In short - no. While Advanced Integrative Energy Healing (AIEH) and Reiki are both modalities within the energy healing umbrella, they differ significantly in both their origins and the training required in order to practice. While Reiki is of Japanese origin and predominantly uses activating symbols to open energy channels within a person, AIEH is built on the foundation of a variety of teachings; including: Energy Medicine and Biofield work predominantly in the style of Barbara Brennan; Integral Yoga Psychology with a focus on the teachings of concentric mapping by Sri Aurobindo, and Nervous System Regulation, Trauma Processing, and Body Reading work taught by experts such as Steven Porges, Pat Ogden, and Bessel Van Der Kolk. The biggest difference may be the training required in order to become a practitioner. Reiki Levels 1, 2, and 3 (Master/Teacher) involve short-term studying of 6-8 hours per level, with 12 case study hours required in order to move to the teaching level (according to their website). An AIEH practitioner has to have completed 700-hours of in-person study and supervised clinical practice, with an additional 300 hours of documentation work. AIEH study is focused on personal growth, biofield work, and trauma-informed client-centred healing. Practitioners use psycho-therapetic dialogue techniques for client-led work, biofield and chakra assessment and repair work, as well as polyvagal-theory informed trauma work. These techniques in combination strive to create as safe an environment as possible for the client’s nervous system, and therefore, a therapeutic container for a grounded and soul-centred healing process.

While AIEH is psycho-therapeutic in its approach, it is not like conventional therapy. In most sessions, the beginning of the treatment will involve some dialogue with the purpose of exploring the somatics (body-based sensations) behind what you choose to share. We track sensations in the body in order to get a deeper understanding of the possible origins of your challenges (physical, mental, emotional, or possibly past-life, timeline, or energy-interference related). During the part of the treatment where we are working directly with your energy field, there is dialogue and conversation when necessary to guide us deeper into the process, though we also allow sufficient space for silence and your own exploration of what is unfolding as we enter more non-ordinary states of consciousness.

With all consciousness-based work, each person will have variations in their experience, though there are some common themes. At first, people may feel an increase in tension, anxiety, or an exacerbation of the challenges they have brought to the session, but find they quickly start to feel like they have more capacity to observe themselves in these states. As the session progresses, many people find themselves growing heavier and more relaxed; some even falling into a deep state of theta brainwaves where they feel ‘here, but also somewhere else’ - a state almost akin to a conscious, deep sleep. Some people experience visuals with images or colours, while others become more sensitive to tracking sensation or energy in their bodies. Some people feel the presence of guides, angels, or loved ones that have crossed over. Typically, by the end of the session there is an overall feeling of more space to breathe, more groundedness and relaxation in all parts of the mind and body, and a broader perspective regarding the initial challenges. Often there is a reduction in pain, a closer connection with heart-centeredness, and an overall feeling of being supported.