Reiki Energy Healing
Hands-on and hands-off reiki with Certified Reiki Master Teachers in a private Melrose loft.
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Reiki for Trauma · West Hollywood
Reiki for trauma support in West Hollywood, at a pace your body sets
Trauma-aware reiki is a complementary practice. It is not trauma therapy, psychotherapy, or a substitute for a licensed, trauma-informed clinician, and it does not treat or diagnose PTSD or any trauma condition. At our West Hollywood studio, Certified Reiki Master Teachers Jaime and Yonatan Elkayam work with the nervous system and held tension at a consent-first pace, with a hands-off option always available. Clients often describe leaving calmer, more grounded, and more present.
60 to 75 minutes · Private Melrose studio · Certified Reiki Master Teachers
Certified Reiki Master Teachers
Usui lineage · married practitioner team
The Practice
What is trauma-aware reiki, and who is it for?
Trauma-aware reiki is a complementary practice. It is not trauma therapy, psychotherapy, or a substitute for a licensed, trauma-informed clinician, and it does not treat or diagnose PTSD or any trauma condition. If you are in crisis, please call or text 988 (Suicide & Crisis Lifeline) or contact a licensed mental health provider immediately. This page is not crisis care.
What it offers instead is a body-level complement: consent comes first, the pace follows your nervous system, and nothing is rushed or forced. Word of Mouth has developed this trauma-aware approach over 10 years of working with clients across Los Angeles, including therapists, caregivers, and survivors who needed a session that would not ask them to go faster than their body was ready to go.
It tends to help clients who have already done narrative work, in therapy or otherwise, and whose body is still braced: a jaw that will not unclench, shoulders pulled toward the ears, a nervous system still scanning for the next threat long after the story has been told. Reiki works at the level of the body and the energy field, not the level of narrative, so you are never asked to retell what happened.
Our Approach
Our trauma-aware protocol: consent, pacing, nervous-system first
Every trauma-aware session at Word of Mouth follows the same protocol, regardless of what you are carrying. Here is exactly what that looks like.
A pre-session check-in
Before hands are placed, your practitioner runs a brief attunement conversation about what you are carrying, what areas to work with, and what to avoid. You always know what is coming next.
A hands-off option, always available
You can request a fully hands-off session at any point. Your practitioner works with the energy field without skin contact. You choose, and you can change your mind mid-session.
Permission to pause or stop
You can slow the session, take a break, or end it at any point, no explanation needed. The session follows your nervous system, not a script.
Pacing within your window of tolerance
If a session starts to feel like too much, your practitioner slows down. Staying within your capacity matters more than completing a routine.
Somatic awareness built in
Jaime is a Certified Reiki Master Teacher and Somatic Facilitator. Reading what the body is communicating in real time shapes how every session is paced. For structured, ongoing support at this intersection, explore trauma-informed coaching.
Your Visit
What a trauma-aware session looks like
1
You arrive at your own pace
Private loft off Melrose Avenue, warm light, quiet. Nothing starts until you are ready, and there is no clipboard waiting for you.
2
A check-in shapes the session
A short conversation about what you are carrying and what to avoid guides hand positions and pacing for the rest of the visit.
3
The session follows your nervous system
You lie fully clothed on the treatment table. Touch is always light and optional; a fully hands-off session is available at any point, and you can pause or stop without explanation.
4
You close slowly, with support
No jarring ending. Your practitioner checks in with you before you leave, offers grounding if something significant came up, and shares what they noticed.
If you are in a licensed therapy program, tell your therapist you are adding reiki. Many welcome it as a body-level complement to EMDR, Somatic Experiencing, or IFS work between sessions.
In Their Words
What clients say
★★★★★
As a licensed clinical mental health therapist as well as a Reiki practitioner for over two decades, I must say that my experience with Word of Mouth was profoundly nurturing as well as professional and poignant. I walked away both feeling wiser and calmer while also more present and uplifted.
Hyim Ross
★★★★★
I feel safe with Yonatan and Jaime. I have shared things and burdens I have never shared with anyone, because until them I thought trust was an illusion. I now know what trust feels like.
William Kendig
Good Questions
Reiki for trauma in Los Angeles, answered
Honest answers about safety, pacing, and what a trauma-aware session can and cannot do.
Reiki is a gentle, non-invasive practice. It does not use touch the way massage does, does not ask you to recount your story, and does not attempt to induce emotional processing. You can choose a fully hands-off session at any point. We always run a check-in before starting and pace the session to your comfort.
Alongside, if you have a trauma history. Reiki is not a substitute for trauma-focused psychotherapy such as EMDR, IFS, Somatic Experiencing, or CPT. It works well as a complement to those approaches, not a replacement. If you are not currently in care, we would gently encourage you to find a licensed therapist alongside any reiki work.
The session structure is similar, but trauma-aware reiki adapts the pacing, touch protocol, and check-in specifically for a nervous system shaped by trauma. Consent is more explicitly built in, and if something comes up that feels like too much, the session slows or stops. No explanation needed.
Yes. Your practitioner checks in with you at the end of every session. If something significant arose, we will discuss it, offer grounding before you leave, and suggest support resources. Reiki sessions are not therapy, so if significant material comes up consistently, that is a signal to increase therapeutic support rather than session frequency.
Yes. Many clients use reiki as a body-level support between EMDR or somatic therapy sessions. It can help the nervous system settle after an intensive session with your therapist. We recommend letting both practitioners know you are working with both modalities.
You can request a hands-off session at any time, before or during. The practitioner will work with the energy field without skin or clothing contact. Touch, when it does occur, is always light and never pressure or massage. You are in control throughout.
Please call or text 988 to reach the Suicide and Crisis Lifeline. You can also go to your nearest emergency room or call 911. This page and our sessions are not crisis care. Please get the support you need right now.
Come When You're Ready
Ready when you are
If you are working with a therapist and looking for a body-level complement to that work, we are here. Sessions run 60 to 75 minutes, fully clothed, at our private Melrose studio in West Hollywood. If you need support right now, please call or text 988.
More Ways In
Other sessions at Word of Mouth
Reiki for Emotional Release
Support for stuck feelings and numbness when the weight is emotional, not specifically trauma-related.
Emotional release →Reiki for Anxiety
Support for racing thoughts, shallow breath, and the wired-but-exhausted feeling anxiety brings.
Reiki for anxiety →Breathwork
Conscious breathing for nervous-system regulation, often layered into a trauma-aware session.
Breathwork →