Influence of Reiki Therapy on women with depression

Depression is one of the main psychiatric comorbidities present in the world and the number of diagnoses has grown in recent years. One of the ways to approach the disease has been Reiki in the complementary treatment of depression, helping to maintain or reestablish physical, mental, emotional and spiritual balance. Thus, the objective of this study is to evaluate the influence of Reiki therapy on the lives of adult women who have a diagnosis of depressive disorder. This is a qualitative, descriptive research of an interventional nature. Two women aged between 40 and 59 years and with a previous diagnosis of depression participated in the study. Data were collected in September and October 2023, after approval by the Human Research Ethics Committee. The research followed four stages: referral of the participants; application of the sociodemographic assessment instrument; intervention with Reiki application and semi-structured interview. The interviews were audio-recorded and transcribed in full. After that, they were inserted in the Atlas.ti software, and analyzed in the light of thematic content analysis, in which the category influence of reiki on the psychosocial dimension emerged. It was possible to observe, from the women's statements, the expression of positive sensations related to the achievement of peace and relaxation, favoring the improvement in interpersonal relationships and appreciation of the feeling of well-being, since people with depression generally have difficulties in appreciating moments of tranquility and relating. It is concluded that Reiki has been shown to be beneficial in promoting relaxation, improving the manifestation of positive feelings, helping in interpersonal life, and can be considered a complementary treatment tool for depressive disorder in adult women.