Using Reiki in a Hospice

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In June 1997 I was about to take my final exam with the Open University. I had been studying for a degree for the past 6 years and though enjoyable, it had been hard work and I vowed never to study again. At that time I had never heard the word Reiki and, although interested in complementary therapies, I had no interest in becoming a practitioner myself. Yet by December 2001 I was self-employed and also working as a therapist at a local hospice.

How I ended up working in a Hospice

When I look back I realise that I was incredibly fortunate that I was in exactly the right place at the right time.

It began in July 1997 when my mother was diagnosed with cancer. Whilst she was in hospital, a volunteer offered her an aromatherapy hand massage which she found very comforting. Sadly my mother died later that year and because the massage had given her such comfort I thought I would like to do some voluntary work in a hospice doing something similar. Naively, I thought that I would go on a course for a few weeks and just offer my services somewhere. When I enquired about aromatherapy courses I was told that first I would need a qualification in Anatomy and Physiology and Body Massage.

What did I say about no more study!

So off I went again, attending two evenings a week for a year at a local college. It was on my very first evening that I heard the word Reiki for the first time. The teacher turned to one of the students and said “I understand that you are a healer – you do Reiki”. I can only describe the feeling that I had as something lighting up inside my head. Yet I had no idea what Reiki was about.

I continued to study and by June 2000 I was a qualified aromatherapist. But during that time Reiki began to nudge its way into my life. I would notice an article here or a book there. Then at a visit to a Buddhist centre I tried a 15 minute Reiki taster. I was amazed at the calmness I experienced. This led to my decision to learn Reiki myself and I completed my Reiki Two in June 2001.

I also decided to study reflexology and it was at college that I got into a discussion about Reiki one evening with another student. I mentioned how much I wished that I could have given Reiki to my mother when she was ill. It so happened that the other student was the day-care nurse at a local hospice. A complementary therapies service had been set up and they were looking for someone who specifically practiced Reiki but also had another complementary therapy qualification.

So that chance conversation led to an interview and a job offer.

I completed my Reiki Master/Teacher training in 2002 and another chance encounter at a motorway services of all places led to me being offered a part time teaching post at South East Derbyshire College, where I worked one evening a week for the next two years.

This gave me confidence to start teaching Reiki and it was also at this time that another Reiki Master mentioned a course she had attended with Taggart. I went on to study Original Usui Reiki with Taggart and the Master level again. This really deepened and developed my Reiki practice and teaching and continues to do so.

So Reiki works in mysterious ways and is definitely about change and it certainly changed my life.

What is it like working at the Hospice?

Treetops Hospice is a day-care centre offering various services and support to people with life limiting illnesses and supports their carers.

There are three of us in the therapy team, and the therapies offered are Reiki, Aromatherapy, Indian Head Massage and Reflexology. I have worked at Treetops for eight years, another therapist for four years and the other therapist since the service began.

Wednesday is complementary therapy day and two of us also work on Thursdays when therapies are offered to people with neurological conditions such as MS. A new extension is about to begin and there will be new therapy rooms within the new build enabling the complementary service to be extended further. So these are exciting times and all of the staff, the fundraising teams, volunteers and local communities have worked hard to raise the money to make this possible.

A typical Complementary Therapy Day at Treetops

Everyone is a guest at Treetops, not a patient. And the main reaction of people arriving for the first time is that it has a warm, homely, welcoming feel.

Guests offered therapies could be referred by a consultant, a district nurse or a Macmillan nurse, referred from day-care or even self refer.

Usually six sessions of therapy are offered.

On a typical Wednesday I could see someone who has been referred to help them cope with their illness or someone who is a carer or perhaps someone who is suffering bereavement.

On a Thursday it is usually guests with MS that we see, but it could be any neurological condition.

Reiki is the main therapy used and personally Reiki is part of everything that I do at the hospice. I use Reiki to prepare my room and myself. I use Taggart’s meditation CD in my classes and I always take a copy to Treetops so that if I have ten minutes during the day I sit and listen to Taggart’s self treatment meditation. I feel that it creates a calmness in myself and the room that people respond to. Guests often refer to Reiki as creating an ‘oasis of calm’ or often say that it is the only time that they have ‘normal thoughts’.

And no matter what therapy that I am giving I feel that it is all Reiki-led. For example I was recently giving a carer a back massage and my hand was becoming hot on his right shoulder. I just rested my hand for a moment on the shoulder before continuing. The guest immediately asked if I would put my hand back on the shoulder as it had soothed the tension he was having there. So I feel that Reiki is part of every therapy that I do, and I have found that Reiki gives a relaxation and inner peace that goes far beyond the other therapies.

There is one particular aspect of working in a hospice that I have always found interesting. And that is the part that belief plays in the effects of any therapy. Clients who come to me privately for a Reiki treatment have made a firm decision to make that appointment. They know about Reiki and feel that it will benefit them. That is not always the case with guests at Treetops.

Often people who are referred are very sceptical about Reiki in particular. Perhaps they have been referred for Reiki because their nurse feels that it will be beneficial to help them cope with any of the emotions that can accompany a diagnosis of cancer, such as fear, anxiety, loss of control or anger. And although not often realised a diagnosis of cancer can lead to feelings of loneliness even when surrounded by strong and loving support. Financial problems rising directly from their diagnosis is an issue that is often overlooked. Or they may have physical problems such as insomnia or headaches.

So I often find myself with someone who has never heard of Reiki and is only there because their nurse feels that it will help. They will ‘have a go’ but make it clear they have no expectation that it will do any good.

Like most Reiki practitioners I do not know how Reiki works, there are lots of theories, but that is what they are, theories. All I do know is that I have been in a position to do hundreds of Reiki treatments on people, some of whom come with a strong belief and some who don’t. What I do know is that it works. And that is all I tell the guests who are sceptical. I just suggest that we share the Reiki treatment together and that it is a technique for stress reduction and deep relaxation. When I first started giving Reiki treatments I really wanted to give an explanation of how it worked, but now I just offer the experience of Reiki and it speaks for itself.

So in my own practice I have found that the beneficial effects of Reiki, whether that be an emotional release or a deep calmness, are not dependent on the belief of the recipient.

Some case histories

Perhaps these few examples will serve to illustrate why Reiki is accepted and respected at the hospice by the medical professionals who refer people and the guests who have received Reiki, believers or not. Names have been changed in the following examples.

Dan is in his late 70s and was referred by his consultant who felt that Reiki might help him. He had been diagnosed with cancer and his treatment had been successful. But one of the most difficult aspects of living with such a diagnosis is just that. Living with it. Unless someone has experienced it themselves it is impossible to know what it feels like to live with those fears. It must be like the Sword of Damocles hanging over you. The fear of it coming back must always be at the back of your mind. So Dan was at this point. His anxiety was causing constant headaches and he was taking a lot of medication for the pain. Dan was very down to earth, happy to ‘have a go’ but didn’t think that Reiki could help.

At the end of a treatment I always leave the room for a few minutes so that the person can just ‘come to’ in their own time. When I went back into the room after Dan’s first session of Reiki he was sitting up on the couch. He looked at me and said that he could not believe what had happened. He told me that he had actually felt something lift from him, like a huge weight. After the 6 sessions Dan no longer suffered with headaches and no longer needed any pain relief.

Patricia is a lady in her 80s who taught yoga in the past. She had been diagnosed with cancer but was doing well, though frustrated that she could not be as active as she would like. But Patricia was very open to having Reiki. After each treatment all that Patricia would say was “That was very interesting”. And so it continued to the last session. It was then that she told me that she had not wanted to say anything to me until she had discussed it with her consultant. Apparently Patricia has expected to feel relaxed after Reiki but what she hadn’t expected were the actual physical changes that she had experienced over the weeks. She told her consultant about this and felt that since there had been no other changes in the last few weeks, such as diet or changes to her medication, did the consultant think that the only possible reason for her increased physical well-being must be the Reiki. I must admit I held my breath as this point as Patricia was relating this to me, wondering what response the consultant gave. But the consultant said was that it may well be that Reiki had been effective in easing her physical symptoms, and was very supportive of Reiki as an additional resource.

Carol was a young woman in her 30’s and had been diagnosed with cancer and was waiting to undergo major surgery. She had been referred for Reiki as she was getting increasingly frightened at the prospect of this operation.

Carol did not say much at all but made it obvious that she thought Reiki was a waste of time. So I advised that we just started the session and see what happened. When I asked Carol what she felt she just shrugged and said it was alright. I saw her another couple of times with the same result and then it was time for her operation. It was some months later that I saw Carol again. She told me that the operation had gone well and then she just sat and stared at me. One thing that working at the hospice has taught me is to not jump in and fill silence. Eventually Carol told me that Reiki had amazed her and when she had gone home after the first session she had felt a calmness that she had never felt before in her life. And that calmness had stayed with her when she had her operation. She couldn’t talk about it at the time because she was almost scared that it would disappear if she said anything to me.

John was a builder in his 60’s. His wife of 40 years had recently died of breast cancer and he had called into the hospice to donate some items to the Treetops shops. He spoke with the manager who asked if he was coping and if he needed any bereavement support. John felt that he did not need this but the manager asked if he would like to try some complementary therapy. So John subsequently had 6 sessions of Reiki. He had never heard of Reiki and had no idea what to expect but was willing to try. From the very first Reiki treatment John was amazed. Each treatment followed the same pattern. It emerged that John was very angry, he was about to retire and thought that he and his wife would be able to travel and really enjoy life and he felt that their future had been snatched away. Immediately I started the treatment John would clench his fist and hit the couch he was laying on, he would then cry and very suddenly would fall asleep. I always explain to people that if they have any sort of emotional release then I will stop if they want me to. Otherwise I will stay with them till it passes and usually I just gently place my hands on their shoulders. After that first session John looked exhausted. Finally he told me that he felt as though he had gone 10 rounds in a boxing ring. At the last session of Reiki John told me that he felt that all his grief had flowed out of him in those weeks. A couple of years ago I heard that John had remarried and was off on a long trip to New Zealand.

So those are just a few examples of how Reiki has supported people at the hospice. And of course Reiki supports us too.

The new extension should be completed at the end of 2010 and hopefully I will be working there for some time to come.

For many people work is merely a means to an end, to pay the mortgage and the bills but my work is fulfilling and rewarding and I realise how lucky I am to have had that opportunity. Especially as it was two chance encounters that led to my working at Treetops and teaching Reiki. Definitely a case of ‘Just for today be grateful’.