Pictured above Soul trees Reiki in Healthcare Course, Christchurch 2025

A Growing Interest in Reiki in Healthcare

Patients are also beginning to ask for natural, complementary options alongside conventional care. They want to feel seen and supported on every level, physical, emotional and spiritual. I have been invited into hospitals by patients themselves and their family members to offer support. Some have been pre-surgery, others recovering afterwards or undergoing chemotherapy.

Across Aotearoa, we’re seeing a growing number of hospices and aged care facilities open their doors to Reiki volunteers. Some are taking cautious first steps, while others are enthusiastically welcoming this simple yet profound modality.

In developing a training programme specifically for Reiki practitioners wanting to work in healthcare environments, I’ve been fortunate to engage with many medical professionals, including doctors, nurses and clinical managers.

I have found most of them are genuinely open to Reiki, provided it’s approached with professionalism, humility and care.

Hospitals and hospices are complex environments, and Reiki practitioners stepping into these spaces must be fully prepared. It’s not enough to have good intentions. We must also have the right training.

The Reiki in Healthcare Training Programme

This programme was created specifically for Reiki Practitioners and Masters who want to learn how to offer Reiki safely, respectfully and appropriately within healthcare settings.

In creating the course I engaged informally with a variety of Heathcare providers - including doctors, nurses, hospital managers, hospice workers, resthome managers. The message I clearly received is that they  feel uncomfortable allowing Reiki into their spaces when they dont know what to expect. There are no guidelines as to what constitutes Reiki. Many Reiki providers incorporate all sorts of other modalities and call it Reiki like crystal healing, Chakra Balancing, oracle card reading, sound healing and even clairvoyant messages. This makes Healthcare staff uncomfortable as they do not know what they will be letting in.

The practice of Reiki in itself is welcomed, however this must be offered by trained providers who agree to a uniform code of ethics that specifically governs healthcare settings like hospiitals, clinics or rethomes. It is essential that we approach this work with great respect, and the right understanding of how to use Reiki effectively in sensitive environments.

This has led to the development of the Soul Tree's Reiki in healthcare courses. Since beginning the programme in 2025, I have been fortunate to see more than 50 practitioners complete the training across Auckland and Christchurch.

By participating in  this course, I hope students gain the confidence, skills and support necessary to start on this journey and I hope that Healthcare professionals will have the confidence that the Reiki in Healtchare Providers know how to conduct themselves in sensitive environments.

View upcoming Reiki in Healthcare course dates and book your place

We Are Not Here to Fix

Perhaps the most important thing I have learned through this work is that we are not here to fix, diagnose or control.  As Reiki in Healthcare practitioners, we are not the healers.

We are there to walk beside someone and support them on their journey.

We cannot know what another person needs, nor is it our role to take responsibility for their outcome. Our role is simply to be present, to offer Reiki with compassion and respect, and trust that Reiki will do the rest.

This is why I love the words of a Medicine Woman’s Prayer by  by Sheree Bliss Tilsley For me, this is what Reiki in healthcare is really about.

A Medicine Woman’s Prayer

I will not rescue you,

for you are not powerless.

I will not fix you,

for you are not broken.

I will not heal you,

for I see you in your wholeness.

I will walk with you through your darkness,

as you remember your light.

______________________________________

Sirpa Gunn is the founder of Soul Tree, a Reiki Master Teacher, Yoga Alliance 500-hour experienced teacher and Yoga Alliance CPD provider based in New Zealand.