Healing in Two Languages: Reiki and Psychotherapy

Article by and Interview facilitated by Fleurian Maxton

When individuals (or clients) first come to psychotherapy, it is common for them to not know what to expect—often arriving with more questions than they may wish to express. Many have the impression that it may be heavily clinical, an environment that seeks to pathologize and offer corrective support and resources. It can very much give off a sense of being put under the microscope, rather than fostering feelings of natural curiosity and ease, like being a welcome stranger in a foreign land. And while the prior may be the case for some psychotherapists, others who are more naturally attuned to the unseen world may lean more towards the latter, favouring a holistic, integrative, and spiritual approach to invite both care and healing.

Clinically, there is some truth here. The American Psychological Association defines psychotherapy as: “any psychological service provided by a trained professional that primarily uses forms of communication and interaction to assess, diagnose, and treat dysfunctional emotional reactions, ways of thinking, and behavior patterns” (APA, n.d.). Here in Ontario, the College of Registered Psychotherapists similarly defines psychotherapy as: “[t]reating, by means of psychotherapy technique, delivered through a therapeutic relationship, an individual’s serious disorder of thought, cognition, mood, emotional regulation, perception or memory that may seriously impair the individual’s judgement, insight, behaviour, communication or social functioning” (CRPO, n.d.). These definition alone could serve to perpetuate what many may fear: being overly analyzed through metrics and assessments, judged and skillfully pathologized, or seen through the limited lens of dysfunction. 

This is where energetic interventions like Reiki come in. The word Reiki “comes from the Japanese word (Rei) which means ‘Universal Life’ and (Ki) which means ‘Energy’” (International Association of Reiki Professionals, n.d.). In Yoga, there are the nadis, which are defined as “a network of channels from which energy flows in our bodies” (Joshi, 2022). In Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM), the meridians—“energy channels that run throughout your body to deliver Qi to every cell within you,” like “rivers and streams flowing through a forest landscape—are strengthened using Qi Gong, which is defined as “life-force energy” (Holden Qigong, 2023). So it’s fair to say that energy is languaged so universally, across spiritual traditions and throughout time.

To determine the meeting place between the world of psychotherapy and Reiki is what we endeavour to clarify here. 

For the purpose of this blog post, the writer explores with you—in a natural question and answer style—what two Registered Psychotherapists, who often integrate Reiki into their Psychotherapeutic practice, want you to know. 

The first is Leigh Whiting—a Registered Psychotherapist, Reiki Grandmaster/Teacher and Spiritual Director at Sunstone Centre. The second is Briar Culbert—a Registered Psychotherapist, Reiki Master/Teacher, Yoga and Meditation Teacher, Spiritual Director, and Clinical Supervisor at Aspect Psychotherapy.

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Question #1: How long have you been practicing Reiki, and what initially brought you to the teachings?

Leigh: I’ve been practicing Reiki for about twenty years now. I first came to it through my own healing work—I was looking for something that could reach the emotional and energetic layers that talk therapy alone didn’t quite touch. Reiki met me in a way that felt intuitive and familiar, and it helped me understand the connection between the mind, body, and spirit in a much deeper way. What started as personal healing naturally evolved into part of my professional path.

Briar: I received my first Reiki training probably 14 years ago now. I was so excited to begin learning Reiki and I also felt intimidated by it. So it took me a number of years to work up the courage and find the right teacher to help me with my level two and master/teacher training. I’ve had that final level of training for 8 years now. I was drawn to Reiki initially as a nudge that it would help me discern the next steps I wanted to take professionally and personally.

Question #2: When you were studying to be a Spiritual Psychotherapist, did you envision energy work playing a role in your practice?

Leigh: I did. Even early on in my training, it was clear to me that healing isn’t limited to the cognitive or emotional realms. Energy work felt like a natural complement to the therapeutic process—another way to support clients when their experiences, sensations, or emotions go beyond what words can express. I always imagined a practice where both could coexist and support one another.

Briar: When I was studying Spiritual Psychotherapy, I had hoped to include energy work! I also felt challenged to integrate energy work alongside some of the more cognitively focused therapeutic modalities. Luckily, I’ve had incredible supervisors throughout my career as a psychotherapist who have all been deeply spiritual, and most have offered energy work as a part of their tools with clients, which has dramatically helped my confidence over the years in understanding how psychotherapy and Reiki can be used together.

Question #3. If you were to explain Reiki to a client who has never heard of it before, how would you describe it?

Leigh: I usually describe Reiki as a gentle, hands-on (or hands-off) practice that helps the body settle and return to balance. It isn’t forceful, and it isn’t about “fixing” anything—it’s more like giving the nervous system permission to soften. Many people experience it as calming, grounding, or clarifying, even if they’ve never done anything connected to energy work. Reiki meets people where they are and supports whatever their system is ready to shift.

Briar: When I’m describing Reiki to someone who’s never experienced it before, I usually explain how it’s energy. And just like we trust our phones and the internet to work, how these systems transmit energy across the planet, Reiki and energy work function similarly. I also explain that Reiki is non-denominational and also isn’t “my” energy. It’s a universal, supportive energy that I help guide, almost like water running through a faucet. I also explain that the energy and our bodies are very intelligent and wise. So the energy can work on many different layers of our bodies and selves. Remember, energy isn’t limited by physical boundaries–I like to envision Reiki getting into our cells, supporting our emotions and our thoughts!

Question #4. Recognizing that more and more tools and interventions in the field of mental health are holistic in nature (e.g., self-compassion, somatic experiences), what can Reiki offer psychotherapy clients?

Leigh: Reiki pairs beautifully with psychotherapy. It can quiet and regulate the body enough to surface insights, help reduce overwhelm, and make emotional work feel more accessible. For clients who struggle to put their experiences into words—or who feel stuck in traditional talk therapy—it opens another pathway into healing. It blends well with somatic approaches, trauma-informed work, mindfulness, and self-compassion. Many clients tell me it helps them feel safer in their bodies, which, in turn, naturally deepens the therapeutic process.

Briar: As an integrative tool, Reiki can offer clients a supportive way to practice their mindfulness, self-compassion and intentional nervous system skills. Reiki is a platform to practice and expand a number of different therapeutic goals a client might have…working on boundaries… Reiki can help. Expanding your communication skills… Reiki can help. Practicing the art of giving AND receiving…. Reiki can help. It’s so versatile.

Question #5. What populations do you work with that you find Reiki is an important or invaluable support for?

Leigh: Reiki has been a meaningful support for many of the people I work with—clients navigating trauma, chronic stress, burnout, grief, significant transitions, or ongoing nervous-system dysregulation. It’s especially helpful for highly sensitive individuals, clients who feel “stuck” in talk therapy alone, and those exploring spiritual growth.

Beyond my private practice, I also work with Cancer Assistance Services in my community, offering Reiki to clients who are in treatment, recovering from treatment, or receiving palliative care. In these settings, Reiki often brings comfort, eases anxiety, supports emotional processing, and offers a sense of calm during a very vulnerable time. For many individuals and their families, it becomes a steady, compassionate presence when they need it most.

Briar: I particularly love Reiki for sessions where clients might feel stuck, at a loss for spending more time talking about a challenge, or like they’re deeply needing rest. So often, when I work with mothers, Reiki can be a really helpful tool to invite (re)connection and orient them towards their body in ways that can be especially supportive, given how much maternal bodies experience.

Question #6. How does Reiki support you in your work with clients?

Leigh: Reiki helps me stay grounded and present. It supports my own regulation so I can hold a steady, attuned space for clients—even in difficult or emotionally charged moments. It also helps me care for my own well-being, which is essential for sustaining this work long-term while still showing up with clarity and compassion.

Briar: I love this question! Reiki reminds me that although I am incredibly present and attuned with the client and the session, I’m also deeply supported. I’m tapping into energy that is far greater than “Briar” and includes limitless potential and information. It helps me access my intuition–those powerful moments where a client might get goosebumps, experience a helpful ah-ha, or say “gosh, that’s a really good question!” Reiki helps me stay present, grounded and energized in sessions.

Question #7. How do you distinguish between Reiki-related effects and those emerging from the therapeutic relationship or other evidence-based interventions?

Leigh: Reiki is one part of a much broader therapeutic process. While healing experiences can overlap, I pay attention to when specific shifts occur. Sensations like warmth, tingling, deep relaxation, lightness, or emotional release that occur during or immediately after Reiki are often linked to the energetic work. Meanwhile, insights, new perspectives, behavioural changes, or cognitive shifts usually tie back to psychotherapy. Both can support each other, and I’m always guided by clinical judgment and ethical practice when integrating them.

Briar: Mmm I don’t often think about it being separate like this. I take direct feedback from the client during, and after we use Reiki, just like any other technique I offer, and if the client reports some sort of benefit, then I know I might offer Reiki again in the future. Sometimes clients specifically ask for Reiki as they find the benefits helpful.

Question #8. Speaking specifically to other professionals in the field of mental health, what might you say to those wishing to explore the addition of more spiritual, integrative tools to their practice and client offerings?

Leigh: I encourage colleagues to explore these modalities with both curiosity and integrity. You can start by experiencing the work yourself, seeking reputable training, and maintaining a clear ethical framework. Integrative and spiritual tools can offer clients profound support—but only when the practitioner is grounded, well-trained, and able to weave these approaches responsibly into clinical work. Many clients are already seeking holistic options; bringing these tools into your practice can deepen therapeutic relationships and widen your ability to meet clients where they are.

Briar: Definitely do it. I think there is immense benefit from continuing to expand our services and the many ways in which spiritual care and energy work can deepen psychotherapy are helpful. There are many ways to integrate these frameworks and tools, so I think allowing your creative wisdom, also to guide you as a clinician, is important, too!

Question #9. Is there anything else you would like readers to know?

Leigh: Reiki is not meant to replace psychotherapy—rather, it enhances it. My intention is always to honour the client’s path, their autonomy, and their unique healing process. Reiki offers another layer of support, another way of accessing safety, insight, and connection. For many clients, it becomes a bridge between the psychological and the spiritual aspects of their growth, allowing them to heal in a way that feels integrated and whole.

Beyond client care, I also offer Reiki training through my Sunstone Centre, where I teach all levels of Reiki—up to the Grandmaster level (Level 9). I am honoured to be the second Grandmaster in North America able to train practitioners to the Grandmaster level. I value creating a safe, grounded, and spiritually rich learning environment for students who wish to expand their healing practice.

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From the wisdom and practical experience Leigh and Briar have shared, it is clear that there is no one way to practice either psychotherapy or Reiki. That prioritizing both clinical well-being and client experience and choice is at the heart of this work. With so many theoretical orientations, modalities, and interventions to choose from, psychotherapists truly have such dynamic and expansive ways of meeting the evolving needs of clients in their care. Trusting one’s own instincts and the paths they take to healing is one of the many gifts that weave these two practices together.

While many modalities and treatment interventions are more complex to quantify and measure, perhaps we might ask ourselves, that while peer-reviewed, evidence-based approaches may have their place in practice, is there space for more spiritual practices like Reiki to exist, appealing to a great many all over the world? Could this explain why research continues to study, qualify, and quantify the measurability of spiritual practices like Reiki within the limits of science's current ability to measure and validate? No matter the consensus, providing resonant clinical and/or spiritual care that is values-aligned really comes down to getting to know your client and, as was made clear here, to ethically respond to their individual needs and plans of care.

And perhaps we can all agree that the ethical choice resides in the hands of the person seeking access and care. From what Leigh and Briar have shared, it’s clear to me that Reiki is an invaluable asset to their psychotherapy practice and to this profession.

References:

American Psychological Association (APA). (n.d.) Psychotherapy. https://dictionary.apa.org/psychotherapy 

College of Registered Psycotherapists of Ontario (CRPO). (n.d.). Understanding the controlled act of psychotherapy. https://crpo.ca/apply-to-crpo/controlled-act-of-psychotherapy/

Holden QiGong. (2023, May 23). What are meridians and why are they important? https://www.holdenqigong.com/blog/what-are-meridians-and-why-are-they-important 

International Association of Reiki Professionals (IARP). (n.d.). What is Reiki? https://iarp.org/what-is-reiki/ 

Joshi, H. (2022, January 29). Functions & importance of the 3 major nadis for yoga sadhana. Himalayan Yoga Ashram. https://www.himalayanyogaashram.com/blog/2022/01/29/nadis-functions-importance-in-human-body/ 

For more information on Reiki and Psychotherapy, consider booking a free 15-minute consult with Leigh at LW Psychotherapy, or Briar, Fleurian, or Pat at Aspect Psychotherapy. 

This is where you can find psychotherapy and counselling related to this article! Our skillful team of psychotherapists and counsellors here at Aspect Psychotherapy support integrative therapy virtually across Ontario and Canada-wide in places that recognize the CRPO. We support clients in their parenting journeys using holistic, individualized, and meaningful therapy techniques and therapeutic relationships.

Here at Aspect Psychotherapy, we work with your unique goals, your unique expression of your mothering and parenting, to enhance your mental health and well-being.

We offer free 15-minute consultation calls with every single member of our team. We’re happy to discuss your therapy goals and answer any of your questions about how our skilled psychotherapy and counselling team can best support your mental health needs!

Book here now! https://aspectpsychotherapy.janeapp.com/

Book with Leigh at: https://lwpsychotherapy.com/