Case Study: Reiki as Adjunctive Therapy in a Treatment of PTSD, Dissociation & Organized Abuse

Abstract
This workshop presents the case of a middle-aged woman of color with a complex trauma history, much of which she did not recall when she began treatment. She suffered from disturbed sleep, distressing somatic symptoms including phantom pains in her feet, chronic constipation, memory loss, and persistent relationship difficulties. A previous course of therapy had been unsuccessful, leaving her wary of trying again. After reading the therapist’s book and attending her class—where she had profound spiritual experiences—she chose to begin work with the therapist. She presented with PTSD, significant dissociative symptoms, and a contentious attitude that she often masked with humor.

Reiki is a biofield therapy in which the practitioner uses light touch, near-body techniques, or Reiki healing meditations to facilitate the body’s inherent capacity for self-regulation and healing. It has been increasingly integrated into mental health care and implemented in over 800 hospitals in the past decade. Although its application in complex trauma therapy remains underexplored, Reiki offers unique possibilities for survivors of extreme abuse: it can calm an overactivated nervous system, facilitate a stabilizing container between therapist and client, increase readiness for therapeutic work, and provide nonverbal pathways to healing when words are difficult or unsafe to access.

In this case, Reiki was introduced early in treatment and continued throughout, utilizing three primary modalities: hands-on Reiki, guided Reiki meditations, and Reiki attunements delivered in a Reiki class setting. The therapist developed safety protocols, informed consent (including signed Consent to Touch agreements), and boundary considerations to ensure that the adjunctive Reiki treatments remained fully trauma-informed and ethically grounded.

Over time, the client became aware of histories of ritual abuse, trafficking, and mind control. During one Reiki attunement, five “anti-remembering” programs—including one involving suicidal impulses—were interrupted and, in her words, “melted like wax,” a phenomenon this therapist had never seen before because deep programming is often recalcitrant even after years of psychotherapy. She experienced healing on physical, emotional, and spiritual levels, including the recovery of memories and the integration of dissociated self-states.

This woman’s treatment highlights Reiki’s potential as an adjunctive therapy for survivors of extreme and organized abuse whose symptoms include both PTSD and dissociative disorders. While one case cannot be generalized, the outcomes suggest that Reiki can complement psychotherapy by promoting physiological regulation, enhancing client readiness for therapeutic engagement, and supporting healing at multiple levels of being. This case points the way suggesting the benefit of further systematic study to evaluate Reiki’s mechanisms, safety, and clinical applications in the treatment of complex trauma and dissociation.