Reiki Therapy: A Stress Reduction Modality for Persons Experiencing Chronic Homelessness

Homelessness is a long-existing social issue in the United States. Homelessness has affected many individuals in the United States. It is a critical factor that contributes to and aggravates the predicament of those who experience it. Persons experiencing homelessness suffer from a high level of stress compared to other members of the society who have stable housing (Castellow et al., 2015; Piliavin & Wong, 2001). This population often lacks resources to cope with stress. Reiki, a Japanese energy modality, has been used as a stress reduction measure in different settings (Bourne, 2019; DiScipio, 2016; Jurkovich & Watson, 2020). This project explored the effectiveness of lessening the high level of stress in persons experiencing homelessness by sharing self-Reiki techniques. A total of 11 persons experiencing homelessness were recruited at a drop-in center in Minneapolis for the project. The result revealed a reduction in a high level of stress in 10 of the participants. This result implies the potential of using self-Reiki to decrease the high level of stress in persons experiencing homelessness. Martha Rogers\u27 concepts of health, energy, openness, change, and resonancy have inspired and guided the entire project. This project contributes to transcultural nursing by recognizing the significance of unconventional therapy in health promotion. Furthermore, this project also addressed the gap of knowledge in existing literature which failed to study the effectiveness of self-Reiki therapy in persons experiencing homelessness. Future studies may consider using this project as a guidance to explore the topic in a larger-scale setting