Does Reiki Actually Work? Making Sense of the Evidence

Not clearly, on the evidence so far. The National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health said in 2018 that Reiki has not been clearly shown to be effective for any health-related purpose, and a 2015 Cochrane review found too little evidence to judge it for anxiety or depression. A 2022 systematic review of placebo-controlled trials reported benefits over placebo for some mental health symptoms, but its authors called their own findings inconclusive, so it adds a signal rather than overturning the earlier conclusions. Part of the difference comes from what each source looked at.

What do the main sources say?

• NCCIH (last updated December 2018). The NCCIH page on Reiki says Reiki has been studied for conditions including pain, anxiety and depression, that most of the research has not been of high quality, and that the results have been inconsistent.
• Cochrane (2015). A Cochrane review of Reiki for anxiety and depression found three eligible studies, with only small subgroups of people who had anxiety or depression. Its conclusion: “There is insufficient evidence to say whether or not Reiki is useful for people over 16 years of age with anxiety or depression or both.”
• Zadro and Stapleton (2022). A systematic review of 14 placebo-controlled trials concluded that Reiki “may be more effective in treating some areas of mental health, than placebo, particularly if symptoms are clinically relevant.” In the same paragraph, the authors note that each area has only a small number of studies, so the findings are inconclusive, and that most included studies had a risk of bias of some concern.

Why do the conclusions differ?

Because they answer different questions with different material:

• Scope. The Cochrane review looked only at people with anxiety or depression and found three studies. The 2022 review included any placebo-controlled trial measuring mental health outcomes, which gave it more studies to work with.
• Date. Several trials in the 2022 review were published after the Cochrane review appeared in 2015, and some after the NCCIH page was last updated in 2018.
• How confidence was graded. The 2022 authors rated the certainty of their own evidence as high for clinically relevant stress and depression, and low for normal levels of depression and anxiety. Those ratings are theirs, and they sit alongside their caution about bias and small numbers.

How do researchers test Reiki against placebo?

According to the 2022 review, most placebo-controlled trials use a sham Reiki group: a person with no Reiki training is taught to imitate the hand positions of a trained practitioner, and participants do not know which they are receiving. Room, lighting and timing are kept the same. The review covered hands-on Reiki only, not distance Reiki.

Is it safe?

NCCIH says Reiki has not been shown to have any harmful effects, and the 2022 review reports that none of its included studies reported adverse effects. The concern raised by some physicians, according to the Wikipedia article on Reiki, is indirect: that people might substitute it for proven treatment.

Four questions for reading any Reiki claim

When you meet a claim that Reiki helps, ask: Was it compared with a sham or placebo version? How many people were studied? Was the outcome a feeling, like stress, or a measurable change in a disease? And is the claim from a review that weighs all the trials, or from a single study? The answers tell you how much weight it can bear.

This article is general information, not medical or psychological advice; talk with a licensed clinician about your own situation.