Bio-Energetic Medicine

Licensing, Certifying and Training Standards for Alternate Modalities

Training Standards

• Therapeutic Touch (TT) was originally developed for those in the health professions, but now anyone can study the technique. It is taught worldwide, primarily at universities, and nursing and medical schools and is still most widely utilized by the nursing profession.
• The Nurse Healers-Professional Associates International (NH-PAI), www.therapeutic-touch.org, is the official organization for TT and sets the standards for teaching and practicing. Training is not yet fully standardized but follows general norms.
• While there are no requirements for training, the NH-PAI guidelines for training at various levels are as follows:
  • Basic TT Skills: Minimum 12 hour workshop to teach;
  • Clinical Skills: Additional time for follow-up and development of skills;
  • Medical/Health Care Therapeutic Touch Practitioner: 1-year mentorship with a Qualified TT practioner/Teacher (additional practice and regular updating is recommended);
  • TT Teacher: regular practice of TT (average of 2 times a week for 5 years), 1-year mentoring in the practice of TT, 2 Advanced Workshops, and at least 1-year teaching mentorship with a Qualified TT Teacher.
• TT is taught at beginning, intermediate and advanced levels through continuing education, graduate level nursing courses and summer intensive programs.

Licensing and Certifying

• There is no formal licensing or certifying process for Therapeutic Touch. However, most TT practitioners are licensed health professionals and practice under their professional license.
• In 2000, the NH-PAI developed a credentialing process to recognize qualified practitioners who have met certain requirements and adhere to a professional code of ethics and conduct. Practitioners can be recognized as a:
  • Qualified Therapeutic Touch Practitioner (QTTP);
  • Qualified Therapeutic Touch Practioner Mentor (QTTP/M); or
  • Qualified Therapeutic Touch Teacher (QTTT and QTTP/M).
    (Please see NH-PAI website for details as well as their position statement on credentialing, www.therapeutic-touch.org.)
• Pros and cons of certification: As with many other CAM modalities there is some debate about the place of credentialing in therapeutic touch. The NH-PAI website gives the most thorough statement on this issue, www.therapeutic-touch.org/content/credentials.asp.

Note on Licensing and Certification: As with many other alternative therapies, Therapeutic Touch does not have its own state licensing boards or standards. Therefore licensed practitioners of TT medicine are individuals licensed by the state licensing board of another health profession (e.g. doctors, psychologists, dentists). These individuals practice under the rules and regulations and within the scope of their profession as defined by the state licensing board.

Training Standards

• Reiki is not currently regulated anywhere in the world.
• In the recent past there have been several attempts to standardize the training requirements, but there has been no general consensus on standards. The only consensus is that there should be some level of freedom within the training process.
• Within this freedom there are three traditional levels of Reiki training:
  1. Reiki I: Primarily for personal use;
  2. Reiki II: Focused on working with other;
  3. Master: Developing skills working on others as well as learning to teach Reiki I/II.
• Most training takes place through apprenticeship, but several schools offer formalized training programs.

Licensing and Certification Standards

• There is currently no formal licensure of certification process.
• Several schools have their own certification processes based on their individual method of training.
• However, as it has moved into formal medical practice there has been some pressure to regulate and license practitioners. This has produced a heated debate. Most practitioners believe that licensing or certification is inappropriate due to the non-harmful nature of Reiki.
• Legal Note: Under the current medical practice act that was passed in most states many years ago, Reiki is, technically, a medical practice and therefore requires that it be practiced only by licensed health care professionals. The law is currently in place, but rarely enforced, and many practioners practice in an unlicensed capacity.