The Centre for Medical Humanities is delighted to offer An Ethnographic Account of Reiki Practice in Britain (Beeler, 2016) for review, which explores constructions of well-being among Reiki practitioners in the UK. Further information about the themes under study can be found at Cambridge Scholars Press. Expressions of interest are welcome from across the medical humanities.
An Ethnographic Account of Reiki Practice in Britain is the result of 14 months of ethnographic research. This study, while filling a gap in the qualitative literature on Reiki practice, contributes an ethnographic portrayal of a particular group’s construction of well-being. Contributing to medical anthropology, the research findings demonstrate culturally situated ideas and practices related to health wherein the intersubjective nature of healing is a constitutive element for well-being. The distinctions of this are specific to culture and environment, broadening how spirituality and well-being are conceptualized anthropologically. In addition, this book offers a framework for the commoditization of Complementary and Alternative Medicine (CAM), a process where products become a simple commodity. For Reiki practice, this results in spirituality being out of place in the healthcare market. The book will be of interest to academics interested in CAM research and Reiki practitioners alike.
If you would like to review An Ethnographic Account of Reiki Practice in Britain (no more than 1,000 words in length), then please consult our reviewer’s guidelines and email our reviews editor with a short explanation of why you are well placed to review the book.