This study recruited 30 helping workers at university in the northern cities between 2018 and 2019 and conducted distance Reiki and musical interventions by adopting a single-blind, randomized experimental design. Participants were divided into experimental groups and control groups. The experimental group accepted distance Reiki and musical interventions, and the control group accepted musical interventions. Participants accepted thirty minutes intervention each time, once a week, over eight weeks. Before and after the intervention, participants filled in the NMRS (Negative Mood Regulation Scale) and MBI scale (Maslach Burnout Inventory. Only twenty-four participants´ data (12 in each intervention group) were included in the analysis. The MBI scale was developed to assess burnout and includes three dimensions: emotional exhaustion, depersonalization, and reduced personal accomplishment. The high scores indicate a more severe burnout. NMRS was a commonly used scale to measure individual beliefs regarding what they can do to make themselves feel better when they are in a bad mood. IT includes two different dimensions: emotional response adjustment and cognitive-behavioral adjustment.

Before conducting interventions, the Researcher explained the research purpose, conditions, intervention process, intervention strategies, potential risks, privacy, and right of participants. Participants´ informed consent forms were obtained after confirming that they understood all of the content. All of the research data were processed to ensure the privacy of the participants. The intervention procedure was as follows: (1) measured one-minute average decibels with the noise APP to confirm the environment was suitable for the research before the intervention; (2) confirmed that participants did not have physical discomfort before filled the scale; (3) after filling out the scales, guide them to lie down on the floor with a soft mattress; (4) played music and guided relaxing steps, then research stayed away three meters and behind the participants to make sure participants cannot see research; (5) after finishing the intervention, waked up participants gently with sound; and filled out the scale again. After the participants had finished the interventions, researchers emailed and informed participants in which intervention group they were.

The main findings of the study were as follows: (1) after receiving distance Reiki and musical intervention, the experimental group displayed significant differences between pre-test and post-test in helpers´ burnout and its sub-dimensions, but the control group did not show these significance; (2) after receiving distance Reiki and musical intervention, the experimental group showed significant differences between pre-test and post-test in helpers´ negative mood expectancies and its sub-dimensions, but the control group did not show these significance; (3) the experimental group was better than the control group in reducing burnout and its subdimensions scores weekly and achieved significant differences between pre-and post-tests, but this significance of pre- and post-tests did not appear in its´ sub-dimensions; (4) the experimental group´ was better than the control group in improving negative mood regulation expectancies and achieved significant differences between pre-and post-tests, but the improving effect did not appear in overall negative mood regulation expectancies; (5) the experimental group was better than the control group in improving negative mood regulation expectancies and its sub-dimensions weekly. The conclusions of this study are that distance Reiki could improve individuals´ confidence to adjust to negative emotions, and distance Reiki is also one of the effective strategies to reduce helpers´ burnout risk. 

This study is the first article about distance Reiki intervention in Taiwan and designs standardized processes to improve the research quality. Based on the findings of this study, we provide the application value of distance Reiki and propose suggestions for future research. The research limitations and suggestions of the study are as follows: (1) more than half of the participants have master´s and doctor´s degrees, and their education level is higher than the general public. Then, the results cannot be generalized to other helpers; (2) as the participants agreed to participate in the study, they accepted pretest and were immediately and randomly assigned to the experimental group or the control group. Therefore, some participants were receiving the intervention while the recruiting was ongoing. It was difficult to match the basic characteristics of the participants between the experimental group and the control group; (3) the experimental group accepted distance Reiki and musical interventions, and the improving effect of burnout and negative mood regulation expectancies cannot be inferred to the group when accepting distance Reiki only. It is recommended to include a distance group as a control group in the future; (4) if readers are interested in taking Reiki intervention or participate in Reiki workshop, they need to be familiar with this procedure addressed in the current study. Moreover, they need to be aware that the capability to channel Reiki has to be enlightened through Reiki attunement by Reiki Master; (5) Reiki workshop provides Reiki implementation steps, Reiki attunement, related precautions, and course manuals. However, these workshops are not free for participation; (6) the study showed that distance Reiki reduces burnout and improves negative mood regulation expectancies. Helpers can use distance Reiki at work, such as sending Reiki to depressed or anxious students or cases to improve their physical health and emotion; (7) it is suggested that research should be encouraged to cooperate with Reiki-related organizations, such as Taiwan Reiki Culture Association and Taiwan Reiki Promotion Association, to promote scientific research.