Monthly Archives: March 2024

My three thousandth treatment

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It’s fitting that my 3000th treatment was for my husband, who is recovering from a hip replacement. Unlike with my usual clients, I left the door open to the room, and Freyja came in and jumped on top of him and stayed for a moment. So, I thought it would be a good occasion to commemorate with a photo.

It’s also a good opportunity to thank my husband for allowing me to take over the guestroom for my reiki practice, and also to allow many hundreds of clients to come in and out of our apartment, making it so he can’t play piano or watch TV! Stevie, I’m very grateful for the way you’ve supported my practice.

Three thousand treatments! My clients come from all over the world, the majority who have come to live in Sydney from other countries or other parts of Australia, with the occasional traveller who is just passing through – and the occasional person who was born and bred in Sydney! My clients are all ages. I’ve given a few treatments to children, the kids of reiki clients, although usually they’re quite restless. And I’ve given a few treatments to women who are pregnant.

I usually don’t ask clients too much about themselves, but sometimes find out more about them over the course of a few treatments, or from their email addresses. I’ve given treatments to nurses, police officers, a criminal, scientists, doctors, human resources managers, entrepreneurs and because it’s Sydney, quite a few people who work in retail, the financial sector, consultancies, food services, the media and IT – and students. Some are musicians, clothes designers, artists and actors, and some are healers themselves, or do it, like me, part-time, or just as a personal practice. I’ve given treatments to an Olympian and a famous director and actor.

What a privilege to meet so many kind-hearted and interesting people, and in most cases, help bring them some healing or a better sense of well-being. I’ve learned a lot from my practice, from running a small business to clarifying what I think reiki is and how it works. And as I’ve explained many times to clients, it’s not a practice that exhausts me, where I am giving energy away or am doing something that is tiring. Instead, it is about facilitating a quiet, still and present energy, that I believe is healing, and that I also receive healing from. So many gifts. Happy 3000th treatment to me and thanks to everyone who has come for a treatment at Reiki Surry Hills.

Discover the gifts and benefits of a session of reiki, healing energy from an experienced practitioner. Visit my website or Facebook page for more information and text, email, call me or book online if you’d like to make an appointment. Since 2011, I’ve given 3,000 reiki treatments.
Clients come to relieve stress, anxiety and for many other issues, or to just give reiki a try to see what it does for them. Folks come from all over Sydney and elsewhere to see me. While it’s easiest to get to me from the CBD, Darlinghurst, Paddington, Kings Cross, Redfern and Potts Point, I’m pretty easy to get to from anywhere in Sydney.

Do you need therapy or counselling?

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Clients often come to me with stress and anxiety, either generally, or in response to a particular situation. So, I often ask if they are seeing a counsellor or therapist. It’s part of my general philosophy about reiki, that a reiki treatment may be a tool that will help you in some way but that you will need a number of tools in your toolbox. One treatment is not going to magically solve a problem or issue. And furthermore, if the issue is primarily one of the mind or emotions, then I think the first place to start with is someone who specialises in these, just like if you are physically injured or sick, a medical doctor would be my first port of call.

I just came across this article in the Washington Post, ‘Not everyone need therapy‘, by Emily Edlin, and it nudged me to think about how I word my question. As the article says:

‘People need therapy when their mental health symptoms are causing serious impairments in their daily functioning — in close relationships, work performance, sleep or social activities. For instance, if a person’s work stress overwhelms them to the point that they miss work and are subsequently at risk of losing their job.

They don’t need therapy when they are able to manage their symptoms well — if they feel stressed about their work but continue to perform well, have a supportive network of family and friends, engage in meaningful activities outside work and do not have significant levels of depression and anxiety.’

I think this is a good framework and that it is true that sometimes stress and anxiety don’t require therapy, but are a signal that you need to reflect and change the situation. And many of my clients already do some form of therapy, and are coming for a reiki treatment as an alternative way to support what they are already doing.

I’d also add that there are different kinds of therapy and counselling. A number of clients who have had prolonged terrible periods at work could benefit from, I believe, workplace counselling or coaching, as the problems really are specific to work. People who can’t get over a relationship break-up or are suffering from the loss of a loved one could benefit from counsellors that specialise in these areas – relationships, grief – to help them get through this time.

I can sense that sometimes clients just need to be able to talk about how they feel, and I think being able to pay someone, a professional, to listen to you and provide objective guidance, is a wonderful thing. Very occasionally, a client will want to tell me all about the problems they are facing and this tells me that a professional listener would be good for them, rather than telling their problems to friends or family … or a reiki practitioner.

Finally, a number of clients have said that they tried counselling but that it didn’t work. There are many types of counselling available, and it’s not a given that you’ll find the right therapist right away (just as I know that some clients will ‘click’ with other reiki practitioners better than with me). So, if it didn’t work once, it may mean that counselling is not for you, but it may also mean that it wasn’t the right counsellor or type of counselling.

In any case, the important thing is recognising that you want to feel better and that you are doing something about it. If this includes reiki, I’ll see you at your next treatment!

Discover the gifts and benefits of a session of Japanese reiki therapy, healing energy from an experienced practitioner. Visit my website or Facebook page for more information and SMS, email, call me or book online if you’d like to make an appointment. Since 2011, I’ve given 3,000 reiki treatments.
Clients come to relieve stress, anxiety and for many other issues, or to just give reiki a try to see what it does for them. Folks come from all over Sydney and elsewhere to see me. While it’s easiest to get to me from the CBD, Darlinghurst, Paddington, Kings Cross, Redfern and Potts Point, I’m pretty easy to get to from anywhere in Sydney.