medicine vol 10, no 6. Author Unknown [1997] Reiki: Tapping the unseen self. International Journal of Alternative and Complementary Medicine, vol 15, no 9, pp22-23 Author Unknown [1998] Reiki; a balancing therapy. International Journal of Alternative and Complementary Medicine, vol 16, no 2, pp22-23 Author Unknown [1999] Remedy Brief: Reiki. This Japanese system of energy healing is used for acute and chronic pain. Natural Health - Massachusetts, Sept, p41 Barberis, L., [1996] Reiki: Esoteric therapy or quantum interaction? (Paper presented at:) 3rd European Colloquium on Ethnopharmacolgy - 1st International Conference on Anthropology and History of Health and Disease Barberis, L., [1998] Reiki healing: No matter nor energy. Just being. (Presented at:) the 12th Continental members’ Meeting of the Scientific & Medical Network, Cortona, Italy. Barnett, L., & Chambers, M. [1996] Reiki energy medicine: Bringing healing touch into home, hospital, and hospice. Vermont, U.S.A: Healing Arts Press. Behar, M. [1997] Reiki; bridging tradition & complementary healing techniques. OT Practice; Feb 1997 Brewitt, B., Vittetoe, T., Hartwell, [1997] The efficacy of Reiki hands-on healing: improvements in spleen and nervous system function as quantified by electrodermal screening. Alternative Therapies 1997 July; vol 3 no 4. Brown, F. [1992] Ancient Reiki accepted at a modern American Hospital. The Journal of Awareness. pp 3,16. Bucholtz, R. A. [1996] The use of Reiki therapy in the treatment of pain in rheumatoid arthritis. Master's thesis (unpublished), University of Wisconsin, Oshkosh, Oshkosh, Wisconsin, U.S.A. Bullock, M. (RN BSN), [1997] Introduction to Reiki: A complementary therapy for life. Alternative Therapies in Clinical Practice vol 4, no 2, pp41-43 Bullock, M. (RN BSN), [1997]Reiki: A complementary therapy for life. American Journal of Hospice and Palliative Care, Jan 1997, Vol 14, no 1, pp31-32 Clark, L. [1988] Reiki in a G.P. Practice: A Report based on 29 patients over the period 5.10.99 - 25.7.01. Unpublished. Dressen L. J. & Singg S., [1997] Effects of Reiki on Pain and selected affective and personality variables of chronically ill Patients. Subtle Energies & Energy Medicine, vol 9, no 1, pp51-82 Engebretson, J. & Wardell, D. [2002]. Experience of a Reiki Session, Alternative Therapies, vol 8, no 2, pp48-53 Gallob R. [?] Reiki: a supportive therapy in nursing practice and self-care for nurses. University of Rochester School of Nursing, Loving Touch Center of East Rochester, NY, USA Harris, D.(Dip.App.Sc.[Nursing] [UWSN]., B.H.Sc.[Nursing]) [UWSN].,MCN[NSW]., MRCNA.) & James B.H. [?] The Mystery and Meaning of Reiki. Hartwell, B., Brewitt, Dr. B. [1997] The efficacy of Reiki hands-on healing - Improvements in adrenal, spleen and nervous function as quantified by electro-dermal screening. Alternative Therapies Symposium, Florida 1997. Alternative Therapies, vol 3, no 4, p89. Hodsdon, W., Mendenhall, E., Green, R., Kates-Chinnoy,S., Wacker, E, & Zwickey, H. The Effect of Reiki on the Immune System. Helfgott Research Institue at the National College of Naturopathic Medicine, Portland, Oregon, USA Kennedy, P. [2001] Working with survivors of torture in Sarajevo with Reiki, Complementary Therapies in Nursing and Midwifery, vol 7, no 4 Litchfield, G. [1999] Reiki Healing. Journal of Natural Medicine vol 3, no 1, pp3-4 Mailoo, V.J. [2002] A brief introduction to Reiki. British Journal of Therapy & Rehabilitation. May 2002 - vol 9, no 5, pp190-3 Mailoo, V.J.[2001] Reiki to Reduce Anxiety:A Literature Review.Journal of Chartered Physiotherapists in Mental Healthcare. Jun; 18 pp13-17. Mansour A, Laing G, Nurse J, & Denilkewich A. [1998] The Experience of Reiki: Five Middle-Aged Women in the Midwest, Journal of Alternative and Complementary Therapies; vol 4, no 3, pp211-217 Mansour, A., Beuche, M., Laing, G., Leis A., & Nurse, J. [1999] A Study to Test the Effectiveness of Placebo Reiki Standardization Procedures Developed for a Planned Reiki Efficacy Study, The Journal of Alternative and Complementary Medicine, New York vol 5, no 2, pp153-164. Miles P. [2003] Preliminary report on the use of Reiki for HIV-related pain and anxiety. Alternative Therapies in Health and Medicine. 2003; vol 9 no 2 p36. Miles, P. & True, G (PhD).[2003] Reiki: Review of a Biofield Therapy. History, Theory, Practice & Research. Alternative Therapies, Mar/Apr 2003; vol 9, no 2, p67 Milton, G., & Chapman, E., [1995] The benefits of Reiki treatment in drug and alcohol rehabilitation programs. Pathways to healing: Enhancing Life through Complementary Therapies, Conference Proceedings, Sept, 24-25 Canberra: Royal College of Nursing, Australia Neklason, Zale T. [1987] The effects of Reiki treatment on telepathy and personality traits. Thesis [MS in Counselling] - Calif. State University, Hayward Nield-Anderson, L. Ameling, A. [2000] The Empowering Nature of Reiki as a Complementary Therapy. Holistic Nursing Practice, vol 14, no 3, pp21-29 Olson, K. & Hanson, J. [1997] Using Reiki to manage pain: a preliminary report. Cancer Prevention & Control, vol 1, no 2, pp108-115. Cross Cancer Institute. Olson K, Hanson J, Michaud M. [?] A phase II trial of Reiki for the management of pain in advanced cancer patients. Faculty of Nursing and International Institute for Qualitative Methodology, University of Alberta, Edmonton, Alberta, Canada Pankhurst, J. (RGN, Reiki Master) [?] Thirteen Case Studies to Investigate the Effects of Reiki on the Symptoms of Multiple Sclerosis. The Reiki Research Foundation. Retzlaff N. [1998] Reiki - the gift of love, healing and wholeness; Nursing Matters Feb,1998 Rivera, C. [1999] Reiki Therapy - A tool for Wellness. Imprint - New York - National Student Nurses Association, vol 46, no 2, pp31-33 Robertson, A.L. [?] Pronounced effects of proper Reiki attunement. American Reiki Master Association Newsletter; vol 1, no 5, p6. Rosentiel, L. [1991] Hypnosis and Reiki. Journal of Hypnotism, Dec; pp8-10 Sabrina, T. [2000] The Science Behind Reiki - What Happens in a Treatment? UK Reiki Federation Sawyer, J. [1998]Clinical Exemplars; the first Reiki practitioner in our OR. AORN Journal, vol 67, no3, pp674-77 Schiller R. Reiki: A Starting Point for Integrative Medicine. Alternative Therapies in Health and Medicine.2003; vol 9, no 2, pp20-21. Schlitz, M. & Braud, W. [1985] Reiki-Plus natural healing: an ethnographic/experimental study. PSI Research, 1985 Sept/Dec vol 4 no 3, pp100-123. Schmehr R. [2003] Case Report: Enhancing the Treatment of HIV/AIDS with Reik Training and Treatment. Alternative Therapies in Health and Medicine. 2003; vol 9, no 2, p120. Tattum A., [1994] Reiki - healing and dealing. Australian Nursing Journal.1994 Aug; vol 2, no 2, p3 Thornton, L. [1996] A study of Reiki, an energy field treatment, using Rogers' science. Rogerian Science News, vol 8 no 3, pp14-15 Thornton, L. [1996] A study of Reiki using Rogers' science: Part II. Rogerian Science News, vol 8, no 4, pp13-14. Thorton, L. [1996] A study of Reiki, An energy field treatment, using Rogers' Science. Rogerian Science News; vol 8, no 1, p3. Thorton, L. [1996] A study of Reiki using Rogers' Science, Part II. Rogerian Science News; vol 8, no 1, p4  University of Michigan.[?] Reiki Technique Study to Control Chronic Pain in Diabetic Neuropathy.The Department of Public Relations & Marketing Communications, University of Michigan Van Sell, SL. [1996] Reiki: an ancient touch therapy. Reiki News. Feb. 1996, pp57-59 Wardell D.W.; Engebretson J.[2000] Biological correlates of Reiki Touch healing. Journal of Advanced Nursing, vol 33, no 4, February 2001, pp439-445 Wetzel, W. [1989] Reiki Healing: A Physiologic Perspective. Journal of Holistic Nursing, vol 7, no 1, pp47-54. Whelan, K. M. & Wishnia, G. S. [2003] Reiki therapy: The benefits to a nurse/Reiki practitioner. Holistic Nursing Practice, vol 17, no4, pp209 Whitsitt, T., [1998] Reiki Therapy Journal of Christian Nursing, vol 15; no 1, pp12-13 Witte D. & Dundes L. [2001] Harnessing Life Energy or Wishful Thinking?: Reiki, Placebo Reiki, Meditation and Music, Alternative and Complementary Therapies, vol 7, no 5, pp304-309 From: http://www.aetw.org/reiki_research.html

Healers in the Operating Room

Breast program welcomes alternative practitioners before and during breast surgery.

Physicians, surgeons, and nursing staff at NewYork-Presbyterian/Columbia understand that emotional well-being plays an important role in healing, and they do as much as possible to address the full scope of patients' needs before, during, and after surgery. Sheldon Feldman, MD, Chief of the Breast Surgery Section, believes so strongly in the importance of patients' overall well-being that he is spearheading a program to welcome healers into the operating room during breast surgery.

In this program, healers such as energy workers or reiki masters may be present while a patient undergoes mastectomy or other surgical procedures. According to Dr. Feldman. "Patients may be going through very difficult problems, such as accepting the loss of a breast or the ability to breastfeed. Healers can help patients on the emotional level, which helps on the physical level. The positive impact on healing after surgery can be potentially huge."

Patient Carolyn Dwyer could not agree more. Diagnosed with stage IV breast cancer in the summer of 2009, Carol enlisted the help of Reverend Diane Epstein, a longtime friend and transformational healer. Carol had previously received occasional massages from Diane, but was not aware of the full extent of Diane's healing work. Upon her diagnosis, they set to work with great focus. First, Diane helped Carol use imagery to welcome into her body the chemotherapy medications she was receiving to shrink her tumors. "I chose for these medications to save my life," Carol explains. "This was very empowering to me. All along, I wasn't nearly as wiped out by chemotherapy as other people who undergo the same treatment." She reached a point in her work with Diane that she felt the doctors were not doing things to her, but for her. The chemotherapy effectively shrunk her tumors in both breasts and her spine, where it had spread. With the tumors at their smallest, she was ready for surgery.

During Carol's double mastectomy in January 2010, Diane was present in the operating room, along with Dr. Feldman and the surgical team, doing energy work. "Dr. Feldman was focused on my body, and Diane was focused on my energy, my spirit. I felt like I was in such good hands from top to bottom," says Carol. Had she not worked with Diane, Carol believes that the entire process would have been frightening and overwhelming, and that she would not have been able to proactively direct her healing process. "I wouldn't have understood that I needed to visualize the story of my healing." Today, Carol exudes confidence, happiness, and peace. "I am fine. I honestly am fine." To hear Carol's voice leaves no doubt in one's mind that she truly is doing well and living a life of vitality.

The NYP/Columbia program carries the torch from its Integrative Medicine Program, which included healers in the operating room during heart surgery. Led by Mehmet Oz, MD for 15 years, this program in complementary medicine continues to provide massage therapy, music therapy, and other healing techniques to patients undergoing heart surgery.

"Before surgery, patients always ask what they can do to get ready, to be prepared. Working with a healer can be very helpful," says Dr. Feldman. "We instituted this program so that this option can be available to everyone who wants it, not just the exceptional patient." The program is accessible to patients of all backgrounds: like yoga, healers may assist with relaxation and energy, regardless of one's religious beliefs or affiliation.

As another patient explains it, the presence of Reiki master Raven Keyes felt like having a 'surgical doula' � it made complicated procedures "not only tolerable, but a healing experience." Before her lumpectomy, this patient also read affirmations and prayers with everyone in the operating room. According to Dr. Feldman, "The team loved it. It made the whole environment more healing. It engaged the staff on a very personal level and elevated their awareness."

Both patients worked with their healers before and after surgery, but patients may choose to enlist a healer as many or as few times as they wish. They may enlist the help of Diane or Raven, who already work with Dr. Feldman's surgical team, or they may request that a new person be present, if they already have a relationship with someone. Dr. Feldman's initiative strives not only to make healers in the OR accessible to patients, but also to study the effect of healers in the OR in order to objectively measure their effect.

For information about the Breast Surgery Program at NewYork-Presbyterian/Columbia, visit www.breastmd.org

From: http://www.columbiasurgery.org/news/healthpoints/2011_spring/p3.html

Herbert Irving Child and Adolescent Oncology Center

Herbert Irving Child and Adolescent Oncology Center

(Jan 27, 2009)

Morgan Stanley Children's Hospital of NewYork-Presbyterian claims home to one of the best children's oncology programs in the United States: The Herbert Irving Child and Adolescent Oncology Center. Here, hope and comfort is offered to young people, while state-of-the-art therapies and supportive, compassionate care offers the best possible chance for a cure. Recognized by the National Cancer Institute as a center of excellence, the Center performs clinical and basic science research as an integral part of its existence.

The Center is located at Morgan Stanley Children's Hospital of NewYork-Presbyterian, which ranked as the #1 children's hospital in New York by U.S. News and World Report. It has one of the largest and most distinguished pediatric oncology programs that provides unparalleled patient care for more than 150 children and adolescents diagnosed with cancer and serious blood disorders each year. The Herbert Irving Child and Adolescent Oncology Center serves as the academic division of Columbia University Medical Center – a top 10 ranked academic medical center.

Each program consists of a basic science research component and a clinical team that includes physicians, nurse practitioners, social workers, clinical oncology nurse specialists, research nurses, clinical research associates and coordinators. This overall structure of laboratory investigation linked with a clinical enterprise promotes the translation of the laboratory findings into improved treatments for children with cancer.

The HICAOC has four over-arching, clinic-wide programs that provide expertise and care to all patients and their families:

INTEGRATIVE THERAPIES PROGRAM FOR CHILDREN WITH CANCER

The first of its kind to mainstream complementary medicine with conventional surgery, radiation and chemotherapy. It is the largest such program in the country. Services such as nutrition and herbal counseling, aromatherapy, acupressure, acupuncture, Reiki, yoga and movement, massage, and guided imagery are provided "without walls" as practitioners care for patients both on the inpatient and outpatient units.

VALERIE FUND PSYCHOSOCIAL PROGRAM

Dedicated child psychologist provides individual and group counseling as well as neuro-psych testing. The child-life therapists use activities to help children gain coping skills. The social workers assist patients and their families to help navigate the health care system and assist them with all psycho-social matters.

PEDIATRIC CANCER FOUNDATION DEVELOPMENTAL THERAPEUTICS PROGRAM

The HICAOC is one of only 20 pediatric oncology programs in the country, and the only one in New York selected by the Children's Oncology Group and the National Cancer Institute, to conduct phase I clinical trials that investigate novel treatment strategies for patients with relapsed or refractory disease. In addition, we are the only program in New York to participate in TACL (Therapeutic Advances in Childhood Leukemia) and NANT (New Approaches to Neuroblastoma Therapy), two limited, exclusive consortia dedicated to testing new drugs for children.

CENTER FOR SURVIVOR WELLNESS

The center staff provides patients and their families a comprehensive medical and psychosocial assessment and introduces interventions to mitigate the long-term complications of treatment for childhood cancer. Particular attention is paid to the needs of adolescent and young adult survivors, including issues of education, job training, fertility, and a healthy lifestyle. The Center offers several innovative initiatives such as "Cancer Dancers," an exercise dance troupe, a summer internship program in conjunction with WCBS Radio, and "Survivewell.org", a site that embraces 21st century technology.

From: http://nyp.org/enews/adolescent-oncology.html

Reiki In Hospitals 3

Reiki In Hospitals
by William Lee Rand

At hospitals and clinics across America, Reiki is beginning to gain acceptance as a meaningful and cost-effective way to improve patient care. Personal interviews conducted with medical professionals corroborate this view.(1)"Reiki sessions cause patients to heal faster with less pain," says Marilyn Vega, RN, a private-duty nurse at the Manhattan Eye, Ear and Throat Hospital in New York. [Reiki] accelerates recovery from surgery, improves mental attitude and reduces the negative effects of medication and other medical procedures.

Vega, a Reiki master, includes Reiki with her regular nursing procedures. Because the patients like Reiki, she has attracted a lot of attention from other patients through word of mouth, as well as from members of the hospital staff. Patients have asked her to do Reiki on them in the operating and recovery rooms. She has also been asked to do Reiki sessions on cancer patients at Memorial Sloane Kettering Hospital, including patients with bone marrow transplants. Recognizing the value of Reiki in patient care, 6 doctors and 25 nurses have taken Reiki training with her.

America's Interest in Complementary Health Care
The general public is turning with ever-increasing interest to complementary health care, including Reiki. In fact, a study conducted by Dr. David M. Eisenberg of Boston's Beth Israel Hospital found that one in every three Americans has used such care, spending over 14 billion out-of-pocket dollars on alternative health care in 1990 alone!(2)

A survey conducted in 2007 indicates that in the previous year 1.2 million adults and 161,000 children in the U.S. received one or more energy healing sessions such as Reiki.(3)

Reiki is also gaining wider acceptance in the medical establishment. Hospitals are incorporating it into their roster of patient services, often with their own Reiki-trained physicians, nurses and support staff. Reiki was in use in hospital operating rooms as early as the mid-90's.(4) Since then its acceptance in medicine has grown. It is now listed in a nursing "scope and standards of practice" publication as an accepted form of care,(5) and a 2008 USA Today article reported that in 2007 15% of U.S. hospitals (over 800) offered Reiki as a regular part of patient services.(6) For a detailed description of 64 Reiki hospital programs, please go towww.centerforreikiresearch.org

Scientific Validation
A research study at Hartford Hospital in Hartford, Connecticut indicates that Reiki improved patient sleep by 86 percent, reduced pain by 78 percent, reduced nausea by 80 percent, and reduced anxiety during pregnancy by 94 percent.(7)

In 2009, The Center for Reiki Research completed the Touchstone Project, which summarized Reiki studies published in peer-reviewed journals. The 25 studies examined were further evaluated to determine the effectiveness of Reiki. The conclusion states: "Overall, based on the summaries of those studies that were rated according to scientific rigor as "Very Good" or "Excellent" by at least one reviewer and were not rated as weak by any reviewer, 83 percent show moderate to strong evidence in support of Reiki as a therapeutic modality."(8)

Why Hospitals Like Reiki
Hospitals are undergoing major changes. They are experiencing a need to reduce costs and at the same time improve patient care. Under the old medical model based on expensive medication and technology this posed an unsolvable dilemma. Not so with Reiki and other complementary modalities. Reiki requires no technology at all and many of its practitioners offer their services for free. Reiki is therefore a very good way to improve care while cutting costs.

Julie Motz, a Reiki trained healer has worked with Dr. Mehmet Oz, a noted cardiothoracic surgeon at Columbia Presbyterian Medical Center in New York. Motz uses Reiki and other subtle energy techniques to balance the patients' energy during operations. She has assisted Dr. Oz in the operating room during open heart surgeries and heart transplants. Motz reports that none of the 11 heart patients so treated experienced the usual postoperative depression, the bypass patients had no postoperative pain or leg weakness; and the transplant patients experienced no organ rejection.(9)

An article in the Marin Independent Journal follows Motz's work at the Marin General Hospital in Marin County, California, just north of San Francisco.(10) There Motz has used subtle energy healing techniques with patients in the operating room. She makes a point of communicating caring feelings and positive thoughts to the patients, and has been given grants to work with mastectomy patients in particular.

Dr. David Guillion, an oncologist at Marin General, has stated "I feel we need to do whatever is in our power to help the patient. We provide state of the art medicine in our office, but healing is a multidimensional process. . . . I endorse the idea that there is a potential healing that can take place utilizing energy."

Reiki at Portsmouth Regional Hospital
Patricia Alandydy is an RN and a Reiki Master. She is the Assistant Director of Surgical Services at Portsmouth Regional Hospital in Portsmouth, New Hampshire. With the support of her Director Jocclyn King and CEO William Schuler, she has made Reiki services available to patients within the Surgical Services Department. This is one of the largest departments in the hospital and includes the operating room, Central Supply, the Post Anesthesia Care Unit, the Ambulatory Care Unit and the Fourth Floor where patients are admitted after surgery. During telephone interviews with pre-op patients, Reiki is offered along with many other services. If patients request it, Reiki is then incorporated into their admission the morning of surgery, and an additional 15-20 minute session is given prior to their transport to the operating room. Some Reiki has also been done in the operating room at Portsmouth Regional.

The Reiki sessions are given by 20 members of the hospital staff whom Patricia has trained in Reiki. These include RN's, physical therapists, technicians and medical records and support staff. Reiki services began in April 1997, and as of 2008 have given 8000 Reiki sessions.

"It has been an extremely rewarding experience," Alandydy says, "to see Reiki embraced by such a diverse group of people and spread so far and wide by word of mouth, in a positive light. Patients many times request a Reiki [session] based on the positive experience of one of their friends. It has also been very revealing to see how open-minded the older patient population is to try Reiki. In the hospital setting Reiki is presented as a technique which reduces stress and promotes relaxation, thereby enhancing the body's natural ability to heal itself."

The Reiki practitioners do not add psychic readings or other new-age techniques to the Reiki sessions, but just do straight Reiki. Because of these boundaries, and the positive results that have been demonstrated, Reiki has gained credibility with the physicians and other staff members. It is now being requested from other care areas of the hospital to treat anxiety, chronic pain, cancer and other conditions.

Alandydy, with her partner Greda Cocco, also manage a hospital-supported Reiki clinic through their business called Seacoast Complementary Care, Inc. The clinic is open two days a week and staffed by 50 trained Reiki volunteers, half of whom come from the hospital staff and the rest from the local Reiki community. They usually have 13-17 Reiki tables in use at the clinic with 1-2 Reiki volunteers per table. The clinic treats a wide range of conditions including HIV, pain, and side-effects from chemotherapy and radiation. Some patients are referred by hospital physicians and some come by word of mouth from the local community. They are charged a nominal fee of $10.00 per session. The clinic is full each night and often has a waiting list.

The California Pacific Medical Center's Reiki Program
The California Pacific Medical Center is one of the largest hospitals in northern California. Its Health and Healing Clinic, a branch of the Institute for Health and Healing, provides care for both acute and chronic illness using a wide range of complementary care including Reiki, Chinese medicine, hypnosis, biofeedback, acupuncture, homeopathy, herbal therapy, nutritional therapy and aromatherapy. The clinic has six treatment rooms and is currently staffed by two physicians, Dr. Mike Cantwell and Dr. Amy Saltzman. Cantwell, a pediatrician specializing in infectious diseases, is also a Reiki Master with training in nutritional therapy. Saltzman specializes in internal medicine and also has training in mindfulness meditation, acupuncture and nutritional therapy. Other professionals are waiting to join the staff, including several physicians.

The doctors at the clinic work with the patients and their referring physicians to determine what complementary modalities will be appropriate for the patient. A detailed questionnaire designed to provide a holistic overview of the patient's condition is used to help decide the course of treatment. The questionnaire involves a broad range of subjects including personal satisfaction with relationships, friends and family, with body image, and with job, career, and spirituality. The clinic is very popular and currently has a waiting list of more than 100 patients.

Dr. Cantwell provides 1-3 hour-long Reiki sessions, after which he assigns the patient to a Reiki II internist who continues to provide Reiki sessions outside the clinic. Patients who continue to respond well to the Reiki treatments are referred for Reiki training so they can continue Reiki self-treatments on a continuing basis.

Dr. Cantwell states: "I have found Reiki to be useful in the treatment of acute illnesses such as musculoskeletal injury/pain, headache, acute infections, and asthma. Reiki is also useful for patients with chronic illnesses, especially those associated with chronic pain."

At this point, Reiki is not covered by insurance at the clinic, but Dr. Cantwell is conducting clinical research in the hope of convincing insurance companies that complementary care is viable and will save them money.

More MD's and Nurses Practicing Reiki
Mary Lee Radka is a Reiki Master and an R.N. who has the job classification of Nurse-Healer because of her Reiki skills. She teaches Reiki classes to nurses and other hospital staff at the University of Michigan Hospital in Ann Arbor. She also uses Reiki with most of her patients. She has found Reiki to produce the best results in reducing pain and stress, improving circulation and eliminating nerve blocks.

Reiki master Nancy Eos, M.D., was a member of the teaching staff of the University of Michigan Medical School. As an emergency-room physician, she treated patients with Reiki along with standard medical procedures.

"I can't imagine practicing medicine without Reiki," Eos says. "With Reiki all I have to do is touch a person. Things happen that don't usually happen. Pain lessens in intensity. Rashes fade. Wheezing gives way to breathing clearly. Angry people begin to joke with me."

In her book Reiki and Medicine she includes descriptions of using Reiki to treat trauma, heart attack, respiratory problems, CPR, child abuse, allergic reactions and other emergency-room situations. Dr. Eos now maintains a family practice at Grass Lake Medical Center and is an admitting-room physician at Foote Hospital in Jackson, Michigan, where she continues to use Reiki in conjunction with standard medical procedures. According to Dr. Eos, there are at least 5 other physicians at Foote hospital who have Reiki training along with many nurses.(11)

Libby Barnett and Maggie Chambers are Reiki masters who have treated patients and given Reiki training to staff members in over a dozen New England hospitals. They teach Reiki as complementary care and the hospital staff they have trained add Reiki to the regular medical procedures they administer to their patients. Their book Reiki Energy Medicine describes their experiences.(12) One of the interesting things they recommend is creating hospital "Reiki Rooms," staffed by volunteers, where patients as well as hospital staff can come to receive Reiki treatments. Bettina Peyton, M.D., one of the physicians Libby and Maggie have trained states: "Reiki's utter simplicity, coupled with its potentially powerful effects, compels us to acknowledge the concept of a universal healing energy."

Anyone interested in bringing Reiki into hospitals is encouraged to do so. The hospital setting where there are so many people in real need is a wonderful place to offer Reiki. The experiences and recommendations in this article should provide a good starting point for developing Reiki programs in your area.

*Editors Note:It is very important when giving Reiki treatments in hospitals or otherwise to make sure the patient understands what Reiki is and to only provide a Reiki treatment if the patient has requested one. Also, if the issue comes up, it is important to explain that while Reiki is spiritual in nature, in that love and compassion are an important part of its practice, it is not a religion and that members of many religious groups including many Christians, Muslims, Hindus and Jews use Reiki and find it compatible with their religious beliefs.

1 The comments that follow were part of an interview I did with each person either in person or by telephone and were first published in my article, "Reiki In Hospitals," which appeared in the Winter 1997 issue of the Reiki Newsletter (precursor to Reiki News Magazine).

2 Eisenberg, David, et al. "Unconventional Medicine in the United States", New England Journal of Medicine 328, no. 4 (1993), 246-52.
2 Beth Ashley, "Healing hands", Marin Independent Journal, May 11, 1997.

3 P. M. Barnes, B. Bloom, and R. Nahin, CDC National Health Statistics Report #12.Complementary and Alternative Medicine Use Among Adults and Children, United States, 2007. (December 2008).

4 Chip Brown, "The Experiments of Dr. Oz,"The New York Times Magazine, July 30, 1995, 20-23.

5 American Holistic Nurses Association and American Nurses Association (2007),Holistic Nursing: Scope and Standards of Practice (Silver Spring, MD: Nursesbooks.org.)

6 L. Gill, "More hospitals offer alternative therapies for mind, body, spirit," USA Today, September 15, 2008 (Online) http://usatoday30.usatoday.com/news/health/2008-09-14-alternative-therapies_N.htm.

7 Hartford Hospital, Integrative Medicine, Outcomes, http://www.harthosp.org/integrativemed/outcomes/default.aspx#outcome6. Measurements cited were obtained during the initial pilot phase of the study, December 1999 - December 2000.

8 The Center for Reiki Research, Touchstone Project, Conclusion, http://www.centerforreikiresearch.org/RRConclusion.aspx.

9 Julie Motz, Hands of Life, Bantam Books, New York, 1998

10 Beth Ashley, "Healing hands", Marin Independent Journal, May 11, 1997.

11 Nancy Eos, M.D., Reiki and Medicine (Eos, 1995).

12 Libby Barnett and Maggie Chambers, with Susan Davidson, Reiki Energy Medicine, Healing Arts Press, Rochester, Vermont, 1996.

From:http://www.reiki.org/reikinews/reiki_in_hospitals.html