Reiki Helps Trauma Caregivers

Reiki Healing for Trauma CaregiversKellie Brooks was one of the organizers of the Sandy Hook Healing Project, a grassroots response to support the Newtown, Connecticut community after the December 14, 2012 school shootings.

Just vaguely aware of Reiki healing, Kellie was surprised to notice it brought such obvious benefit, and so quickly. She watched people go into their Reiki treatment looking understandably tense and distressed, and emerge half an hour later exuding peacefulness. She hadn’t realized a subtle, gentle practice could make such a profound difference.

She soon had a chance to feel that difference herself.

Reiki healing and grief

Although the staff never asked questions of those who came for support, Kellie said it wasn’t hard to recognize those families who had lost a child. As she approached a bereaved family, Kellie felt profound grief wash over her.

And the grief remained even after she brought the family to appropriate caregivers. At first Kellie thought she just had to stiff-upper-lip it, to accept the heaviness as part of the job.

Then it dawned on her that she was standing amidst healers.

Kellie found an available Reiki practitioner, and could not believe the difference her Reiki treatment made. By the time she slid off the Reiki table, the heaviness had evaporated. She felt as peaceful as the people she’d been noticing.

Caring for the caregivers

Several days later, Kellie had further confirmation of the balancing effects of Reiki practice. After many days caring for others from morning into the evening, she felt exhausted. One of the practitioners noticed, and asked, “Are you okay?”

Kellie heard herself reflexively saying, “Yeah, I’m fine,” but quickly thought again. “No, I’m not,” she said, and was ushered into a Reiki space.

Although the second Reiki practitioner’s style was different from the first, Kellie’s response to her Reiki treatment was just as profound. She emerged from her session feeling deeply refreshed, balanced, ready to continue serving.

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3 thoughts on “Reiki Helps Trauma Caregivers”

  1. I just returned from offering sample Reiki treatments at a community wellness fair. In just 10-12 minutes of a sample Reiki treatment, recipients reported feeling calmer inside and more at peace. Several reported pain reduction from just those few minutes as well. I also agree with Suneil about the beneficial effects to the Reiki practitioner of offering Reiki treatments to others. It is indeed restorative to us as well. Thank you, Pamela, for noting the Celebration of Reiki Conference and local efforts we plan to undertake for community outreach.

    1. Good to hear from you, Elise.

      I don’t think there is such a thing as a sample Reiki treatment. Although most people could use more rather than less treatment, keep Mrs. Takata’s advice in mind: any Reiki treatment is better than none.

      Whenever I give a public Reiki presentation, I start with a sample of what I call “Reiki touch” — just a minute or less of a practitioner’s hand on the crown or shoulder. That is enough to evoke the global self-healing response from within the recipient. Most people will report feeling more relaxed — and these are often nurses and doctors.

      I think of 10-12 minutes as a modified Reiki treatment in that it’s not long enough to go thru the full protocol (and there is much to be said about having a Reiki hand on each of those placements), but it is definitely long enough for the recipient to drop deeply into that state in which one’s self-healing processes are optimized. The treatment may not be long, but the engagement of the self-healing mechanisms continues long after the Reiki hands have left the body.

  2. Beautiful! When our centre organizes one of our healing camps, people often comment that some Reiki people look fresher and more balanced than most of the people requesting treatments despite the long hours of Reiki treatments that sometimes last almost fourteen hours, counting the time to clean up the space before and after we finish 🙂

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