Share your experience with Reiki training and practice by taking 8 to 10 minutes on an anonymous online survey.

What’s it about?

This study seeks to characterize why people study Reiki and the possible impact of that education and practice on current health and well-being—in comparison to similar data on those who studied conventional medicine or other healing arts.

Why participate?

A high response rate from our Reiki community will help ensure impactful results in advancing the prestige and perceived value of Reiki and other complementary and integrative practices.

Go to the Survey: https://unc.az1.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_02EaM4gSGGGNW98

If you have any questions in advance, contact Dr. Edwards at 860.521.8484, marc_edwards@med.unc.edu.

The recent open access paper by Meredith Sprengel et al. titled Biofield Therapies Clinical Research Landscape: A Scoping Review and Interactive Evidence Map published in the Journal of Integrative and Complementary Medicine provides a comprehensive overview of the current state of clinical research on biofield therapies – including Reiki.

The authors conducted a scoping review to map the existing evidence on biofield therapies and created an interactive evidence map to visually represent the findings. The review aimed to identify the diverse populations, health conditions and outcomes that have been studied in relation to biofield therapies, the methodologies used, and the geographical distribution of the research.

Key findings from the review of 353 peer-reviewed studies published in English (including 96 Reiki studies) indicate that biofield therapies have been explored across a wide range of health conditions, including cancer, pain management, mental health disorders, cardiovascular diseases, and chronic illnesses. Most studies employed randomized controlled trials (RCTs) and observational designs, with varying levels of methodological rigor. While some studies reported positive outcomes, such as reduced pain, improved mood, and enhanced quality of life, others showed mixed or inconclusive results.

Interactive Evidence Map

The publicly available, interactive Biofield Science Evidence Map created by the authors serves as a valuable tool for researchers, practitioners, and policymakers. Intended to be updated yearly, it allows users to filter and navigate through the research landscape by health condition, study design, and outcome measure, providing a clear and accessible way to understand the scope and quality of biofield therapy research.

The paper also highlights several gaps and challenges in the current research landscape. These include the need for more high-quality, large-scale RCTs, greater standardization of biofield therapy protocols, and improved reporting of intervention details. Additionally, the authors call for increased collaboration and interdisciplinary approaches to advance the scientific understanding of biofield therapies and their potential mechanisms of action.

Overall, the scoping review and evidence map presented in this paper offer a comprehensive and detailed overview of the clinical research landscape for biofield therapies. They underscore the importance of continued research in this field to validate the efficacy of these therapies and to adopt them as integrative care options in allopathic medicine.

CRR President Natalie Dyer’s recent paper, “Evaluation of a Reiki Volunteer Program within Two Cancer Infusion Centers,” published in the Journal of Pain and Symptom Management, is open access for a limited time. The results show Reiki significantly improved cancer patients’ pain, anxiety, fatigue, nausea, and wellbeing.

Read paper here.

By Ann Baldwin, PhD, Professor Emerita of Physiology, University of Arizona; Director of Mind-Body-Science; and Editor-in-Chief, Center for Reiki Research

According to the NIH National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health web site entry for Reiki (last updated in December 2018):

“Reiki hasn’t been clearly shown to be effective for any health-related
purpose. It has been studied for a variety of conditions, including pain,
anxiety, and depression, but most of the research has not been of high
quality, and the results have been inconsistent.”

The evidence suggests otherwise.

As of July 2024, there are 140 Reiki research papers that have been published in peer-reviewed scientific journals, but most are pilot studies with small numbers (fewer than 20) of participants per group, and many do not include appropriate control groups. For these reasons, the medical profession often dismisses these studies as inconclusive. A closer examination of overlapping data from some of the stronger pilot studies and the 13 larger scale clinical trials with 30 or more participants per group (see list below) supports the ability of Reiki to reduce anxiety and pain, and suggests its usefulness to induce relaxation, improve fatigue, burn-out and depressive symptoms, and strengthen overall wellbeing.

Four published literature reviews of Reiki research (see list below)  state that there is sufficient evidence to conclude that Reiki is more effective than placebo in reducing pain and anxiety and that it has the potential for managing chronic health conditions and postoperative recovery. The research on Reiki’s effectiveness is promising, but more large studies are needed to convince medical professionals to invest their time, finances, and effort in researching how Reiki can serve as an adjunct to allopathic medicine. Only through successful, scientifically robust, large-scale clinical trials will the decision-makers at top scientific and medical institutions be convinced to support the widespread use of Reiki in hospitals, clinics, and hospices.

Published Reiki clinical trials with at least 30 participants per group:

1. Gillespie E.A., Gillespie B.W., Stevens M.J. (2007). Painful Diabetic Neuropathy: Impact of an Alternative Approach. Diabetes Care. 2007;30:999–1001.
2. Catlin A., Taylor-Ford R.L. (2011). Investigation of Standard Care Versus Sham Reiki Placebo Versus Actual Reiki Therapy to Enhance Comfort and Well-Being in a Chemotherapy Infusion Center. Oncol Nurse Forum. 2011;38:E212–E220.
3. Kurebayashi, L.F.S., Turrini, R.N.T., Souza, T.P.B.D., Takiguchi, R.S., Kuba, G., & Nagumo, M.T. (2016). Massage and Reiki Used to Reduce Stress and Anxiety: Randomized Clinical Trial. Revista latino-americana de enfermagem, 24. 
4. Charkhandeh, M., Talib, M.A., & Hunt, C.J. (2016). The Clinical Effectiveness of Cognitive Behavior Therapy and an Alternative Medicine Approach in Reducing Symptoms of Depression in Adolescents. Psychiatry Research, 239, 325-330. 
5. Chirico A., D’aiuto G., Penon A., et al. (2017). Self-Efficacy for Coping with Cancer Enhances the Effect of Reiki Treatments During the Pre-Surgery Phase of Breast Cancer Patients. Anticancer Research, 37(7), 3657-3665.
6. Vergo, M.T., Pinkson, B.M., Broglio, K., Li, Z., & Tosteson, T.D. (2018). Immediate Symptom Relief After a First Session of Massage Therapy or Reiki in Hospitalized Patients: A 5-year Clinical Experience From a Rural Academic Medical Center. The Journal of Alternative and Complementary Medicine, 24(8), 801-808. 
7. Dyer N.L., Baldwin A.L., Rand W.L. (2019). A Large-Scale Effectiveness Trial of Reiki for Physical and Psychological Health. The Journal of Alternative and Complementary Medicine, 25(12), 1156-1162. 
8. Jurkovich P., Watson S. (2020). Implementation of a Volunteer Reiki Program at an Academic Medical Center in the Midwest. Journal of Holistic Nursing, 0898010120907734.
9. Topdemir E.A., Saritas S. (2020). The Effect of Preoperative Reiki Application on Patient Anxiety Levels. EXPLORE, 17(1), 50-54.
10. Bondi, A., Morgan, T., & Fowler, S.B. (2020). Effects of Reiki on Pain and Anxiety in Women Hospitalized for Obstetrical- and Gynecological-Related Conditions. Journal of Holistic Nursing, 0898010120936437. 
11. Buyukbayram Z., Saritas S.C. (2020). The Effect of Reiki and Guided Imagery Intervention on Pain and Fatigue in Oncology Patients: A Non-Randomized Controlled Study. EXPLORE, 17(1), 22-26.
12. Utli H., Yağmur Y. (2021). The Effects of Reiki and Back Massage on Women’s Pain and Vital Signs Post Abdominal Hysterectomy: A Randomized Controlled Trial. EXPLORE (NY), 0000, 1-8. Doi. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.explore.2021.07.004.
13. Utli, H., & Birgul, D.B. (2022). The Effect of Reiki on Anxiety, Stress, and Comfort Levels Before Gastrointestinal Endoscopy: A Randomized Sham-Controlled Trial. Journal of Peri-Anesthesia Nursing, 00(00), 1-8. doi: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jopan.2022.08.01.

Published Reiki research literature reviews:

1. McManus, D.E. (2017). Reiki Is Better Than Placebo and Has Broad Potential as a Complementary Health Therapy. Journal of Evidence-Based Complementary & Alternative Medicine, 2017 Oct; 22(4): 1051–1057. doi: 10.1177/2156587217728644
2. Morero, J.A.P., de Souza Pereira, S., Esteves, R.B., Cardosos, L. (2021). Effects of Reiki on Mental Health Care: A Systematic Review. Holistic Nursing Practice, 2021 Jul-Aug;35(4):191-198. doi: 10.1097/HNP.0000000000000456.
3. Zadro, S., Stapleton, P. (2022). Does Reiki Benefit Mental Health Symptoms Above Placebo? Front Psychology, 2022 Jul 12:13:897312. doi:10.3389/fpsyg.2022.897312. eCollection 2022.
4. Humphreys, E., Cabrera, E., Downey Luhrmann, S. (2023). The Effectiveness of Treating Anxiety With Reiki. Journal of Behavior Therapy, DOI:10.14302/issn2474-9273.jbtm-23-4712 Corpus ID: 264051702