Reiki Liability Insurance Coverage

When first starting their Reiki practice, many Reiki pracitioners ask whether or not they need Reiki insurance coverage and should look into getting covered.

I personally have never heard of anyone being sued over a Reiki session “gone bad”, but if you are the type of person who likes to cover all the bases and rest assured that you’ll be protected if need be, there are different Reiki liability insurance options to look into.

A beautiful expression of Reiki to help us remember what it is all about.

The first is Reiki insurance for malpractice from an organization called Associated Bodywork and Massage Professionals (ABMP).  ABMP offers a $4 million dollar Reiki insurance coverage protection and costs $199 each year to maintain. The only caveat is that you have to have 100 hours of massage training in order to qualify for the Reiki liability insurance coverage.

I’ve also heard of Reiki practitioners joining the ministries of churches which use the power of touch in their practices to protect themselves as well. If you are touching people through a church, the touch is a religious practice and is exempt from other traditional laws governing touch.

Without intention, Reiki wouldn’t exist. WE bring it into creation.

However, I personally feel you should only do this is you truly believe in what the church promotes as its religious philosophy. To use a church as a “cover” and way to have Reiki liability insurance seems to go against the whole system of Reiki in the first place.

Reiki only works for the highest good of all concerned. As long as your intention is pure, you should be just fine when practicing hands-on Reiki sessions.

A Reiki truth.

In addition, if you are a Reiki II practitioner or beyond and know the Distance Healing Symbol, you can always do a Distance Healing Reiki session if you feel that would be more appropriate.

Even as a Reiki I practitioner, remember that actual touch is not necessary. You can give an extremely powerful Reiki session without ever touching the recipient, and keeping your hands 6-12 inches above his or her body.

I tell my Reiki class students time and time again that their comfort comes first. The more relaxed they are in their bodies during a Reiki session, the easier the energy can flow through their body and use their straight spine as an easy channel to reach the recipient. So, you can even be sitting in a chair in the same room as the client during the session.

YOU are the most important person in your Reiki session, so stay comfortable!

Intention is so important in Reiki, and actually placing hands on the body and physical touch is very secondary to that all-important intent. Reiki is a healing practice that is done fully clothed as well, which also reduces any risks of legal issues or trouble.

Another great idea to help dispel any worries about being protected legally is to have your Reiki clients sign a waiver from prior to the treatment. There are Reiki consent forms online that you can download, or you can create your own simple form. You can say something to the effect of:

“I, the undersigned, know that Reiki is considered a hands-on-healing energywork technique and that I may be touched during my treatment.

Reiki is an energetic language where the symbols are “words”. Here is an explanation of the Japanese kanji (word) for Reiki.

I realize that a Reiki session is done fully-clothed and that I am free to ask the Reiki practitioner to stop at any time. I also understand Reiki is no substitute for traditional Western medicine and that my Reiki practitioner is not qualified to diagnose or treat any medical condition.”

Yes, you want to remember to let each and every client know that you are not a medical doctor and are not qualified to diagnose or treat any medical condition, illness or disease. Reiki is an energetic Japanese healing modality that is a wonderful complement to traditional medicine, but legally it is no replacement for an education in allopathic (Western) medicine.

You want to avoid making any claims that the Reiki will cure or fix anything as well. We are just the vessels for the powerful Reiki energy, and while there are many instances where Reiki does heal conditions, who knows how the Reiki will work its magic in that particular instance! Let’s leave it up to Spirit…

Also remember that the best way to truly help others is to raise our own vibrational frequency. Energy goes where your attention flows, so if you focus your energy (i.e. power) on healing, you will likely effect great change in your life and the lives of your clients. Trust in the abundance of the Universe and the goodness of people will attract more of that into your experience. You can also Reiki your practice itself and imbue it with that high, high frequency.

Peace of mind is quite valuable, indeed. If getting Reiki liability insurance will allow you peace of mind, which in turn will make you a better Reiki practitioner, then go for it!

Whatever will allow you to be more relaxed and peaceful as you send Reiki, which will in turn make you a more powerful transmitter of this beautiful healing energy.

I hope that I never hear of an instance where a practitioner is sued for a Reiki session or of people abusing their power during a treatment. Hopefully, the need for Reiki liability insurance coverage will be rendered obsolete! Who has time for legalities when we have a world to help!

Let’s get to work.