I had a Reiki treatment by another practitioner yesterday.
I was shocked.
Not only did she give unauthorized medical advice, she did not follow the guidelines my teacher gives. She had another teacher. Anne is a licensed clinical psychologist, and draws the line on what Reiki IS and what Reiki IS NOT.
As a physician, I am licensed to interpret medical data, come to a diagnosis, and give a prescription. I have worked long and hard to accomplish this. Reiki, on its own, is no substitute for orthodox medicine and the psychological specialties. Although Reiki cannot hurt, its use in the untrained practitioner can.
Through repetition, Reiki gives a practioner an idea of what is going on energetically in the body of their client, or in my case, patient. I feel cancers, other illnesses as imbalances. There is no one descriptor for an imbalance. Each Reiki worker has to discover their own sensation for imbalances. For me, I sense an emptiness or lack in the general area of the body.
With training, even though you pick it up, it is not okay to tell the client exactly what you pick up. A gentle hint is enough. I was told 'there was something hot in your right breast and you need to get it checked out. I removed it though.'. This is medicine. Without followup or referral to appropriate care. This is BAD and FRIGHTENS the patient. My mammogram was normal in September. What am I going to do, get another? I asked. The Reiki worker said, 'Just go check yourself real good in the shower.'
As a licensed physician AND a certified Reiki Master-Teacher, I feel obliged to describe its use in medical practice. And outside. Sometimes if a loved one gets a cut, or perhaps if one comes upon the scene of an accident, Reiki can be activated informally by just a touch, a healing touch, perhaps on the wound, or the shoulder. It will go where it is needed to go.
The Reiki practitioner in the medical field will be using this approach, in the midst of delivering medical care, as something extra that can be done for the patient. Reiki in no way supercedes the business at hand in the hospital. It also carries a responsibility to be used in the interest of the patient. When one is not a licensed medical provider, it is key to stay within the scope of one's practice.
Whew! I feel better now!
