A Reiki business, like any other, relies on structures in order to thrive. These “structures” include systems, processes, and tools that together provide a framework within which to effectively deliver sessions and handle clients.
Different structures serve different purposes. For example, you might have one for bookings and payments; another involving the preparation for, and conclusion of, a session; and yet another for conducting the treatment itself.
It’s the latter type of structure – the treatment structure – that I want to focus on in this piece as it’s the kind that I had the greatest challenge with, in the initial months of my professional journey, and I suspect I’m not alone in this.
I would often get asked by the director at the multi-disciplinary clinic I was affiliated with at the time what exactly I was telling the patients: Was I examining them before sessions? Was I having a thorough discussion with them after sessions about what might be wrong with them and advising them on the best way forward?
To me it sounded like he wanted me to take a clinical approach to my work; it sounded like he wanted me, essentially, to diagnose my clients. And if there is one thing we hear all the time as Reiki practitioners, it’s that we must always refrain from diagnosing the people we work on. That it’s simply not within our job description to do so.
We are also often reminded that Reiki has a wisdom of its own; that we are not in charge of what it does or where it goes during a session and our primary job is to act as a conduit for it.
But while it is true that we are not really in control; that we’re merely acting as vessels, we do need a framework around the treatments we perform for getting to know our clients and exchanging information with them – one that goes beyond asking them to fill in intake and consent forms.
The following are three elements of a treatment structure that I have found helpful to incorporate:
• A segment where a client has the option to talk about what emerges during a session.
As we know, a lot can come up for the recipient during a session, from bottled up emotions to long-forgotten memories. Putting aside some time after a session where the client has the option to explore, process, or perhaps just sit with their inner experiences while the practitioner holds space for them can be helpful for them. It was precisely for this reason that I found it necessary to receive training as a counselor in addition to getting my Reiki certification.
• A section during which I might share information that I receive during a treatment about my client.
In addition to receiving Reiki, many clients will want to know afterwards what, if anything, the practitioner was able to detect and what it might mean. This is understandable. And many practitioners do receive relevant clues and insights pertaining to their client’s wellbeing during the course of a treatment.
Now since a healer’s primary task is to act as a conduit for the Reiki, we need, of course, to be careful about not overstepping our bounds by interpreting the information we receive on our patient’s behalf, or telling them what to do, or needlessly alarming them. And I believe that thoughtfully making room in our treatment structures for revealing what we sense with our clients ensures that we share this information with direction, clarity, and in as professional and appropriate a manner as possible.
• A thorough and ongoing client assessment
If you’re helping someone with a deep-seated issue that makes it necessary for them to see you consistently over a period of time, then you might need to come up with a treatment plan or a course of action to guide your work together.
Performing a client assessment is an aspect of a treatment structure that makes it easier to come up with this course of action. For example, I work with Reiki to help women dealing with sexual trauma and assessing them helps me to:
- Determine in a way that doesn’t medically label their symptoms or struggles – the extent of their trauma.
- Identify the unique ways that their trauma has impacted them (precisely because it doesn’t show up the same way for everyone).
- Give both, them and me an idea of the specific areas that they need help with.
- Establish what healing might look like for them (because, again, this will not look the same for everyone).
- Chart their progress.
A treatment structure will, of course, look different for different practitioners, depending on their inclinations, focus, and capabilities and on the goals and needs of their clients.
But whatever it looks like, the process of creating and maintaining a treatment structure is where intuition meets logic; it’s where we consciously and strategically collaborate with the wisdom of Reiki to bring about the best possible outcome for our clients.
Because, in addition to being a vessel, it’s also our job to act as a guide; to gently nudge, where necessary, our clients toward their innate wisdom; and to cultivate a relationship with them in order to facilitate their healing, especially if we’re seeing them regularly.
And, rather than prescribe, label, or advise, a non-diagnostic approach to structuring sessions opens the door for the client to greater personal exploration, insight, and participation in their own healing.
Article by Thandiwe Msimuko
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Thandiwe Msimuko is a certified Usui Reiki Master from Zambia. She is also a devotee of Psychic Reiki – a form of Reiki based on the Mikao Usui Reiki Crystal of Awakening and popularised by Brett Bevell, the renowned American Reiki Master.
She was inspired to explore and share her gifts as a healer following the crucial role that Reiki played in helping her recover from her childhood sexual abuse trauma. It’s her hope to help similarly affected women find their way back to wholeness and harmony through the transformative power of Reiki.
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