Reiki therapy in social work practice

This study explores the perspectives of individuals with reiki and social work credentials, or "practitioners", regarding any benefits, risks, and barriers to the integration of reiki therapy and social work practice in the healthcare system. An organizational representative from each the College of Social Workers and Social Service Workers, The Canadian Reiki Association, and The Ontario Health Department was interviewed regarding their response to the prospect of integration and for the purpose of providing an organizational context to the practitioners' responses. Practitioners identified benefits to integration such as relief of physical pain, relaxation and stress reduction, relief of emotional pain, increased mental clarity and self awareness, increased receptivity to therapy, enhanced spiritual connection, and a sense of empowerment. The fit that was described between the two practices demonstrated complementary goals, values, and ethics of practice. Barriers to integration were described to be a lack of standardization in reiki and issues around credibility, financial costs of reiki, lack of education and scientific research about reiki, a Western mind-set, and issues regarding touch in practice. Such barriers demonstrated the impact of cultural differences and social structures due to a conservatism around the East-West paradigm clash and the struggle to establish and maintain boundaries within both CAM groups and within the conventional medical community. None of the participants saw any risks or dangers of integrating social work and reiki therapy. The responses of the organizational representatives demonstrated that the Canadian Reiki Association was very supportive of integration while the College and Ontario Health Department representatives took a more neutral and formalized position. These representatives cited the importance of adhering to standards of practice in their respective fields, which did not allow for an in-depth exploration of potential issues involved with integration.