Mental health referrals have soared since the pandemic, with a record number of people being prescribed anti-depressants. However, some people are turning to alternative treatments to help work through personal crises. Reiki is one treatment which has caught attention in Hackney. We spoke to one local Reiki practitioner who is offering a healing method to help mental health issues and is bringing “relief” to the people of Hackney.
Brandon, an independent practitioner based in Hackney, has been treating people with Reiki since 2020. Since then, he says he has been treating people with a variety of mental and physical ailments.
Performed by the “transfer of energy from one to another”, Reiki is a centuries-old Japanese healing technique. It involves a practitioner holding their hands over the patient’s body and transferring healing energy.
Research suggests that more people are turning to Reiki for help with mental health conditions such as anxiety and depression.
He says Reiki can be used to help relieve a range of mental problems, and in a time when mental health cases in children and young adults are at an all time high, and one in six people experience mental health problems in a year in the UK, it is not surprising that more people are seeking different options to help.
Brandon tells me he has seen an increase in mental health-related clients and says: “I do think generally people are turning more to complementary therapies because of how effective they can be. It absolutely isn’t a full alternative, it should always be used in conjunction [with professional, regulated health treatment]. “
“I actually spoke to another Reiki practitioner yesterday who was telling me that their main clients are people with anxiety and depression.
“I think generally the majority of my clients have some form of mental health struggle. They do come with physical health conditions but most of the time there’s something mental as well.”
He describes current times as a “mental health pandemic,” with around 4.6 million mental health referrals made last year, an increase of 22% from 2019.
It has been reported that some mental health patients wait more than 12 weeks to be seen.
Brandon is using Reiki to help local people who also may be receiving professional health treatment and are struggling with a range of mental health issues. He says: “Some clients have said they don’t want to take anti-depressants and want to go down a natural route.
“I think a lot of people turn to Reiki when they have only got so far with the things they have tried from medical professionals.”
Research suggests that Reiki may be effective at helping some clinical mental health symptoms, as well as highlighting how it may be appropriate to use as complementary to mainstream, professional treatments.
Brandon says: “I think seeing the relief that a Reiki session can provide to someone… seeing that kind of effect is just so rewarding and being able to offer that to someone is amazing.
One of my mottos is when there’s nothing else you can do in a moment you can always give someone Reiki.”
