Reiki News

If you have any news from the reiki world that you would like to share with our visitors then please email us. We welcome your reiki articles for inclusion in the Reiki Healers and Teachers Newsletter, and are always interested in what's new in reiki.

See below our complaint regarding BBC Radio 4 'Beyond Belief' and Reiki and Maranatha Community Jan 11 2010

See news of our 2010 annual get together on May 16. Click here

Equine science degree

Equine Science, Complementary Therapy and Natural Horsemanship  Reaseheath College in Cheshire is offering equine Reiki training as part of its Foundation Degree in Equine Science. Two of our members, Elizabeth Bate and Caroline Booth have pioneered equine Reiki at the College. See Reaseheath's website for more information. Congratulations to them for bringing this about.

Complaint to BBC re: Reiki and 'Beyond Belief' and Maranatha Community

Here follows the complaint made to the BBC on behalf of Reiki HATS about 'Beyond belief' on Monday pm 11 Jan 2010. The interviewer allowed a member of a religious group (the Maranatha group) with extreme bias against Reiki to make unfounded statements against Reiki "that it caused harm, was dangerous and that it involved spirit guides". All of these statements are false. it was clear that she was going to be asked about Reiki. The Maranatha bias is well known e.g. see their briefing paper and also their submission to one governemnt white paper that "The NHS should never under any circumstances countenance occultic techniques such as Reiki".  The interviewer and programme maker did not seek to have a person experienced in Reiki on the programme from a reputable professional association who was able to provide a balancing and informed viewpoint. Please note that the person from the healing trust does not practise Reiki and that Reiki is not spiritual healing. Most of the statements made about Usui Reiki on the programme were in fact incorrect. The BBC allowed the programme to spread harm and fear and allow a member of a biased religious community to attack practitioners of Reiki. It was also stated that there is no evidence for it being helpful. I would like to draw the BBC's attention to the studies publised by the University of Arizona where Reiki has been used to reverse leaky gut syndrome in rats, proving that it works in an animal model and is much more than a placebo effect. The University of Arizona has also carried out many other interesting studies.  It is our opinion that the programme was ill-prepared and poorly thought through when touching on emotive issues. We would like to know exactly why the contributing member of the Maranatha community was asked on as the programme already had an ex GP who prayed with his patients during his practice and the only purpose of the Marathana member seemed to be to attack Reiki. The lead body for Reiki in the UK is the Reiki Council and information or contributors could have been sourced from there or from one of its member associations. We look forward to the BBC's response. The Reiki Healers and Teachers Society.

Reiki Day

2009 AGM and Reiki Celebration Day confirmed for May 16 2009 in central London. Contact us for more details.

Regulation of Complementary Therapies

There is one independent regulator at the current time of writing for Reiki in the UK. The General Council for Complementary Therapies can be found at www.grcct.org. Some Reiki practitioners choose to register with the NHS TA. However this is a commercial organisation that has not currently co-operated with the Reiki Council with regard to standards.

Download the publication document here.

Reiki HATS honorary president

June 2007. Robert Jefford has kindly agreed to be Reiki HATS Honorary President.Robert Jefford, The Master’s Master, began his Reiki training in Japan at the age of seven, working directly with Dr Usui’s successor, Soke Dai. Having achieved several levels of Reiki with Eastern and Western Masters in England and Japan, he considers to study with his Japanese Master. Robert has a passion for teaching Reiki in the traditional way (Kei-Ko).

Download the publication document here.

RRWG letter to Princes Trust October 2007

On 20 October 2007 the Reiki Regulatory Working Group sent a letter detailing its concerns on the regulatory structure and governance that is being proposed by the Working Group run under the auspices of the Prince's Trust for Integrated Health. The RRWG has been excluded from the process since August, a unilateral action by the Chair of the Working Group. The Reiki Regulatory Working Group consists of 11 professional associations, both Reiki-only and  multi-therapy groups with some Reiki members and has at its heart the best interests of Reiki and Reiki practitioners.  If the proposals were carried through, it would mean, for example, that schools and teachers would be 'licenced' by the regulator and that control over education would be carried through to an organisation that is dominated by people (100% non-therapists at the top) who have no knowledge or in-depth understanding of Reiki or indeed of any of the other therapies included in the process. The aromatherapy group and the reflexology group have also been excluded. The text is below:   20 October 2007                                                                                                          By email and by mail   Kim Lavely Chief Executive PFIH Professor Dame Joan Higgins Chair FWG The Prince's Foundation for Integrated Health 33-41 Dallington Street London EC1V 0BB   Dear Kim and Joan   Following an emergency meeting of the Reiki Regulatory Working Group (RRWG), I am writing to you to inform you of our position following this meeting. At the meeting The Reiki Regulatory Working Group confirmed it is united in its response, which is detailed below.   Having reviewed the Federal Working Group Progress Report of October 2007 the Reiki Regulatory Working Group has a number of concerns which we would very much welcome discussing and exploring further. We do feel that consultatative engagement on these points could ensure a positive outcome. The organisations of the RRWG would welcome the opportunity to return to the Federal Working Group (FWG) to enable the Reiki profession to participate in the remaining planned meetings. This is a result that we trust is achievable.   In the interests of achieving an effective and efficient “light touch” and appropriate model for voluntary self regulation of the CAM professions within a Federal structure, we have detailed our concerns below.   The role of the Regulator We believe the Regulator should have an overriding duty to regulate the practitioners, but not the practices or therapies themselves, e.g. such as the teaching of Reiki in its many diverse forms We believe it is vital, as stated in the October Report, that the “Standing Orders will make it clear that the Regulator cannot make unilateral changes to standards of practice, education and training, and must consult the professions when any changes are envisaged”. We would therefore like to see a regulatory structure that supports this The role of the Professional Advisory Panel (PAP) We believe that there should be an obligation for the Federal Regulatory Council (FRC) to respond to and take action following the advice of the Professional Advisory Panel (PAP). Therefore, to safeguard professional integrity, the PAP should be a part of the regulatory structure and not, as suggested, be funded by professional forums. We propose that the dotted line between the FRC and PAP on the diagram of the organizational structure becomes a solid two-way line We uphold the following examples of effective governance models currently in existence: The Financial Services Practitioner Panel, The Food Standards Agency Consumer Panel (the Board has responsibility to publicly respond to the Panel’s advice and concerns) and the Ofcom consumer panel. Education We believe the licensing of teachers or schools should not reside with the Regulator but with each profession We believe the accreditation of Reiki courses should not reside with the Regulator and propose the Profession Specific Boards (PSB) have a duty to advise the Council on Reiki Practitioner courses that meet the practitioner curriculum that is currently being developed by the RRWG and the National Occupational Standards (NOS) for Reiki. We would like to seek further clarification on the role and remit of the Education, Training, QA and Standards Board Standing Committee     Registration and Validation of Evidence We believe that there should be a Standing Committee for the Registration and Validation of Evidence Board  to support the Registrar Recruitment of staff and Council members We welcome the original commitment to an independent recruitment process to be made by an external appointments board as discussed at Meeting 4 on 25 April 2007 We believe that current PFIH-appointed lay chairs and members would not be the best people for this job but would instead propose a new Appointment Council nominated in line with Nolan principles and regulation by the Office of the Commissioner for Public Appointments Governance We fully support the various White Papers and recommendation of a robust regulatory system from the Better Regulation Commission support the principle of 50:50 lay:professional membership on the Regulatory Body. Though robust, this model reduces unnecessary regulatory and administrative burdens, ensuring that regulation and its enforcement are proportionate to the risk, accountable, consistent and transparent. “Success will be achieved if the proposed measures deliver a net reduction in administrative costs and a real tangible decrease in regulatory burdens . . . allowing voluntary organisations to thrive without bureaucracy”.  The RRWG asks for this recommendation to be reflected in all levels of the federal governance structure. Better Regulation Commission, http://www.brc.gov.uk; royal Pharmaceutical Society of Great Britain, Regulation White Paper, February 2007; Regulation of Non Medical Healthcare Professions DH Review: Trust, Assurance and Safety – The Regulation of Health Professionals in the 21st Century. Transparency of decision-making We would welcome clarification on the Executive and Management decision-making process. We would see it an example of best practice to demonstrate accountability and build confidence with stakeholders involved in this process Administration We would welcome clarification of the role and structure of the Registrar’s Office, including where this role will appear in the regulatory structure.   We ask in particular that the following view is considered. The current professional forums are lead bodies with all the profession-specific expertise within them. Therefore, the RRWG is of the view that these lead bodies should carry the regulatory responsibility and become part of the regulatory body, ie the PSBs. When the regulator needs profession-specific advice for its registrants, it should be required to come to the group that has guardianship of that therapeutic and/or spiritual practice. For example the Reiki Regulatory Working Group would become the PSB for Reiki. Once the professional forum became the PSB, it is accepted that to differentiate between representation and regulation, it should not be sponsored by professional associations.   In order that the RRWG may demonstrate its continued commitment to develop a voluntary self regulation model which is appropriate to all professions, we look forward to maintaining a positive and constructive contribution through our elected representatives in this important debate.  In this respect, the RRWG looks forward to your positive response prior to the next Federal Working Group meeting on 30 October in order that our representative may attend.    Please note that this letter replaces the RRWG’s response to the feedback to the FWG Progress Report.   Yours sincerely Anthony Perry Chair, Reiki Regulatory Working Group