Integrative Medicine and Mind/Body Awareness Enhance Practice of Psychotherapy
By Gail-Elaine Tinker, M.S., RM, CH, NCC, LPC
I have a wonderful client who refers to my alternative training as my “whoo-whoo” side. She means it as a fond joke, referring to the idea that not everyone has belief in techniques less than scientific. She sought me out for therapy because of this quality and is very sensitive in her life to the fact that not everyone would understand her use of alternative treatments for her physical and emotional conditions. She is not alone. As a trained professional psychotherapist following the rules and ethics set out by the American Psychological Association and set by the National Board for Certified Counselors, there are a few alternative practices I use which that go beyond scope.
In graduate school for counseling we discussed the idea of understanding all psychotherapeutic techniques and having a toolbox replete with the best, knowing full-well that not all techniques work for all clients. So, even the most ardent cognitive-behavioral counselor studies some play therapy and knows the basics of dream interpretation. It may not be their favorite tool, considered somewhat impractical for most times, but it’s in every practiced therapist’s toolbox. Initially, with this mindset, I approached alternative techniques, however, I was soon won over by their effectiveness in concert with traditional therapeutic methods.
When you enter into a therapeutic relationship with me you have a great deal of control of how you would like things to go {wiki: Rogerian}; however, I can’t exactly remove myself and my biases toward humanistic therapy from the equation. That is, while I am capable of using diagnostic standards to approach your situations, I find it far more organic to approach people as holistic individuals. Therefore, I facilitate mind/body science and therapeutic approaches [see Body Psychology tab on this website]. I find that many of my clients are ‘stuck’ in their head or body and need to learn to ‘check in’ with their ‘entire selves’ in a new way. I realize how far-out this may sound.
In addition to and adjacent to my practice of Psychotherapy, I practice a 100 year old healing art from Japan called Reiki {pronounced-ray-kee}. Sounds exotic and mysterious but it isn’t; it is as main stream as Acupuncture, Acupressure, and Reflexology. Reiki Practitioners are trained to use a benign hands-off energy; as an acupressurist uses touch to follow energy patterns in the client’s body, where blockages are released, muscles relaxed, and sometimes nerve/emotional irritation are alleviated [see Reiki tab on this website]. I use Reiki only with clients who request it specifically and I am very careful about administering it and monitoring my clients. While it is safe, I am aware of the differences in individuals and never assume everyone will respond the same. Sadly, I see a few clients per year who have had traumatic experiences with other Reiki practitioners who did not know to take the care I do with people. It is sorry to know there are people suffering from hurried and unprocessed sessions. I feel so sad that there are those you claim they were exploited by Reiki practices. I serve as an anchor in the community to help both clients and Reiki Practitioners who need assist with the practice of Reiki. I take such care with my Reiki that I charge the same as I do my usual therapy session, as I put as much prep time and concern in both.
Reiki is not approved as a technique by the APA, American Psychological Association; it exists in the realm of alternative treatments. So why would an ethical Psychotherapist practice it? The answer is it isn’t unethical. It takes all kinds. The use of Reiki in conjunction with Psychotherapy is hardly different than employing Jungian, Analytic, or Gestalt technique and parallels other mind/body techniques such as Cranial-Sacral, Focusing, and Alexander Technique. I do it because it helps people to relax; it assists with anxiety, insomnia, depression, and chronic pain. For those who desire a mind/body connection, it facilitates this and for those who are sensitive to chakra blockages, Reiki can help release such binds.
Does Reiki really work? I’ll tell you one of my Dad’s stories as related anecdotal evidence. As a professional lab tech in the Korean War, my dad was NOT given to “whoo-whoo” in science. My dad appreciated factual, evidence-based research in Medicine; Psychology, itself, had never quite made it to hard-science in his esteem. Dad worked in some fascinating research projects in his day, meticulously recording research and performing experiments. When acupuncture came to be experimented upon at his facility, he assumed that in humans acupuncture was merely ‘the placebo effect;’ that if a patient believed it would numb him, it would. My father had a big surprise when the visiting, esteemed, Chinese Acupuncturist used his needles upon a lab animal for both anesthesia and pain control. Dad was astonished as the animal slept peacefully during the surgical procedure, did not awake with anesthetic grogginess, and the needles also controlled its post-surgical pain; he monitored the animal and recorded the data himself. Dad realized, “The animal had no ability to be influenced by placebo belief, this stuff must work chemically or neurologically!” It was a small crack in the opening of the mind/body principles for my Dad. For me as a youngster, this story had personal impact and I was far more willing to explore Alternative/Eastern Medical practices. As a result, I found Reiki for my chronic pain and it helped me. Reiki, like the acupuncture in my father’s story, works whether you believe in it or not.
I am a Reiki Master; this means I have a teaching level of training in this area of study and I have studies over a period of years. I have a business address, a card, a website, association memberships, insurance; a sense of professional legitimacy. I do not utilize Reiki for magic, paranormal, fortune telling, manipulative, or religious means. I tend not use it for active addicts, recent trauma victims, those with mental health alerts, or with anyone suicidal. In fact, my time-consuming, expensive, professional Usui Reiki Master training emphasized against use of any emotion or thought bias toward ‘outcome’ in the practice of Reiki. The only thing ‘mystical’ about Reiki has been its tradition of training. There is no secret society. This method was simply established in the 1950s to ensure proper training. While there is government regulation of Chiropractors, so if you get a bad one you have a place to complain …we Reiki practitioners police our own through organizations such as International Association of Reiki Professionals IRAP <iarpreiki.org>.
If you have a desire to experience Reiki itself or in conjunction with Psychotherapy, I hope you will find it is an exciting way to power through personal issues with a trained therapist and practitioner. If you have had problems with a Reiki experience and need someone to talk about it with, I would be happy to discuss it 1-time free by email and then either as internet counseling or as a client in my office via this website. Please mention this blog to get your free email contact with me. I also facilitate Reiki workshops and teach techniques for use on self and others. I also offer Reiki for Professionals, Refresher Reiki III, and individual coaching for Reiki Practitioners. I am also available for special chronic pain/ hospice consultation.
A few years ago, I attended a national conference for women, sat in a random group, and enjoyed an extraordinary social interaction: 5 out of 9 of us were Reiki Masters! This is an unusually high number for any crowd, even of successful, helping-career oriented women. Of course there was an instant ‘bond’ between women who have participated in the humbling art of caring for the basic needs of others. But if we had more time for comparison, I venture to say our Reiki practice, philosophy and training would be very different. In a way, this makes Reiki a rich tapestry, but it also keeps this fine practice among what my client calls, “the whoo-whoo.” In the 1950s there were probably only 3 Reiki teachers in America, in 2010 there are 3 for every zip code (figuring the fewer in Wyoming averages the many in Manhattan). The explosion of Reiki means that there’s something to this practice which helps people, but the explosion is concerning. Rather than keep it in the realm of the mystic, some authors have published guides to Reiki including versions of the ‘secret symbols,’ in attempt to open the practice to all. This also concerns me, like selling fireworks to any, all who desire them, whenever they wish. Ultimately, I have faith that those of us who use this wonderful technique- doctors, nurses, ministers, nuns, therapists, chiropractors, massage therapists, rehab specialists, and so on, beside the basic Reiki practitioner,… that the cream will rise to the top and the people will seek the best for themselves.
Gail-Elaine Tinker, M.S., RM, CH, NCC, LPC has a General Practice of Psychotherapy in Lehigh Valley, PA. She specializes in trauma, grief, and chronic pain/illness issues. She uses Reiki in her practice as well as Hypnotherapy and Transformative Art. Gail-Elaine offers individual, internet, small group, workshop, and advocacy. If you care to avail yourself of the offer of one free email question and reply with me of a non-emergency nature, please email through my website. For anything else, you may call 610-216-4319 or tinkerpsychotherapy.com.
Copyright © 2009-2016 – Gail-Elaine Tinker
Tinker Psychotherapy and Gail-Elaine Tinker, M.S. does not discriminate against anyone because of age, sex, marital/family status, race, color, religious beliefs, ethnic origin, place of residence, veteran status, physical disability, health status, sexual orientation, or criminal record unrelated to present danger. This is a personal, ethical commitment, as well as required by federal law. I will always take steps to advance and support the values of equal opportunity, human dignity, and racial/ethnic/cultural diversity. If you believe you have been discriminated against, please bring this matter to my attention immediately.
