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.
In this 30-minute webinar, Robert Crandall will describe the creation, results, and success of a hospital-based Reiki program provided by the Spiritual Care Department. The 20-minute presentation will be followed by a 10-minute Q&A with the audience.
Bob Crandall is the Reiki Team Coordinator in the Spiritual Care Department at Upstate University Hospital in Syracuse, New York. He has a BS in Engineering from Clarkson University and worked in the nuclear power industry before retiring. In 2006 he was trained as a Usui Reiki Master by William Lee Rand, the president of the International Center for Reiki Training. Over the past 12 years he has done Reiki work in the hospital clinical setting at Upstate, starting as a volunteer with the Spiritual Care Department. Bob has completed 2 units of Clinical Pastoral Education and is now an assistant chaplain at the hospital. In January, 2018, Bob was hired part time as the Reiki Team Coordinator, where he coordinates upwards of seven volunteer Reiki practitioners that provide Reiki to in-patient, (cancer) out-patients, families and staff at the Upstate downtown campus.
Associate and Professional Members will be automatically registered.
Register here.
Sign up here.
We are looking for a statistician to join our Board of Directors. Individuals may self-nominate.
The volunteer Board meets monthly via a one-hour Zoom meeting. In addition, directors review and/or summarize peer-reviewed Reiki research papers, participate in the annual International Reiki Research Conference, and coordinate and/or participate in one 30-minute webinar. The statistician will be responsible for determining whether statistical methods are appropriate in published Reiki studies, as well as determining the appropriate statistical design and analysis approach for Reiki research conducted by the CRR. Experience with a range of study designs, including feasibility, observational, pragmatic, RCTs, and qualitative designs is preferred.
Applications must be submitted here and received by January 15, 2025.
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:
Published Reiki research literature reviews:
The 2024 International Reiki Research Conference proceedings, along with the 2023 Reiki Research Conference proceedings and all CRR’s past webinars, are available in video on demand here.
A new Japanese book The Power of Ki to Heal Life: Holistic Healing features a special contribution from Center for Reiki Research President Dr Natalie Dyer about CRR and Reiki Medic-Care’s recent distance Reiki study for frontline healthcare workers’ health-related symptoms during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Co-authored by Ryoichi Obitsu, a leading expert in holistic medicine, and Shinsuke Kawashima, the founder of Ryujin Reiki, the book is available for purchase through Amazon Asia at http://amzn.asia/d/hEt02fz
