靈氣在臨床醫療中正在興起 Reiki in the Clinical Setting is On The Rise
從醫院到收容所，靈氣進入了許多的醫療與護理機構，而且這種推動力來於自患者和臨床從業人員。
“越來越多的患者要求的護理服務超出了大多數人認為的傳統醫療服務的範圍，醫院正在通過提供這些療法來滿足他們所服務社區的需求。”健康論壇的研究員 Sita Ananth 表示，該機構是美國醫院協會 (AHA)的附屬機構。 “而醫院正透過提供這些療法來滿足他們所服務社區的需求。”
根據 AHA 的一項調查，靈氣現在是美國醫院住院時的三大補充療法之一。 按摩療法排在首位，約有 37% 的醫院患者要求按摩療法。 排名第二的是音樂和藝術療法，佔 25%，非常接近的第三名是“治愈觸摸療法”，佔 25%，其中包括靈氣和觸碰治療（Therapeutic Touch）。
醫院正在回應這些需求，他們自己發現靈氣可以提供的許多好處。 靈氣能量醫學：將治愈之觸帶入家庭、醫院和臨終關懷（Reiki Energy Medicine: Bringing Healing Touch into Home, Hospital and Hospice.）一書的合著者 Libby Barnett 和 Maggie Babb 表示：“隨著我們的醫療保健系統要求機構提供高質量但具有成本效益的服務，靈氣被認為是可以最大限度地提高患者護理和最大限度地縮短康復時間的重要工具。”
靈氣：病人喜歡它。
例如，紐約斯隆-凱特琳癌症紀念中心（Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center in New York）不僅為患者提供靈氣療法，還每月教授一次靈氣，邀請患者的護理人員、患者本人和大眾學習。 “患者喜歡它，”紀念斯隆-凱特琳醫院綜合醫學部的管理人員、執業護士 Simone Zappa 說。 “他們喜歡它，因為它有效。”
根據國際靈氣專業協會 (IARP) 對“美國最佳醫院”（2002 年美國新聞與世界報導排名前 25 位）的研究，其中 60% 的醫院均實施了正式或非正式的靈氣計劃。 所有使用靈氣的醫院都表示，他們認為靈氣至少對患者有一定的好處，67% 的醫院表示他們認為靈氣非常有益。
靈氣在照護機構中
在照護機構中接受靈氣部分是因為它很容易融入臨床環境。 它不需要特定的設置、技術或準備。 靈氣是一種接觸療法，由於護理人員和其他專業人員經常接觸患者，這是他們工作的一部分。 如果他們受過靈氣訓練，每次接觸病人時，病人都會自動接收靈氣能量。 由於不需要長時間的正式治療來支持患者進行靈氣療法，在患者護理的正常過程中隨時都可進行小型的治療使靈氣非常容易融入其中。
護士和醫生在臨床環境中對靈氣的評價
越來越多的軼事與證據一次又一次地證實了它的好處。 在臨床環境中使用靈氣的護士和醫生一致表示：它可讓患者放鬆、冷靜與合作； 緩解急性和慢性疼痛； 增強免疫系統； 減輕壓力； 減少對止痛藥的需求； 改善睡眠和食慾； 加速癒合過程，並且沒有副作用或禁忌症。 他們還說靈氣減少了放射和化學療法的許多不良副作用，包括噁心和疲勞。
護士可以給與自我靈氣
由於一般的醫療保健服務，尤其是護理是職業倦怠率非常高的行業，因此不能低估靈氣對其從業者的好處。 靈氣對於護士和患者一樣容易融入臨床環境，讓護士在工作中進行幾分鐘的自我治療後能夠立即緩解壓力和放鬆。
正在進行的靈氣研究
靈氣與外科手術
也許最重要的是，越來越多的研究使西方醫療保健從業者能夠看到有關靈氣對患有各種疾病的患者的影響的量化研究數據。 臨床環境中正在進行的最大的靈氣研究目前持續在新罕布什爾州朴茨茅斯的哥倫比亞 / HCA 朴茨茅斯地區醫院進行（Columbia/HCA Portsmouth Regional Hospital, Portsmouth, NH, ），那裡有 8,000 多名手術患者接受了手術前和手術後的靈氣治療。 靈氣治療被納入他們的入院程序之一，也會在手術前的運送期間給予靈氣。 這些治療由訓練有素的註冊護士、物理治療師、技術人員和支援人員提供。
研究結果持續且相當一致。 在本研究中所有接受靈氣治療的患者都需要較少的麻醉，手術期間出血較少，使用的止痛藥較少，住院時間較短，並且對他們的住院經歷表示出比其他患者更高的滿意度。
靈氣與疼痛管理
加拿大埃德蒙頓的交叉癌症研究所（Cross Cancer Institute in Edmonton, Canada）對 20 名患有慢性疼痛的腫瘤患者進行了一項關於靈氣的影響的研究。 研究主管使用 VAS（視覺模擬量表）和李克特量表（Likert scale ）來測量接受靈氣前後的疼痛指數，他們的結論是靈氣大大改善了疼痛水平。
靈氣與腫瘤
其他針對腫瘤患者的研究表明，靈氣可以加速毒素的排除，改善免疫反應，有助於控制化療和放療的副作用，並有助於減少伴隨癌症診斷而來的不可避免的恐懼和焦慮。
靈氣與心臟疾患
耶魯大學內科心臟病科進行了一項研究，以確定靈氣是否會改善急性冠狀動脈綜合徵中恢復的患者的心率變異性 (HRV)。靈氣是耶魯-紐黑文醫院心臟科（Yale-New Haven Hospital cardiac units）提供的一項正在進行的臨床研究項目，因此本研究中的靈氣治療師是 5 名已受僱於該項目的受過靈氣培訓的護士。為了將靈氣與音樂干預和靜態休息的控制組進行比較，獲得了 12 名對照、13 名音樂和 12 名靈氣患者的連續心電圖指數。靈氣的變化明顯大於音樂組（p=0.007）或休息組（p=0.025）。
靈氣與慢性疾病
幾項關於靈氣和慢性疾病的研究表明，多發性硬化症、狼瘡、纖維肌痛和甲狀腺疾病患者的脾臟、淋巴和神經系統功能得到改善，以及對艾滋病、慢性疲勞綜合徵和睡眠障礙患者的症狀能夠獲得更佳的管理。
懷孕期間與靈氣
在康涅狄格州哈特福德的哈特福德醫院（Hartford Hospital in Hartford, CT, ）進行的研究表示，懷孕期間使用靈氣可減少 94% 的焦慮，減少 80% 的噁心，減少 78% 的疼痛，並改善 86% 的睡眠。
靈氣與生命臨終的議題
對於臨終問題，臨終關懷研究表明靈氣可以解決身體和情緒症狀，同時改善安寧治療期間的生活品質。 靈氣可以促進深度放鬆、疼痛管理，並能以較少的藥物緩解抑鬱症。 它還有助於釋放焦慮、悲傷和恐懼，支持親人的正面情緒以冷靜、平和的度過最後階段。
靈氣與兒童們
臨床醫生發現靈氣對兒童同樣安全有效。 在加州最大的醫院之一加州太平洋醫療中心（California Pacific Medical Center），專門研究傳染病的兒科醫生 Mike Cantwell 博士提供一到三個小時的靈氣治療。 Cantwell 博士說：“我發現靈氣可用於治療急性疾病，例如肌肉骨骼損傷、疼痛、頭痛、急性感染和哮喘。 靈氣對慢性病患者也很有用，尤其是那些與慢性疼痛有關的患者。”
靈氣從搖籃到墳墓
從搖籃到墳墓，新生兒病房、收容所、醫院、療養院、手術室、器官移植病房和其他臨床環境中的患者越來越多地得到靈氣的幫助，因此，靈氣服務正越來越多地融入臨床環境中。
靈氣與身體創造的自愈能力
“將靈氣與傳統醫療保健相結合，不僅有助於治愈可治癒的疾病，而且還提供了一種護理無法治癒的疾病的解決方案。 因為靈氣促進了身體創造的自愈能力，所以當靈氣……是醫療計劃的一部分時，會發生許多戲劇性的癒合與轉變，”作者 Libby Barnett 和 Maggie Babb 說。
本文作者為 Bernadette Doran，RMT，他是Equilibrium Energy + Education 的負責人與主管，這是芝加哥的一家健康中心，致力於推廣以研究為基礎的能量療法。 Equilibrium 為接受靈氣培訓的護士提供 CE 學分。
研究參考Research references：
※Alandydy, Patricia, BSN, RN. “Using Reiki to Support Surgical Patients.” Journal of Nursing Care Quality, April 1999, Vol.13, No. 4, pp. 89-91.
※Barnett, Libby and Babb, Maggie, “Reiki Energy Medicine: Bringing Healing Touch into Home, Hospital and Hospice,” Healing Arts Press.
※Bossi, RN,MS, CS, Larraine; DeCristofaro, RN, MS, OCN, and Ott, RN, MN, MEd, CS, Mary Jane. “Reiki Treatments for People Living With Cancer.” Virginia Henderson International Nursing Library.
※Bossi, RN,MS, CS, Larraine; DeCristofaro, RN, MS, OCN, and Ott, RN, MN, MEd, CS, Mary Jane. “Reiki as a Clinical Intervention in Oncology Nursing Practice.” Clinical Journal of Oncology Nursing, Vol. 12, No. 3/2008, pp. 489-494.
※Brewitt, B., Vittetoe, T, and Hartwell, B. “The Efficacy of Reiki Hands-On Healing: Improvements in Spleen and Nervous System Function as Quantified by Electrodermal Screening.” Alternative Therapies, July 1997, Vol.3, No.4, pg.89
※Olson, Karin, R.N., Ph.D., and John Hanson, MSc. “Using Reiki to Manage Pain: a Preliminary Report.” Cancer Prevention and Control, June 1997, Vol.1, No. 2, pages 108-13.
※Singg, Sangreeta and Linda J. Dressen. “Desirable Self-Perceived Psychophysiological Changes in Chronically Ill Patients: An Experiential Study of Reiki.” International Society for the Study of Subtle Energy and Energy Medicine, June 1999.
※Wardell, Diane Wind and Joan Engebretson, “Biological Correlates of Reiki Touch™ Healing,” Journal of Advanced Nursing, Feb. 2001, Vol. 33, No. 4: pp. 439-445.
※Rachel S.C. Friedman, MD, Matthew M. Burg, PhD, Pamela Miles, BA, Forrester Lee, MD and Rachel Lampert, MD, “Effects of Reiki on Autonomic Activity Early After Acute Coronary Syndrome,” Section of Cardiology, Department of Internal Medicine, Yale University, School of Medicine, 333 Cedar Street, FMP 3, New Haven, Connecticut 06520
**本文章出現在國際靈氣專業人士協會的官方雜誌《靈氣時報》上。
延伸閱讀：
《靈氣對急性冠心病患 (ACS)自律神經的影響 》
《能量醫學對手部疼痛的治療研究》
《靈氣在醫學上的臨床實踐研究》
《Reiki的原點「傳統靈氣」的歷史資料》
《靈氣對子宮切除術後疼痛與焦慮研究》
《靈氣在醫療上的科學實驗證據》
Reiki in the Clinical Setting is On The Rise
Reiki is increasingly finding its way into institutional settings, from hospitals to hospices, and the push appears to be coming from patients as well as clinical practitioners.
“More and more, patients are requesting care beyond what most consider to be traditional health services, and hospitals are responding to the needs of the communities they serve by offering these therapies,” according to researcher Sita Ananth of Health Forum, an affiliate of the American Hospital Association (AHA). “And hospitals are responding to the needs of the communities they serve by offering these therapies.”
Reiki is now one of the top three complementary in-patient therapies in U.S. hospitals, according to an AHA survey. Massage therapy takes first place, with 37% of hospital patients requesting it. Number two is music and art therapy at 25%, and a very close third is “healing touch therapies” at 25%, which included Reiki and Therapeutic Touch.
Hospitals are responding, discovering for themselves the many benefits Reiki can offer. “As our health care system challenges institutions to offer high-quality but cost-effective service, Reiki is being recognized as an important tool to maximize patient care and minimize recovery time,” according to Libby Barnett and Maggie Babb, co-authors of Reiki Energy Medicine: Bringing Healing Touch into Home, Hospital and Hospice.
Reiki: Patients love it.
For example, Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center in New York not only offers Reiki therapy to patients but also teaches Reiki once a month, inviting the patients’ caregivers, the patients themselves, and the general public to learn it. “Patients love it,” says Simone Zappa, RN, an administrator in the Integrative Medicine Department at Memorial Sloan-Kettering. “And they love it because it works.”
According to an International Association of Reiki Professionals (IARP) study of “America’s Best Hospitals” (the top 25 ranked by U.S. News and World Report in 2002), 60% of them had formal or informal Reiki programs in place. All hospitals using Reiki said that they believed Reiki to be at least somewhat beneficial for patients, and 67% said they believed Reiki to be highly beneficial.
Reiki in Institutions
Acceptance of Reiki in institutions comes in part because it is so easy to incorporate into the clinical setting. It requires no specific setting, technology, or preparation. Reiki is a touch therapy, and RNs and other professionals routinely touch patients as part of their job. If they are Reiki-trained, every time they touch a patient, the patient automatically receives Reiki energy. Since long, formal sessions are not required to support a patient with Reiki therapy, opportunistic mini-treatments in the normal course of patient care make Reiki very easy to incorporate.
What Nurses and Physicians say about Reiki in the Clinical Setting
Mounting anecdotal evidence confirms its benefits over and over again. Nurses and physicians who use Reiki in the clinical setting consistently say it: Makes a patient relaxed, calm and cooperative; relieves acute and chronic pain; boosts the immune system; reduces stress; decreases the need for pain medication; improves sleep and appetite; accelerates the healing process, and has no side effects or contraindications. They also say that Reiki reduces many of the unwanted side effects of radiation and chemotherapy, including nausea and fatigue.
Self Reiki for Nurses
Since health care service in general and nursing in particular are industries with very high burnout rates, the benefits of Reiki for practitioners cannot be underestimated. Reiki is just as easily incorporated into the clinical setting for a nurse as it is for a patient, allowing the nurse immediate stress relief and relaxation after just a few minutes of self-treatment on the job.
Ongoing Research
Reiki and Surgery
Perhaps most importantly, increasing research allows Western healthcare practitioners to see quantifiable data about the effects of Reiki on patients with a variety of conditions. The largest ongoing study of Reiki in the clinical setting continues to be conducted at Columbia/HCA Portsmouth Regional Hospital, Portsmouth, NH, where more than 8,000 surgical patients have been given pre-and post-surgery Reiki treatments. Reiki is incorporated into their admission procedure and is also administered during transport to surgery. Treatments are given by trained RNs, physical therapists, technicians, and support staff.
Research results continue to be consistent. All the patients in this study who received Reiki had the need for less anesthesia, had less bleeding during surgery, used less pain medications, had shorter lengths of stay in the hospital, and indicated greater satisfaction with their hospital experience than other patients.
Reiki for Pain Management
The Cross Cancer Institute in Edmonton, Canada, conducted a study on the effects of Reiki with 20 oncology patients in chronic pain. Study supervisors used both a VAS (visual analog scale) and Likert scale to measure pain before and after Reiki, and their conclusion was that Reiki greatly improved pain levels.
Reiki and Oncology
Other research with oncology patients shows that Reiki speeds up the elimination of toxins, improves immune response, helps manage side effects of chemotherapy and radiation, and helps reduce the inevitable fear and anxiety that accompanies a cancer diagnosis.
Reiki and the Heart
The Section of Cardiology, Department of Internal Medicine, at Yale University conducted a study to determine if Reiki would improve Heart Rate Variability (HRV) in patients recovering from acute coronary syndrome. Reiki is an ongoing clinical program offered on Yale-New Haven Hospital cardiac units, so the Reiki therapists in this study were 5 Reiki-trained nurses already employed in that program. To compare Reiki to musical intervention and resting control, continuous electrocardiographic readings were obtained for 12 control, 13 music, and 12 Reiki patients. The change with Reiki was significantly greater than with music (p=0.007) or resting (p=0.025).
Reiki and Chronic Illnesses
Several studies on Reiki and chronic illness indicate improvement in spleen, lymphatic and nervous system function in patients with multiple sclerosis, lupus, fibromyalgia, and thyroid disorder, as well as better management of symptoms in patients with AIDS, chronic fatigue syndrome, and sleep disorders.
Reiki during Pregnancy
Research conducted at Hartford Hospital in Hartford, CT, showed that Reiki used during pregnancy reduced anxiety by 94 percent, reduced nausea by 80 percent, reduced pain by 78 percent, and improved sleep by 86 percent.
Reiki and End of Life Issues
For end of life issues, hospice studies show that Reiki addresses physical and emotional symptoms while improving quality of life during palliative care. Reiki promotes deep relaxation, pain management, and relief from depression with less medication. It also facilitates the release of anxiety, grief, and fear, supporting positive emotional closure with loved ones and a calm, peaceful passing.
Reiki and Children
Clinicians have found that Reiki is equally safe and effective for children. At California Pacific Medical Center, one of California’s largest hospitals, Dr. Mike Cantwell, a pediatrician specializing in infectious diseases, provides one to three-hour-long Reiki sessions. Dr. Cantwell says, “I have found Reiki to be useful in the treatment of acute illnesses such as musculoskeletal injury, pain, headache, acute infections, and asthma. Reiki is also useful for patients with chronic illnesses, especially those associated with chronic pain.”
Reiki from Cradle to Grave
Literally from cradle to grave, patients in neonatal units, hospices, hospitals, nursing homes, surgical suites, organ transplant units, and other clinical settings are increasingly being helped by Reiki, and as a result, Reiki is being incorporated into the clinical setting more and more.
Reiki and the Body’s Creative Ability to Heal Itself
“Incorporating Reiki with conventional healthcare not only assists with curing the curable, but also provides a solution for caring for the incurable. Because Reiki facilitates the body’s creative ability to heal itself, dramatic healing shifts can occur when Reiki…is part of a medical treatment plan,” according to authors Libby Barnett and Maggie Babb.
By Bernadette Doran, RMT, owner and director of Equilibrium Energy + Education, a wellness center in Chicago dedicated to leading-edge, research-based energy therapies. Equilibrium offers CE credits to nurses who take Reiki training.
