The Center for Reiki Research invites you to take part in a study to better understand the personal, psychological, and spiritual qualities that may contribute to what is described in the research literature as the “healing presence” in Reiki practitioners. Healing presence refers to a state of awareness and relational engagement through which a practitioner may support physical, emotional, and spiritual well-being in others. While previous research has primarily focused on the outcomes of Reiki treatments, relatively little research has examined the inner qualities and lived experiences of the practitioners themselves. This study seeks to explore qualities such as empathy, compassion, mindfulness, spirituality, intention, and transpersonal awareness, as well as early life and childhood experiences, using validated questionnaires and structured survey items. By examining these factors together, the study aims to contribute to a deeper understanding of how personal history and inner qualities may relate to healing presence in Reiki practice and to inform future research in this area.

If you choose to take part, you will be asked to complete a one-time anonymous online questionnaire, which will take approximately 20–30 minutes to complete. The questionnaire includes questions about your demographic background, Reiki training and practice experience, and a series of standardized questionnaires that assess characteristics related to healing presence, such as empathy, compassion, mindfulness, spirituality, universal love, and related experiences. The questionnaire also includes questions about early life and childhood experiences, including adverse childhood experiences. Examples of these questions include whether, during your first 18 years of life, you experienced situations such as feeling unsupported or unloved within your household, or whether a household member experienced mental health difficulties. In addition, the questionnaire includes items relating to noetic beliefs and experiences and extrasensory perception (ESP), including experiences that may occur during Reiki sessions or in everyday life, such as sensing emotions, receiving sudden knowledge or insight, or perceiving information beyond ordinary sensory channels.

There are no intended personal benefits associated with taking part; however, the findings may help the researchers in determining how personal history and inner qualities relate to healing presence in Reiki practitioners and may inform future research in this area.

Take the survey here. 

As part of CRR’s efforts to promote scientific rigor in Reiki research, we’ve successfully connected with the scientific journals Epilepsy & Behavior, Journal of Paediatrics and Child Health, and Journal of Nursing and Education.

CRR director Ann Baldwin authored three letters to the editors, referencing Biofield Therapies: Guidelines for Reporting Clinical Trials which outlines the steps required to produce scientifically sound research papers. Since the guidelines are applicable to designing studies as well, CRR recommended the three journals augment their “Instructions for Authors” with a copy of, or reference to, these guidelines.

All three letters have been published:

• Letter to the Epilepsy & Behavior editor concerning critique by Thomas J. Wheeler of “The Effects of Reiki Application on Sleep and Quality of Life in Patients With Epilepsy” (published October 23, 2025)
• Letter to the Journal of Paediatrics and Child Health editor concerning critique by Thomas J. Wheeler of “Efficacy of Facilitated Tucking Position and Reiki Given to Preterm Infants During Orogastric Tube Insertion: A Randomised Controlled Trial” (published January 22, 2026)
• Letter to the Journal of Nursing and Education editor concerning critique by Thomas J. Wheeler of “The Effect of Distance Reiki on State Test Anxiety and Test Performance. A Randomized Controlled Trial of Nursing Students” (published February 1, 2026)

CRR’s mission is to validate and foster the acceptance of Reiki biofield therapy as an integrative healthcare practice. Only rigorous, scientifically robust studies can provide the evidence necessary to support the use of this low risk, non-invasive modality in clinical settings.

• Reports of Non-Physical Beings Assisting in Reiki Sessions by Helané Wahbeh
• Reiki in Digital Art Therapy: Interdisciplinary Practice in the Fourth Industrial Revolution by Yiu Kwong Au-Yeung, and
• Reiki Initiations and the Role of Expectations Key Points by Graziano Scarascia.

In this illuminating conversation, Beyond the Reiki Gateway host Andrea Kennedy sits down with Dr. Natalie Dyer — research scientist, Reiki Master, and President of the Center for Reiki Research — to explore the evidence behind energy healing and its place in the future of healthcare, and discuss the upcoming International Reiki Research Conference October 4-5, 2025.