Beyond our bodies and our brains, take a moment to visualize the idea that energy is constantly flowing through and around you — an invisible, kinetic force that works to shape your thoughts, your emotions, and your well-being. These feelings can seem amplified if you’ve recognized or been struggling with the presence of mental health issues, akin to your natural energy system — that sense of flow — feeling seemingly diminished. Many traditional types of approaches are effective in helping problems like depression, anxiety disorder, bipolar disorder, or PTSD. Sometimes, however, healing requires going deeper — something that works beyond words and thoughts. Holistic therapies like Reiki, a form of energy healing rooted in Japanese tradition, work to do just that: it reduces stress, harnessing and realigning your body’s energy system to create mental space and clarity.
“Your body is not a thing. It is a process,” says Gregory C. Unruh, a professor at George Mason University, quoted in an article for the school’s Center for the Advancement of Well-Being. “The objective reality for a human being is that, physically, you are a human flowing. Your body is a slow-motion waterfall, with materials and energy constantly flowing through you.”
In happy, joyous moments, this energy feels light and effortless, but when you’re feeling stressed, anxious, or dealing with hardships or challenges, this energy can become blocked or unbalanced. Though it’s not something you can see or necessarily feel, when this energy is disrupted, it can manifest as fatigue, tension o, or a sense that something feels “off.”
But what is Reiki, how does it work, and more importantly, what is the relationship between Reiki and mental health?
What Is Reiki?
The origins of Reiki began more than 100 years ago when Mikao Usui was credited with founding it as an alternative spiritual healing practice in the early 1920s. It was brought to the U.S. in the following decade by Hawayo Takata, a former patient of one of Usui’s students.
“Reiki” translates to “mysterious atmosphere” or “miraculous sign,” combining “rei” (universal) with “ki” (life force energy). It is based on the belief that energy flows through all living things, supporting the body’s natural ability to heal. When this energy is blocked or disrupted, it can create imbalances, making it important to restore its flow for overall well-being.
Reiki, notes a 2017 study, is “a relaxing form of healing therapy that is applied through noninvasive, nonmanipulative gentle touch.” A Reiki practitioner/master is like a conduit, a middle element, between you and your body’s vital energies. During a Reiki session, they’ll use Reiki hand positions meant to transfer channel Reiki healing energy to you.
It’s believed that Reiki healing can help clear energy blockages, restore balance, and support your body’s natural healing abilities.
Reiki as a Long-Term Treatment for Mental Health
Reiki healing is a therapeutic modality, not a one-time fix. It’s a cumulative, long-term journey meant to facilitate healing since it focuses on the connection between your body’s energy system and the mind. Over time, consistent Reiki healing sessions can help you release deeply held emotional pain and help to refocus your mental health (ideally in tandem with traditional mental health therapy).
Indeed, studies have shown Reiki, as a complementary, holistic therapy, to be beneficial in treating numerous mental health symptoms. “Reiki may be more effective in treating some areas of mental health … particularly if symptoms are clinically relevant,” notes a 2022 report from the Bond University School of Psychology.
Other studies show the mental health advantages Reiki has in helping:
- Reduce anxiety
- Improve depression
- Boosting mood
- Elevating self-esteem
- Regulating positive emotions
How Does Reiki for Mental Health Work?
A typical Reiki meditation session happens in a quiet place where the environment is calming, peaceful, and relaxing. Think of it as a massage therapy session accompanied by Reiki music in the background, soft lighting, and aromatherapy scents in the air.
If this is your first time wondering how to do Reiki, your practitioner will briefly explain the process and answer any questions you might have. You can lie or sit down — whichever is more comfortable. Using a series of established Reiki hand positions, Reiki practitioners begin by gently scanning your energy field with their hands held just above your body, identifying areas where energy may be blocked or imbalanced.
They then proceed with a sequence of light, intentional touches incorporating various Reiki symbols with specific healing hand gestures:
- Cho Ku Rei (Power symbol): It resembles a straight line at the top with a spiral below. It’s used at the start of the session to activate and amplify your universal life force energy.
- Sei He Ki (Mental/emotional symbol): Formed by a backward, the number 5 a, and an arc with a pair of bubbles, it’s applied to balance emotional energy to the conscious and unconscious minds.
- Hon Sha Ze Sho Nen (Distance symbol): Consisting of a sequence of connecting Japanese kanji strokes, his symbol is employed to bridge time and space, heal trauma, and address deep-seated issues.
- Dai Ko Myo (Master symbol): With an intricate, calligraphic form, like lines radiating from the sun, it’s reserved for tapping into divine energy and your inner self-healing power.
- Raku (Completion symbol): A lightning bolt symbol marks the end of a session to ground you with the earth’s energy and seal the healing work, signifying the release of negative energy.
Reiki Sessions With a Therapist
The university recommends that four Reiki sessions give you enough time to get you accustomed to the process and start understanding and feeling its benefits. Some mental health therapists may be trained as Reiki yoga healers.
However, given that Reiki is meant to be a complementary therapy, they may tailor your treatment plan to include a more integrated approach utilizing Reiki alongside cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT) and holistic therapies like mindfulness meditation, breathwork, or expressive arts therapy.
Reach Out for Help With Drug Addiction
Are you struggling with substance abuse?
Royal Life Centers at Spokane Heights is here to help you recover. Because we care.
Reiki and Mental Health: How Does It Help?
While Reiki is touted for its ability to alleviate chronic pain, the connection between Reiki and mental health also runs deep.
A 2021 review collecting 11 studies over three decades concluded that Reiki for anxiety, Reiki for depression, and Reiki for stress all proved effective in alleviating symptoms of each condition. (One of the studies found that depression symptoms were decreased by 50% in oncology patients after undergoing Reiki.)
Indeed, Reiki is effective in using your own inner energies to open clearer mental pathways and restore harmony with your mind, body, and spirit (one of the hallmarks of holistic therapy). Here are some ways Reiki can help:
Stress Reduction
A recent study by the Mental Health Foundation noted that 74% of people felt so stressed that they were unable to cope, allowing it to interfere with their daily functioning. The effects of Reiki for stress aim to reduce both the physiological and psychological markers of stress by promoting deep relaxation and restoring your energy center’s equilibrium. A study by the University of Minnesota indicates that people who engaged in Reiki reported feeling “hovering in a threshold state of consciousness, simultaneously aware of their surroundings and deeply indrawn. Some people fall into a deep, sleeplike meditative state.” Others reported feeling an immense release of stress punctuated by relaxation.
Anxiety Reduction
Likewise, anxiety disorders are the most common mental challenge in the U.S., affecting more than 40 million adults each year, notes the Anxiety & Depression Association of America (ADAA). Generalized anxiety disorder affects nearly 7 million people a year, but only 43.2% receive treatment. As an alternative intervention, Reiki for anxiety can work to lessen and assuage symptoms of anxiety — by addressing energetic blockages that can serve to build up tension and anxiety, the process of Reiki meditation creates a space that calms the nervous system and restores a sense of balance.
Improves Depression Symptoms
Depression afflicts millions of people, as nearly 21% of all American adults will develop major depressive disorder at some point in their lives. Symptoms of clinical depression — from feeling sad and hopeless to lacking sleep, losing interest in activities you once enjoyed, or withdrawing from loved ones — can overwhelm and interfere with one’s quality of life. But Reiki for depression can help since it works on the principle that a free, unimpeded flow of energy creates emotional balance. By releasing blocked energy, Reiki healing sessions can contribute to elevating your mood and brightening your mental outlook, which can be dampened by depression.
Improves Trauma Symptoms
“Trauma occurs when a person is overwhelmed by events or circumstances and responds with intense fear, horror, and helplessness,” says the National Council for Behavioral Health. In fact, 70% — more than 223 million people — have experienced some type of traumatic event at least once in their lives. Traumatic experiences can leave a lasting imprint on your energy field, manifesting in symptoms like tension, emotional numbness, mood swings, or feelings of detachment. Reiki for trauma encourages not only the release of stored tension from trauma but also the connectedness and openness that comes when your body’s energy is open and freely flowing.
Promotes Emotional Resilience
Regular engagement with Reiki has the potential to nurture emotional resilience by rebalancing your natural energy system. As you experience its calming influence, over time, you may notice a transformative effect, creating an increased ability to process challenging emotions and recover from setbacks. This is emotional resilience — the ability within each of us to bounce back from adversity. Reiki healing plays a key role in this cultivation, helping you to build a deeper connection with yourself.
Who Is Reiki Right For?
Because Reiki is gentle and non-invasive, it’s accessible to anyone of all ages and backgrounds. Its positive, universal energy-centric approach is ideal for people who may be dealing with mild mental health issues to people who may have received a dual diagnosis of substance use disorder and mental health disorder and need an alternative treatment in addition to rehab or behavioral talk therapy.
Other Options for Mental Health Treatment
Reiki’s benefits are rooted in an Eastern tradition spanning more than a century and can help you feel centered and grounded, with a mental clarity you may never have thought possible. But it’s just one piece of the mental health puzzle.
If you feel that you or a loved one may need some help if depression or anxiety is being an overwhelming part of your life, a recovery center (like Royal Life Centers’ Spokane campus) offers a host of outpatient treatment options, from individual talk therapy to group setting therapy to activity- and adventure-based therapy that aim to stabilize your mental health while enabling you with the tools and coping mechanisms to face life stronger and more focused. Incorporating Reiki into your mental health regimen offers an added avenue for your own healing and self-discovery.
If you have questions about mental health treatment or alternative therapies we offer or how to enroll in treatment, a single phone call can change your life, so please reach out to us today. We’re looking forward to helping you.
REFERENCES:
- Thriving Together Series: Human Energy Flow – Center for the Advancement of Well-Being
- The scientific hypothesis of an “energy system” in the human body – ScienceDirect
- History of Reiki: Read about the Origin and Traditions of Reiki
- Where Does Reiki Come From? | Taking Charge of Your Wellbeing
- Trauma-infographic.pdf
- Depression Facts & Statistics | Anxiety and Depression Association of America, ADAA
- Stress: statistics | Mental Health Foundation
- Reiki Is Better Than Placebo and Has Broad Potential as a Complementary Health Therapy – PMC
- (PDF) Effects of Reiki on Mental Health Care A Systematic Review
- What Can I Expect in a Typical Reiki Session? | Taking Charge of Your Wellbeing
- What Is Reiki? Benefits and Risks
- Frontiers | Does Reiki Benefit Mental Health Symptoms Above Placebo?
- Reiki: Does Science Back This Energy Healing Therapy?
