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Reiki Treatment in Drug and Alcohol Rehabilitation Program
1. Reiki Treatment in Drug and Alcohol Rehabilitation Program
Mikao UsuI was born in 1865. After years of spiritual searching, he began practicing and teaching
Reiki after 21 days of fasting and meditation on a sacred mountain in Japan. Since then, Reiki had
slowly gained popularity in the west. Today, Reiki has gained acceptance as an effective
complementary alternative medicine modality in various hospitals in the United States and Europe.
Many clinical studies have validated the efficacy of Reiki as a complementary healing modality in the
treatment of various illnesses such as cancer, HIV/Aids, Alzheimer's disease, multiple sclerosis,
diabetes, heart disease and other conditions. Currently, there are many more pilot studies being
conducted on Reiki.
Reiki as Treatment In a Drug and Alcohol Rehabilitation Center
In Australia, a drug and alcohol rehabilitation center has been using Reiki in assisting their clients
overcome their addictions.
The Windana Society is an organization that offers holistic care to those suffering from substance
addictions. It is composed of The Windana Community Center (WCC) in Melbourne, which provides
alternative therapies at affordable prices to people from low income groups. Next door to the WCC is
the Drug Withdrawal and Assessment House. This is where drug users spend their first week
detoxifying. After detoxification, there is a two to three-week assessment and preparation period and
plans are made either for a return home, referral to other programs or more commonly, to move to
the next center of Windana, the Therapeutic Community in Pakenham, Victoria.
Reiki has been successfully used by the Windana Society in its drug and alcohol rehabilitation
program since 1992. In 1995 a paper describing this pioneering work was presented in a conference
focusing on complementary therapies."The Benefits of Reiki Treatment in Drug and Rehabilitation
Programs" presented the cumulative data gathered from three years of using Reiki in the Windana
Society's drug and rehabilitation program.
In 2002, authors Eilene Chapman and Geraldine Milton expanded on the claims they made in their
1995 report. Entitled "Reiki as an Intervention in Drug and Alcohol Withdrawal and Rehabilitation -
Almost a decade of experience," this latest report included the authors' findings that Reiki "often
appears to address the conscious and unconscious spiritual needs of drug users." The authors also
expound on the fact that Reiki appeared to elicit self-awareness, which in turn "facilitated the
counseling process" and assisted the clients in their personal growth.
Effects of Reiki Treatment on the Detoxification Process
Milton and Chapman, in their 1995 report said that the "overall findings suggest that the
improvements in health outcomes for residents receiving Reiki have been remarkable, particularly
during those difficult first weeks of drug withdrawal."
Many of those who participated in the program were long-term drug users. The main drugs of choice
for many were heroin (70%) and amphetamines (30%). There were cocaine users (30%), alcohol
addicts (50%), and others used benzodiazepines and barbiturates. Almost 100% were cigarette
2. smokers. 50% were on methadone - a drug used in some drug rehabilitation programs. Those who
were on a methadone program had to detoxify from the methadone as well.
Other drug programs use methadone, serapax and Librium to address the withdrawal symptoms
which include anxiety, depression, mood swings, insomnia, sweating, restlessness, abdominal
cramps, irritability and muscular pains. In Windana, no drugs are used. Instead, group therapy,
counseling and natural therapies are used in the drug withdrawal phase.
When Reiki was incorporated into the program to assist in detoxification, Chapman and Milton
reported that Reiki appeared to induce a profound and prolonged state of relaxation: "Recipients of
Reiki also generally express feelings of 'peace' and 'wellbeing' with a greater ability to sleep after
treatment. This is a very significant benefit for residents during the early stages of drug withdrawal
because difficulty in sleeping is a common problem." This state of relaxation was observed to last for
a long period of time and was characterized by a reduction in the anxiety level, less tension and
aggression.
Chapman and Milton also noted evidence suggesting that Reiki treatments accelerate the
detoxification process "and many residents report that they feel really 'energized' after having Reiki
treatment."
After the detoxification process, 27 residents were taught First Degree Reiki so that they would be
able to treat themselves. Says Chapman and Milton: "Reports indicate that those that have learned
Reiki have coped better with group therapy sessions that they perceive as potentially confronting
and have been able to cope with bouts of depression when they have returned to the wider
community." The Therapeutic Community staff also reported that a few days after learning Reiki, the
participants experienced a re-surfacing of buried emotions which they were then able to discuss and
resolve in the supportive environment provided by The Therapeutic Community.
Reiki as an Effective Treatment for Drug and Alcohol Rehabilitation
Reiki also helped ease the physical aches and pains which are side effects of the withdrawal process.
Furthermore, Reiki proved to be calming and soothing for those who exhibited tremors. Reiki was
also deemed beneficial for speed users "whose brains are usually racing at a million miles an hour."
One interesting phenomenon experienced only by those who received Reiki treatments was the
common experience of receiving images that were not hallucinatory in nature, yet occurred
spontaneously and helped in the counseling process. The images always had significance for the
clients. The Reiki therapists did not interpret the images; the participants were allowed to do that on
their own and this often lead to resolution of existing unresolved issues.
In their 2002 report, Chapman and Milton duplicated most of the findings they outlined in their 1995
report. They concluded that "Reiki appears to induce a profound relaxation response within 10
minutes for nearly all recipients. This relaxation may last from a few hours to even a week, and is
usually coupled with a reduction in client anxiety, tension and aggression."
The findings are succinctly echoed in the words of one client - a man named Jim - who commented
after his first Reiki treatment: "I have never felt so at peace. Now I know what peace is."