The Door That Slammed in My Face — and Why I’m Pushing It Open Anyway
Ever had one of those moments where a single email seems to echo louder than it should?
Mine began with a polite inquiry — and ended with a door slam so final I could almost hear the latch click.
It started innocently enough. One of my students, a qualified massage therapist, reached out before enrolling in one of my Reiki 1 workshops. She asked whether she might be able to claim Continuing Professional Development (CPD) points for it.
I told her honestly that I didn’t think she could. Reiki (at any level) isn’t formally recognised by her association, and I wasn’t about to promise something I couldn’t deliver.
She paused for a moment and she booked anyway.
That simple, genuine exchange — a practitioner prioritising her wellbeing, even knowing it wouldn’t “count” — was what made me stop and think: why doesn’t it count?
Reiki Level 1, at its core, is self-care training. It’s about grounding, mindfulness, emotional regulation, and balance. It’s about recognising when your energy is depleted and learning how to restore it safely.
If that’s not professional development for someone working in healthcare, I don’t know what is.
So, I did what any responsible educator would do.
I reached out to her professional association, along with a number of other ones (yet to hear back from the others at time of publishing this blog) to ask the question.
Not to challenge, but to clarify. Not to demand, but to understand.
And that’s when the door slammed.
The reply was polite, short, and utterly final. Reiki, I was told, “does not qualify under the scope of massage,” and I was advised to “consider the matter closed.”
No discussion. No exploration. Just a digital thud.
The Irony No One Talks About
Here’s the part that’s hard to ignore.
The person who signed that email has a long history with the same association — and, in a twist of irony almost too rich to script, was once publicly praised for fighting to keep massage therapy recognised as a legitimate health service when the government reviewed private health rebates, back in 2019 (if I recall correctly).
And who fought for its credibility?
That same association, led by the very same person who now decided Reiki has no place at the table, and slammed that door shut.
So let me get this straight:
Massage was once dismissed and yet, through advocacy, structure, and persistence, it earned its rightful place as a respected profession.
Reiki is now walking the same path — structured, ethical, evidence-informed — but the door that was once forced open for massage is now being slammed shut on us.
If that isn’t the definition of irony, I don’t know what is.
The Real Issue Isn’t Reiki — It’s Inconsistency
This isn’t about one person or even one association. It’s about an entire system that operates on inconsistent standards, outdated perceptions, and selective professionalism.
Some associations recognise the value of self-care and emotional wellbeing as legitimate CPD. Others dismiss it entirely.
Some encourage reflective practice, ethical growth, and trauma-informed education. Others seem stuck in an era where “professional” meant “clinical only.”
The irony is that every one of these associations claims to champion practitioner wellbeing — yet when something is designed precisely for that purpose, it’s disregarded as “personal interest.”
What’s missing is conversation. Collaboration. A willingness to see that professional development isn’t just about skill — it’s about sustainability.
What Reiki Actually Offers Professionals
Let’s be clear: Reiki 1 isn’t about learning to “heal others.” It’s about learning to care for yourself — energetically, emotionally, and physically — that can help you show up for others, with clarity and compassion.
For healthcare professionals, massage therapists, counsellors, and bodyworkers, that means:
-
Recognising the early signs of burnout before they take hold.
-
Maintaining healthy boundaries with clients.
-
Grounding and centring after emotionally charged sessions.
-
Cultivating presence and empathy without absorbing others’ stress.
These aren’t just spiritual ideals — they’re occupational health essentials.
In a world where compassion fatigue and emotional burnout are rampant across all caring professions, shouldn’t structured self-care training be encouraged — even required?
The Bigger Problem: Differing Standards and a Lack of Oversight
Here’s where it gets tricky — and a little uncomfortable.
The wellness industry has a credibility problem.
Not because Reiki or energy work lack value — but because the standards vary wildly from one teacher, trainer, or association to another.
There are brilliant, ethical teachers doing extraordinary work, and there are others running back-to-back levels in weekend courses, or courses so condensed in time that that just leaves students unprepared and the public confused.
And when associations see that inconsistency, instead of working with credible educators to raise standards, they simply close the door to everyone.
It’s a lose-lose situation.
Practitioners miss out on structured wellbeing education, and the public misses out on professionals who are emotionally balanced, grounded, and present.
The Irony, Part Two
Let’s circle back to that massage therapist who started all this – (totally not her fault).
She didn’t sign up for my workshop because she wanted a certificate to hang on the wall.
She signed up because, in her words, “I give so much of my energy to my clients — I just wanted to learn how to get some of it back.”
She didn’t need external validation. She needed a reset.
And that’s exactly what she got.
Ironically, it was her professional integrity that sparked my curiosity in the first place. She wanted to do the right thing, to ensure she stayed compliant with her association’s CPD standards — the same association that would later tell me “consider the matter closed”.
You couldn’t write a more perfect contradiction if you tried.
The Real Conversation We Need to Have
Reiki, like any practice, has its share of misconceptions. But what’s often overlooked is how deeply it aligns with the current priorities of professional health and wellness organisations — things like self-regulation, stress management, emotional resilience, and trauma-informed care.
In hospitals like Mount Sinai and New York-Presbyterian, Reiki is already being used alongside traditional medicine — thanks to pioneers like Pamela Miles, who built bridges between energy medicine and evidence-based care.
Here in Western Australia, Solaris Cancer Care has been offering Reiki to patients and caregivers for years, as part of their supportive health services.
If these respected organisations can see the value in it, why can’t our own professional associations?
The Mission Behind My Wellness Academy
When I created My Wellness Academy, it wasn’t just to teach Reiki. It was to raise the bar for professionalism in holistic education.
Our mission is to provide structured, ethically grounded, evidence-informed training that bridges intuition and integrity.
To prove that Reiki, crystal therapy, and other modalities can — and should — be taught at a standard that earns respect within the wellness and allied health industries.
I’m not asking for instant recognition of Reiki, nor any handouts.
I’m asking for dialogue. For progress. For a fair review process that evaluates the content, not the stigma.
Because professionalism shouldn’t be defined by how clinical something sounds — it should be defined by the quality, intention, and integrity of what’s taught.
Why This Matters
When a practitioner learns how to care for themselves, everyone benefits.
* Their clients receive better treatment.
* Their families get a more balanced version of them.
* Their colleagues see someone modelling healthy professional behaviour.
Reiki isn’t a threat to professionalism.
It’s a support for it.
And the more we resist structured self-care as “personal interest,” the more we fuel burnout, compassion fatigue, and disconnection in the very industries built on caring for others.
The Door May Have Slammed — But I’m Not Going Anywhere
That email could have been the end of it.
But instead, it lit a fire.
So yes — that door slammed.
But that sound wasn’t rejection.
It was motivation!
Because if history has taught us anything, it’s that today’s “alternative” is tomorrow’s accepted practice — once enough people care enough to keep showing up.
And I’ll keep showing up.
For the students who want to learn responsibly.
For the practitioners who want to bridge wellness and professionalism.
And for the future of Reiki — where credibility isn’t something we fight for, but something we embody.
0 Comments