Do You Need a License for Reiki in Louisiana?

Louisiana defines massage therapy as the manipulation of soft tissue to maintain good health and physical condition. Reiki, energy work, polarity and therapeutic touch are not named in that definition or in the exemptions, and no board ruling on Reiki was found.

Light Reiki touch with no manipulation is arguably outside the definition, but nothing official confirms it. If you use touch, keep it light and still.

Yes, as far as the massage law goes, because it is built on manipulating soft tissue. The larger issue is the Medical Practice Act. It defines medicine as diagnosing, treating, curing or relieving any bodily or mental disease or condition by any means, including physical or psychic force, and holding yourself out as being in that business also counts.

Keep your descriptions to relaxation, balance and well-being, and never present energy healing as treating or curing a condition.

The answer is mixed. A massage therapist is defined as someone who practices for compensation, and the family exemption covers only unpaid massage. The license rule itself bans practicing without a license with no mention of pay, and the medical practice definition can apply whether or not you are paid.

Louisiana treats massage therapy, massage, therapeutic massage, massage technology and body work as massage therapy, and advertising or holding yourself out as offering these services also counts as practicing massage therapy. Body work is the easy one to miss.

Never diagnose, treat or claim to cure disease, prescribe drugs or advise anyone to stop prescription drugs, manipulate joints or the spine, or imply that you are a physician or licensed health care provider.

Louisiana's disclosure law covers unlicensed vendors who charge a consulting fee for information or recommendations about lifestyle modifications, which include complementary health practices, or about food, supplements or homeopathic remedies. A vendor who complies does not violate the medical practice ban. The law is written around advice, so it is unclear whether an energy session falls under it, and following it is a sensible precaution.

Before services, give a plainly worded written statement with your name, business and phone number, a statement that you are not a licensed health care provider in Louisiana, a statement that any foods or supplements you recommend are not prescription drugs, and your degrees, training or credentials. The client gives written acknowledgment before the first paid session and gets a copy, and you keep it for two years.

Ask the Louisiana Board of Massage Therapy in writing whether your touch-based work falls under the massage law, describing exactly how you touch clients. No board ruling on Reiki was found, and the board's rules add nothing on energy work.