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Research · Therapies

Reiki and therapeutic touch

Pooled trials found Reiki lowered anxiety against sham Reiki and no treatment combined. Against sham Reiki from untrained people or actors, results were mixed: a review found Reiki ahead on some mental health symptoms, while fibromyalgia and chemotherapy trials found sham did as well. Practitioners could not detect the energy field. No harms were reported.

Checked 2026-11-13
Status
No US licensing source for Reiki or therapeutic touch practitioners was located. NCCIH describes Reiki as an approach in which practitioners place their hands lightly on or just above a person to direct energy, and states that there is no scientific evidence supporting the existence of the energy field thought to play a role in it [1].
Also called
reiki, Usui reiki, reiki master, distant reiki, energy healing, energy therapy, biofield therapy, therapeutic touch, TT, healing touch, laying on of hands, hands-on healing
Used for
anxiety, stress, depression, pain, fibromyalgia, knee pain, cancer symptoms, comfort during chemotherapy, quality of life, relaxation, wound healing, balancing energy, general wellness

Strong several reviews agree · Moderate one review or consistent trials · Limited one or a few small studies · Untested no study in people, listed with what it rests on

Shown to help2

Reported risks0

No risks sourced yet.

What it is used for, and what was found

Shown to help2

Moderate

Anxiety, compared with placebo or no treatment pooled together

Shown to lower anxiety (SMD -0.82) in pooled trials that mixed placebo and no-treatment comparisons, with very high heterogeneity.

Compared with a placebo group or blank control, pooled together [4]

The numbers and sources
Effect
Across 13 studies, Reiki lowered anxiety (SMD -0.82, 95% CI -1.29 to -0.36), with heterogeneity of 88.5%. Effects were less consistent for anxiety before surgery and death-related anxiety in cancer patients [4].
Population
824 adults in 13 studies, including people with chronic illness and healthy adults [4].
Sources
[4]
Caveats
The review included quasi-experimental studies and did not separate sham Reiki from no treatment [4].
Moderate

Quality of life

Shown to raise quality of life by a small amount (SMD 0.28) in pooled randomized trials, with an interval close to no effect.

Compared with control groups the source abstract does not describe [11]

The numbers and sources
Effect
Quality of life improved after Reiki (SMD 0.28, 95% CI 0.01 to 0.56, P = 0.043). Subgroups with 8 or more sessions of 60 minutes or more, and with short sessions of 20 minutes or less, showed the largest effects [11].
Population
661 participants aged 14 and over, including people with cancer, surgical patients and people with chronic illness [11].
Sources
[11]
Caveats
The lower end of the interval is near zero [11].

Mixed results3

Moderate

Anxiety, stress and depression, compared with sham Reiki by untrained people

Mixed results: a review of 14 sham-controlled trials found Reiki ahead of sham on some mental health symptoms, and a chemotherapy trial found comfort rose equally with sham.

Compared with sham Reiki, usually given by an untrained person taught to copy the Reiki practitioner's hand positions [2]; a sham Reiki placebo, and standard care [3]

The numbers and sources
Effect
In 14 trials with a placebo-Reiki group, Reiki showed a greater effect than placebo for some mental health symptoms. The reviewers rated the evidence high for clinically relevant stress and depression, moderate to high for clinically relevant anxiety, and low for anxiety and depression at normal levels [2]. In 189 people having chemotherapy, comfort and well-being rose after Reiki and also after sham Reiki, and did not change with standard care [3].
Population
14 randomized placebo-controlled trials in adults [2]. 189 adults at an outpatient chemotherapy center [3].
Sources
[2], [3]
Caveats
The reviewers found few trials in each area and called the findings inconclusive, with most trials at some risk of bias [2]. The chemotherapy authors attributed the gain to one-on-one presence of a nurse [3].
Limited

Pain, compared with sham Reiki

Mixed results: a fibromyalgia trial found Reiki no different from sham given by actors, and a knee pain trial found more people improved with Reiki than with sham.

Compared with sham Reiki given by actors, with or without touch [7]; sham Reiki and a waiting list [8]

The numbers and sources
Effect
In 100 adults with fibromyalgia treated twice weekly for 8 weeks, pain and every secondary outcome were nearly identical whether a Reiki master or an actor gave the treatment, with touch or at a distance [7]. In 164 adults with knee osteoarthritis, symptoms improved more with Reiki than with a waiting list (P = .02), and a reduction of more than 30% was reported by 55% given Reiki, 20% given sham Reiki and 13% on the waiting list [8].
Population
100 adults with fibromyalgia in Seattle [7]. 164 adults with knee osteoarthritis [8].
Sources
[7], [8]
Caveats
The knee trial abstract does not report a direct test of Reiki against sham [8].
Moderate

Pain, compared with controls pooled together

Mixed results: a meta-analysis of four trials reported less pain with Reiki, though its interval included no effect, and a review of biofield therapies rated pain evidence strong.

Compared with control groups the source abstract does not describe [9]; control conditions in 66 studies of biofield therapies, which the abstract does not describe [10]

The numbers and sources
Effect
Across 4 trials, pain scores after the last session were lower with Reiki (SMD -0.927, 95% CI -1.867 to 0.0124), an interval that crosses zero although the author reported a significant decrease [9]. A best-evidence synthesis of Reiki, therapeutic touch and healing touch rated the evidence strong for reducing pain intensity in pain populations and moderate in hospitalized and cancer populations [10].
Population
212 participants in 4 randomized trials [9]. 66 clinical studies of biofield therapies [10].
Sources
[9], [10]
Caveats
The synthesis rated study quality medium overall and did not separate sham from other comparisons in its abstract [10].

Not shown to help1

Moderate

Any condition, systematic reviews

Not shown to treat any condition in a review of nine trials. A Cochrane review found too few data to judge Reiki for anxiety or depression.

Compared with sham Reiki and conventional care [5]; control conditions in three trials, which the source abstract does not describe [6]

The numbers and sources
Effect
Of nine trials, two suggested benefit over sham for depression and one did not report group differences. There was no difference from sham for stroke recovery, for anxiety in women having amniocentesis, or for pain in diabetic nerve pain, and no effect on anxiety or depression against conventional care in women having breast biopsy. The reviewers found the evidence insufficient for any condition [5]. A Cochrane review found three trials with only 25 people with anxiety and 17 with depression, and no evidence that Reiki is either beneficial or harmful for them [6]. NCCIH states that "Reiki hasn't been clearly shown to be effective for any health-related purpose" [1].
Population
9 randomized trials [5]. 3 trials in adults aged 16 or over [6].
Sources
[5], [6], [1]
Caveats
Trials were small, rarely replicated and often poorly reported [5][6].

Protocols studied

Trials gave hands-on Reiki, with the practitioner's hands resting lightly on or just above the body, or distant Reiki with no contact [1][7]. The fibromyalgia trial gave sessions twice a week for 8 weeks [7], and the knee trial four weekly 30-minute sessions [8]. Most sham-controlled trials used an untrained person taught to copy the hand positions [2]. The fibromyalgia trial used actors [7]. Therapeutic touch practitioners pass their hands above the body to sense and correct what they describe as a human energy field [12].

Risks

Checked, no increase found1

Limited

Adverse events

Not found: no study in a review of 14 sham-controlled trials reported adverse effects, and NCCIH states Reiki has not been shown to have harmful effects.

The numbers and sources
How common
How often is not known: the sources give no rate.
Effect
No study in the review of sham-controlled mental health trials reported adverse effects of Reiki [2]. NCCIH states that Reiki has not been shown to have any harmful effects [1]. The Cochrane review found no evidence of harm, from very few people [6].
Population
14 trials [2]. 3 trials [6].
Sources
[2], [1], [6]
Caveats
Most trials did not look for harms systematically.

Claims tested and not found

  1. That therapeutic touch practitioners can sense a human energy field. Twenty-one practitioners picked the correct hand in 123 of 280 trials (44%), close to the 50% expected by chance [12].
  2. That Reiki eases fibromyalgia beyond sham. Pain was nearly identical whether a Reiki master or an actor gave treatment, in 100 adults [7].
  3. That distant Reiki without touch eases fibromyalgia. No-touch and touch treatment gave nearly identical results [7].
  4. That Reiki raises comfort during chemotherapy beyond a sham session. Comfort rose with both Reiki and sham Reiki in 189 patients [3].

Sources

  1. National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health. Reiki. 2018. https://www.nccih.nih.gov/health/reiki
  2. Zadro S, Stapleton P. Does Reiki Benefit Mental Health Symptoms Above Placebo? Frontiers in Psychology. 2022. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2022.897312
  3. Catlin A, Taylor-Ford RL. Investigation of standard care versus sham Reiki placebo versus actual Reiki therapy to enhance comfort and well-being in a chemotherapy infusion center. Oncology Nursing Forum. 2011. https://doi.org/10.1188/11.onf.e212-e220
  4. Guo X, Long Y, Qin Z, Fan Y. Therapeutic effects of Reiki on interventions for anxiety: a meta-analysis. BMC Palliative Care. 2024. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12904-024-01439-x
  5. Lee MS, Pittler MH, Ernst E. Effects of reiki in clinical practice: a systematic review of randomised clinical trials. International Journal of Clinical Practice. 2008. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1742-1241.2008.01729.x
  6. Joyce J, Herbison GP. Reiki for depression and anxiety. Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews. 2015. https://doi.org/10.1002/14651858.CD006833.pub2
  7. Assefi N, Bogart A, Goldberg J, Buchwald D. Reiki for the treatment of fibromyalgia: a randomized controlled trial. Journal of Alternative and Complementary Medicine. 2008. https://doi.org/10.1089/acm.2008.0068
  8. Hanley AW, Nakamura Y, Edwards RR, et al. Complementary therapies for chronic knee pain: a placebo-controlled RCT of Reiki and mindfulness. Complementary Therapies in Medicine. 2025. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ctim.2025.103278
  9. Demir Doğan M. The effect of reiki on pain: a meta-analysis. Complementary Therapies in Clinical Practice. 2018. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ctcp.2018.02.020
  10. Jain S, Mills PJ. Biofield therapies: helpful or full of hype? A best evidence synthesis. International Journal of Behavioral Medicine. 2010. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12529-009-9062-4
  11. Liu K, Qin Z, Qin Y, et al. Effects of Reiki therapy on quality of life: a meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials. Systematic Reviews. 2025. https://doi.org/10.1186/s13643-025-02811-5
  12. Rosa L, Rosa E, Sarner L, Barrett S. A close look at therapeutic touch. JAMA. 1998. https://doi.org/10.1001/jama.279.13.1005

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