How to Choose a Reiki Practitioner You Can Trust

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Choose on verifiable criteria, not on charisma: training and lineage that can be named, clear information about price and length, and concrete answers in writing. And walk away from three things without exception: promises of cure, pressure to buy packages, and any suggestion about touching your medication.

First: what can be verified and what cannot

It is worth starting with an uncomfortable truth.

Reiki is not a regulated health profession. There is no official register of Reiki practitioners you can consult, and anyone can call themselves a master after a weekend course.

That means verification falls to you. It is not convenient, but it is the real situation, and I would rather tell you than pretend there is an official seal that does not exist. The legal framework for alternative therapies in Colombia sits with the Ministry of Health and Social Protection, and it does not equate these practices with medical care.

The good news is that quite a lot is checkable, and three or four questions by WhatsApp will filter out most of the people who should not be practising.

Criteria you can actually check

Criterion	How to check it
Training and lineage	Ask who trained them and which lineage they come from. They should name it without hedging
Certificates	Ask to see them. They should state level, the master granting it, and a date
Price clarity	Rate and length are stated before, not at the end
Session framing	They should explain where hands are placed and how to ask them to stop
Language about health	They speak of accompanying and wellbeing; never of curing
Reaction to questions	They answer without irritation and without mysterious phrases
The space	A clean, private room with a door; not an improvised corner
Public presence	A site or profile with a real name, location and contact details
Consent	They ask whether you accept physical contact, and respect a no

None of these is foolproof on its own. Together they paint a fairly reliable portrait.

The questions to ask before booking

Copy them and send them in writing. How someone answers says as much as the answer.

Who trained you, and in which lineage?
What level do you hold, and how long have you practised?
How long is a session and what does it cost?
Do you work with physical contact? Can I ask for none?
What exactly happens during a session?
Do I have to remove any clothing? (The correct answer is no.)
Can I stop at any point?
I am under medical treatment. Is there anything to bear in mind?
How many sessions do you think I need? (Beware anyone giving a number before knowing you.)
What can Reiki not do?

The tenth is my favourite. An honest practitioner has an answer ready for it. One who does not — or who gets uncomfortable — is telling you something important.

Warning signs: the big three

1. Promises of cure

"This will make the illness go away." "I've cured worse cases." "Three sessions and it's gone."

Any version of this is reason enough not to return. Reiki is a complementary practice of relaxation and accompaniment; it does not cure illness and there is no evidence that it does. The NCCIH states it plainly: it has not been shown to be effective for any specific health purpose.

Promising you a cure is not enthusiasm. It is misleading advertising about your health.

2. Pressure to buy packages

A reasonable discount for several sessions is not a crime. Pressure is.

Be wary if they tell you how many sessions you need before knowing you, if they insist on prepayment for a long block, if the price "goes up tomorrow", or if they say that interrupting the process spoils it.

That last phrase is the most manipulative of all, because it uses fear. No process breaks because you stopped. I explain it in how many Reiki sessions do I need.

3. Any comment about your medication

This is the absolute red line.

If a practitioner suggests reducing, spacing out or stopping a medicine; if they tell you medication "blocks the energy"; if they advise you against surgery, chemotherapy or psychological therapy: leave.

That is not a difference of opinion. It is a real risk to your health — and if you have already changed something, tell your doctor.

Other warning signs

They give you a diagnosis. We are not qualified to diagnose, near or far.
They tell you that you carry an entity, a curse or an attached energy, and that they can remove it for an extra fee.
They read your tears or your sensations as proof of something.
They propose you remove clothing, or touch you where it was not agreed.
They systematically disparage other practitioners.
They get annoyed when you ask about price, training or method.
They publish testimonials of cures with names and diagnoses.
They insist on working on a relative of yours without that person's consent.

If any of these appear, you need no justification. You can leave.

Lineage: what it is and why to ask

In the Usui system, transmission passes from master to student. Lineage is simply that chain: who initiated you, who initiated them, and so on back to Mikao Usui.

It is not an academic qualification and it is no guarantee of human decency. An impeccable lineage does not prevent someone from being a poor practitioner.

But it is verifiable in a basic sense: someone with real training can name their teacher without hesitating. Someone who invented it gets tangled answering.

I work within the lineage of Mikao Usui, and I bring into the session the accompaniment of the ascended masters, the archangels and the seven rays. I say so when asked, I do not impose it, and you can read more on about Sananda Reiki.

What a certificate says, and what it does not

A Reiki certificate says that someone received an initiation from a specific master on a specific date. Nothing more.

It does not say how many hours they have practised. It does not say whether they can hold a space. It does not say whether they respect boundaries. It is not a licence and it is not equivalent to a healthcare credential.

So do not look only at the paper. Look at how they answer you, whether the price is clear, whether they explain what their hands will do, and whether they accept a no without arguing.

Price: what is reasonable

In Medellín, practitioners listed in professional directories publish rates running roughly from 50,000 to 220,000 Colombian pesos (COP) per session. Several centres advertise around 130,000 COP for an hour, others 150,000. One local centre publishes distance Reiki at 194,000 COP. Treat any USD conversion as approximate.

That is the observed market range, not an official reference rate and not ours. I do not publish a figure here: ask me and I will tell you my current rate before you book, with no obligation.

What should give you pause is not a high price or a low one. It is an opaque price: the one that appears nowhere, that shifts depending on how you look when you arrive, or that turns into a larger number at the end of the session.

What I see in my practice

People have told me things I would rather not have heard.

The one that hurts most is always the same shape: someone who postponed a medical consultation because a practitioner told them the problem was energetic and a few sessions would resolve it. Sometimes they lost weeks. Sometimes more.

When someone arrives with that story, my first sentence is not about Reiki. It is a question: have you seen a doctor yet?

That is the filter I apply to my own work. If what I do ever moves you away from the care you need, then I am doing it badly, however gentle the session is.

In Medellín the range of therapies on offer is enormous and grows every year. There are serious people, and there are people who should not be charging for this. Telling them apart has become part of the care — which is why I write articles like this one even though they point at my own field.

What good accompaniment feels like

To close, the positive signs. They are quieter, which is why they get noticed less.

They ask before touching you. They explain what they are going to do. They tell you the price without your having to insist. They are not offended by your doubts.

They speak of accompanying, not of curing. They ask about your medical treatment and encourage you to continue it. They acknowledge the limits of what they do without it sounding like an excuse — you can see mine in Reiki contraindications.

And when you finish, they sell you nothing. They let you leave at your own pace, free not to come back.

Frequently asked questions

Is it a bad sign if a practitioner has no certificates on display? Not necessarily, but they should be able to show them if you ask, and name their teacher without hedging. What is worrying is not the absence of a frame on the wall: it is evasion, a change of subject, or a vague answer. A reasonable request met with discomfort already tells you what you needed to know.

Can I ask for a shorter trial session? You can ask, though not everyone offers it and it is not essential. A better and free alternative: a ten-minute conversation beforehand, by phone or chat. In that conversation you learn almost everything important about how someone works and whether you feel comfortable with them.

Does it matter whether they are a man or a woman? What matters is what makes you feel safe, and that preference is legitimate without needing explanation. You can ask and you can choose. You can also ask to bring someone with you, or for the door to stay ajar. A serious practitioner receives those conditions as entirely normal.

I was told I have an energy blockage. Is that normal? As a way of speaking inside this practice, you will hear it. As a claim about your health, no: nobody can diagnose you with a blockage, still less charge you extra to "remove" it. If an attached energy, an entity or a curse appears with a price tag attached, that is not Reiki. It is something else.

What if I already paid for a large package and regret it? Ask for a refund on the unused sessions; many serious professionals give it without difficulty. If they refuse, treat it as an expensive lesson and do not go back. Do not keep attending just to avoid losing the money: that only prolongs the discomfort. You can stop whenever you like, and no process is damaged.

How do I apply all this if the session is at a distance? The same way, with two additions: the time must be specific and agreed, and they must never work on another person without that person's consent. Be wary of anyone asking for personal objects, hair, or photos of third parties. The questions in this article work just as well over chat, which is usually where everything begins.

If you want to ask me any of these questions, write on WhatsApp at +57 314 811 7561 or through contact. Answering them is part of the work, not an inconvenience. Sessions and conversations are available in English.

And if you would rather see how it all goes first, read what to expect in a first session or the questions nobody dares to ask.

Disclaimer

This article is for educational purposes and does not replace diagnosis, treatment or follow-up by a healthcare professional. Reiki is a complementary practice: it accompanies, it does not substitute. If you are under medical or psychological care, continue it and talk to your treating professional before adding any complementary therapy.