Reiki: Application as a Modality of Integrative Therapy for Treating Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder and Other Wounded Warrior Issues
Abstract
Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) and suicides are on the rise in our military. After more than a decade of war, a large number of our servicemen and women are returning home broken, some with physical scars, others with scars that are not as visible, but life-changing, nevertheless. More than 400,000 servicemen and women are suffering with battle scars of PTSD, major depression and combat-related stress; 320,000 suffer from traumatic brain injury. Treatment for mental health issues is challenging and a single treatment approach does not work for everyone. As a result, DOD has moved towards development of an integrative treatment plan, using alternative medicine to complement conventional medicine, for treating this type of mental health disorders. Reiki is a complementary health approach in which practitioners place their hands lightly on or just above a person, with the goal of facilitating the person s own healing response. It is based on an Eastern belief in an energy that supports the body s innate or natural healing abilities and has been studied for a variety of conditions, including pain, anxiety, fatigue, and depression. This paper analyzes how and why Reiki could be incorporated as a healing therapy within DOD as part of an integrated care program. There has been little highquality research on Reiki. Case studies conclude the benefits of Reiki are unclear but no harmful side effects have been shown. This paper argues that though scientific evidence is lacking, the benefits derived are indisputable. Private hospitals have incorporated Reiki with significant success against symptoms similar to those experienced by PTSD sufferers and continue to search for additional ways to use it. Therefore, this paper recommends that DOD include Reiki as complementary therapy for an integrated treatment approach for PTSD and other wounded warrior issues.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Feb 17, 2015
- Accession Number
- ADA618878
Entities
People
- Tesa L. Lanoy
Organizations
- Air War College