Written by Keunshea Fleming, CSW-I
Reiki is a Japanese relaxation practice in which a practitioner places their hands lightly on or just above the body in a sequence of positions while the person receiving it lies fully clothed and still. In a trauma context it is used as a complementary practice — something offered alongside therapy to support rest and body awareness, never as a replacement for trauma treatment. It is not a medical procedure, it does not process memories, and it makes no diagnosis. Understanding both halves of that is what lets people decide honestly whether they want it.
What actually happens in a session
You stay clothed. You lie on a table or sit in a chair, whichever you prefer. The room is quiet and usually dim, and you are told beforehand exactly where hands will go and that you can decline any position or stop at any point.
The practitioner moves through a series of hand placements — head, shoulders, torso, limbs — either resting lightly or hovering. Sessions are usually under an hour.
Most people describe warmth, heaviness, a drift toward sleep, or nothing in particular. Some people feel emotional. Some feel restless and want it to end. All of those are ordinary, and none of them means the session worked or failed.
Why it comes up in trauma work at all
Trauma lives partly in a body that has trouble standing down. People who have been through a great deal often report that they cannot rest, cannot tell what their body is doing, or have spent years actively avoiding noticing it.
A structured, predictable, low-demand experience of lying still in a safe room is not a small thing for someone in that position. That is the honest version of why Reiki shows up in this conversation: it is an opportunity to practice being at rest in the presence of another person, with clear boundaries and no requirement to speak or perform.
That is a legitimate thing to want. It is not the same thing as treatment.
What Reiki is not
Being clear here matters more than being persuasive.
- It is not a substitute for trauma therapy, medication, or medical care
- It is not a diagnostic tool, and nothing in a session tells anyone what happened to you
- It does not remove memories, erase symptoms, or resolve a trauma history
- It is not a cure for anything, and anyone who tells you otherwise has left the realm of honesty
- It is not a religion, and it does not require you to believe anything in particular
- It is not a substitute for a crisis plan if you are in crisis
If you have been sold Reiki as the thing that will finally fix what therapy could not, that was a bad sale, and it is worth being suspicious of the person who made it.
Consent is the whole design
Touch-based practices and trauma histories require more care than most settings give them, not less.
That means the entire session is explained before it starts. It means you choose whether hands rest on the body or stay above it — hands-off is a full option, not a lesser version. It means you can say stop, at any moment, without giving a reason and without any negotiation about it. It means nobody positions themselves behind you if that is uncomfortable, and nobody touches your head, throat, or torso without asking first.
If any of that is missing in a setting you are considering, that tells you what you need to know about the setting.
Who tends to find it useful, and who does not
People who find it worthwhile are usually those who are already in therapy and want something that is not talking. People who are chronically wound tight and have no practice resting. People who respond well to structure and predictability.
People who often do not: those who are uncomfortable being still, those for whom quiet rooms and closed eyes increase distress rather than lower it, and anyone who is being pushed toward it instead of choosing it. If lying still with your eyes closed reliably makes things worse for you, that is useful information rather than a personal failing, and there are other approaches.
There is also a practical filter. If you are in acute crisis, this is not the intervention. Call or text 988 and get in front of someone who can respond to that.
How it fits alongside therapy rather than instead of it
The sequence that generally makes sense is therapy first, with something like Reiki added when a person wants a body-based piece and the talking work is already underway.
In practice that can look like regular sessions of individual therapy with occasional Reiki in between, or a period where someone alternates. What it should not look like is skipping the therapy because the Reiki feels easier. Easier is not the same as sufficient, and avoidance is very good at disguising itself as self-care.
Where this is available in the valley
We offer Reiki in person in Las Vegas. Our two offices are on E Russell Road in the east valley and N Durango Drive in the northwest, and the front desk can tell you which one to come to when you book. It is an in-person practice, so unlike talk therapy it is not something that translates to video.
If you are weighing whether it fits into what you are already doing, it is a reasonable thing to raise in a regular session rather than decide alone. You can also read about my background and how I work first.
Common questions
Does Reiki treat PTSD?
No. PTSD is treated with established trauma therapies, sometimes alongside medication, and that work is done with a qualified clinician. Reiki may be something a person chooses as a complementary practice while doing that work, which is a different claim entirely.
Do I have to believe in it for it to be worth doing?
No, and skepticism is a perfectly reasonable position to bring into the room. What you are choosing is an hour of structured, consented rest. You can hold whatever view you like about the rest of it.
Can a session bring up emotions or memories?
Sometimes. Lying still without distraction lets things surface that a busy day keeps down. That is one reason it belongs alongside therapy rather than on its own — so there is somewhere to take whatever comes up.
Is it covered by insurance?
Coverage for complementary practices differs from coverage for therapy, and it is worth asking directly rather than assuming. Ask directly about what applies to your situation before you book, rather than assuming it works the same way a therapy session does.
Reiki is a modest, specific thing: a quiet hour with clear rules in which your only job is to lie there. If that sounds useful and you want it placed sensibly within actual trauma work rather than instead of it, that is a conversation worth having before you book anything.