Article

What Are the Distinctions Between Reiki and Therapeutic Touch?

Georgia M. Decker

Pamela Potter

CJON 2003, 7(1), 89-91. DOI: 10.1188/03.CJON.89-91

What is the difference between therapeutic touch (TT) and Reiki? When I was asked to write a short article about this question for the Oncology Nursing Society’s PNI (psychoneuroimmunology) and Complementary Therapies SIG Newsletter, I thought the answer would be relatively easy. As I turned the idea over in my mind, the task grew quite complex—requiring focus groups, an extensive literature review, and a multicenter clinical trial to inform an exhaustive academic treatise. Alas, because I am a doctoral student with many other demands on my time, I have opted for a more personal, simple, and speculative description of the difference.

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