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The Witchy Therapist Podcast

The Witchy Therapist Podcast

By: Stacey Aldridge LCSW and Charity O'Reilly LPC
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The Witchy Therapist Podcast is for a podcast for mental health professionals and healers who are ready to step outside the mainstream and the clients who would love to work with them! We talk to real, practicing therapists about how they ethically integrate "witchy" practices like tarot, astrology, energy work, hypnosis, past life regression, mediumship, and more into their sessions. We also do deep dives into topics like Reiki, clinical use of tarot, crystals, and more.

© 2026 The Witchy Therapist Podcast Hygiene & Healthy Living Psychology Psychology & Mental Health Spirituality
Episodes
  • Clinical Use of Sound and Reiki with Vanessa Simmons, LPC, SEP, RPT

    Clinical Use of Sound and Reiki with Vanessa Simmons, LPC, SEP, RPT
    Jun 23 2026

    Following up on our science of Reiki episodes, we talk to Vanessa Simmons, LPC, SEP, RPT about how she integrates Reiki and therapeutic sound into her sessions. Now that you know the science behind Reiki, learn how to integrate it into your clinical practice!

    Resources Vanessa mentions in the episode: Reclaiming Ancestors: A Modern Path to Ancient Ways by Tanja Meyburgh
    https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/221479770-reclaiming-ancestors

    About our Guest: Vanessa is the founder of Meadow Grove Counseling in Lancaster, PA, where she offers trauma-focused therapy intensives for individuals who spend much of their lives showing up for others and are quietly longing for a different way of being with themselves. She is trained in EMDR, sand therapy practices, Deep Brain Reorienting, and Internal Family Systems, and is a Somatic Experiencing Practitioner. Vanessa is also a Level 2 Reiki practitioner and a Certified Therapeutic Sound Practitioner, weaving together nervous system-informed care with sound and energy practices to create spaces that feel both grounded and expansive.
    You can find Vanessa at her website Meadow Grove Counseling website: www.meadowgrovecounseling.com and on Instagram @MGCLLC https://www.instagram.com/mgcllc/

    About the hosts:
    Charity O’Reilly, LPC has been a trauma healer since 2006. She provides EMDR intensives to clients from all over the world. Charity is the co-author of You Will Get Through This: A Mental Health Tool Kit, and How to Understand and Deal with ADHD. She trains nationally and internationally on topics related to healing trauma and our parts. She has also been featured talking about trauma healing on multiple podcasts and on Letters from Love with Elizabeth Gilbert. Charity lives with her husband, chickens, cats, and many foster kittens on a homestead on Lenape Land in what is now called Bucks County, Pennsylvania. Visit her website to learn more about working with her.

    Stacey Aldridge, LCSW has worked in the mental health field for over 15 years. She works with women and LGBTQ+ clients in Mississippi addressing trauma, late diagnosed ADHD and autism, and religious trauma at her therapy practice Inspired Happiness Therapy, LLC. She is also a Reiki Master, Quantum Healing Hypnosis Technique practitioner, and Holistic Health & Wellness Coach. Stacey sees coaching and Reiki clients from anywhere in the world at Kaya Holistic Wellness, LLC. A late diagnosed ADHD-er herself, Stacey also has a small business making and selling ice dyed clothing and home goods as well as an Etsy shop with curated vintage items, handmade ritual candles, and magical supplies. Stacey lives with her husband Jon and their 3 elderly dogs on unceded Chahta Yakni (Choctaw) land in Central Mississippi.

    Follow us on social media! @ WitchyTherapistPodcast on Instagram
    WitchyTherapyPodcast on Facebook http://witchytherapistpodcast.staceyaldridgelcsw.com
    Charity O'Reilly, LPC @ TeaWithATraumaTherapist http://charityoreilly.com/
    Stacey Aldridge, LCSW @ HolisticallyStacey http://www.staceyaldridge.com
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    1 hr and 4 mins
  • The Science of Reiki Part 2 - Deep Dive Into the Research

    The Science of Reiki Part 2 - Deep Dive Into the Research
    Jun 16 2026
    In Part 2 of The Science of Reiki, Stacey and Charity dive into the research. What does the science say about Reiki for anxiety, depression, and burnout? What did studies using Reiki with mental health professionals working in community mental health show? Can Reiki prevent secondary trauma in professionals? We find the answers in part 2!A full list of 166 published scientific studies may be found at The Center for Reiki Research https://centerforreikiresearch.com/Please visit our website for research summaries, that's more information than we can put here in the show notes. https://witchytherapistpodcast.staceyaldridgelcsw.com/2026/05/30/show-notes-the-science-of-reiki/ ‎Research studies mentioned in this episode in chronological order:Effects Of Reiki Treatment On Anxiety And Depression: A Randomized Control Trial. Porter, et al. International Journal of Healing and Caring. 2012.The Effects of Reiki Treatment on Mental Health Professionals at Risk for Secondary Traumatic Stress: A Placebo Control Study. M. Novoa, D. Cain. Best Practices in Mental Health Vol. 10, Issue 1. 2014. Reiki Reduces Burnout Among Community Mental Health Clinicians. Rosada, et al. Journal of Alternative & Complementary Medicine. 2015 Aug, 21. The effect of Reiki on depression in elderly people living in nursing home. Zeynep Erdogan & Sezgi Cinar. Indian Journal of Traditional Knowledge Vol. 15(1), January 2016. The Impact of Psychotherapeutic Reiki on Anxiety. Webster, et al. Journal of Creativity in Mental Health, Volume 15. 2020. Reiki as nursing care to people in mental suffering: an integrative review. Santos, et al. Revista Brasileira de Enfermagem. April 2021.The effect of Reiki on pain: A meta-analysis. M. Dogan. Complementary Therapies in Clinical Practice, Volume 44. August 2021.The effects of Reiki treatment on mental health professionals who are at risk of burnout. S. Ijaz, F. Rafaq, F. Shafiq. International Journal of Advanced Multidisciplinary Research and Studies. 2022. Effect of Reiki on Measures of Well-Being in Low-Income Patients with Mental Health Diagnoses. Prasad, et al. Global Advances in Integrative Medicine and Health. 2025, Feb 28.The Effect of Reiki Applied to Cancer Patients on Pain, Anxiety, and Stress Levels: A Randomized Controlled Study. Kavehci, et al. Seminars in Oncology Nursing. April 2025.Reiki for decrease postmenopausal symptoms and depression: a randomized clinical trial. E. Baransel, T. Uçar.Revista da Associação Médica Brasileira. 2025, Aug 8.As mentioned in the episode: You can see Stacey's Reiki lineage on the Kaya Holistic Wellness website https://kayaholisticwellness.com/reiki/Stacey's Reiki Master Teachers, Krista Tew and Jina Daniels can be found at Reiki4Life https://www.empowering4life.com/reiki-4-lifeAbout the hosts: Charity O’Reilly, LPC has been a trauma healer since 2006. She provides EMDR intensives to clients from all over the world. Charity is the co-author of You Will Get Through This: A Mental Health Tool Kit, and How to Understand and Deal with ADHD. She trains nationally and internationally on topics related to healing trauma and our parts. She has also been featured talking about trauma healing on multiple podcasts and on Letters from Love with Elizabeth Gilbert. Charity lives with her husband, chickens, cats, and many foster kittens on a homestead on Lenape Land in what is now called Bucks County, Pennsylvania. Visit her website to learn more about working with her. Stacey Aldridge, LCSW has worked in the mental health field for over 15 years. She works with women and LGBTQ+ clients in Mississippi addressing trauma, late diagnosed ADHD and autism, and religious trauma at her therapy practice Inspired Happiness Therapy, LLC. She is also a Reiki Master, Quantum Healing Hypnosis Technique practitioner, and Holistic Health & Wellness Coach. Stacey sees coaching and Reiki clients from anywhere in the world at Kaya Holistic Wellness, LLC. A late diagnosed ADHD-er herself, Stacey also has a small business making and selling ice dyed clothing and home goods as well as an Etsy shop with curated vintage items, handmade ritual candles, and magical supplies. Stacey lives with her husband Jon and their 3 elderly dogs on unceded Chahta Yakni (Choctaw) land in Central Mississippi.Follow us on social media! @ WitchyTherapistPodcast on Instagram WitchyTherapyPodcast on Facebook http://witchytherapistpodcast.staceyaldridgelcsw.com Charity O'Reilly, LPC @ TeaWithATraumaTherapist http://charityoreilly.com/Stacey Aldridge, LCSW @ HolisticallyStacey http://www.staceyaldridge.com
    Show More Show Less
    48 mins
  • The Science of Reiki Part 1 - What is Reiki? Plus the History of Reiki

    The Science of Reiki Part 1 - What is Reiki? Plus the History of Reiki
    Jun 9 2026

    What is Reiki? Wikipedia calls it a "pseudoscience" yet hundreds of research studies have been done to see if energy healing is effective. In part 1 of the science of Reiki host Stacey, a Reiki Master trained in Usui Reiki, educates host Charity on what Reiki is and isn't as well as the history of Reiki.

    In part 2, coming next week, we will deep dive into the research that has been published on Reiki for anxiety, depression, burnout amongst mental health professionals, secondary trauma, and more!

    "Westerners often find it hard to believe in the presence of an invisible healing energy, perhaps because the mechanism of energetic healing is not understood at this time. Reiki practitioners facilitate the balancing of the system as a whole rather than diagnosing in order to address specific problems in the ways that medical practitioners do." Porter, et al. Effects Of Reiki Treatment On Anxiety And Depression: A Randomized Control Trial. International Journal of Healing and Caring (2012).

    As mentioned in the episode:

    • 15% of hospitals in the US offer Reiki. That's more than 800 hospitals! International Association of Reiki Professionals . Reiki in the clinical setting. (https://iarp.org/reiki-clinical-setting/) as cited in Effect of Reiki on Measures of Well-Being in Low-Income Patients with Mental Health Diagnoses http://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC11873885/

    Resources mentioned in this episode:

    • The Center for Reiki Research https://centerforreikiresearch.com/
    • The International Center for Reiki Training (ICRT) https://www.reiki.org/
    • International Association of Reiki Professionals https://iarp.org/
    • "The effect of Reiki on depression in elderly people living in nursing homes." Zeynep Erdogan & Sezgi Cinar. Indian Journal of Traditional Knowledge Vol. 15(1), January 2016, pp. 35-40

    Additional Sources:

    • Hiroshi Doi, Iyashino Gendai Reiki Ho, A Modern Reiki Method for Healing
    • Cleveland Clinic https://my.clevelandclinic.org/health/articles/24058-autophagy
    • Society for Neuroscience https://www.sfn.org/sitecore/content/home/brainfacts2/thinking-sensing-and-behaving/diet-and-lifestyle/2018/how-does-fasting-affect-the-brain-071318
    • Nutrition Reviews. The impact of continuous calorie restriction and fasting on cognition in adults without eating disorders. https://academic.oup.com/nutritionreviews/article/83/1/146/7585919
      10.1038/s42255-024-01008-9
    • Frontiers In Psychiatry. Severe Sleep Deprivation Causes Hallucinations and a Gradual Progression Toward Psychosis with Increasing Time Awake. https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC6048360/
    • What is the History of Reiki? ICRT. https://www.reiki.org/faqs/what-history-reiki
    • An Evidence Based History of Reiki by William Rand https://www.reiki.org/articles/evidence-based-history-reiki

    The full quote Charity reads is available on our website https://witchytherapistpodcast.staceyaldridgelcsw.com/2026/06/03/what-is-reiki-and-how-does-it-work/

    Follow us on social media! @ WitchyTherapistPodcast on Instagram
    WitchyTherapyPodcast on Facebook http://witchytherapistpodcast.staceyaldridgelcsw.com
    Charity O'Reilly, LPC @ TeaWithATraumaTherapist http://charityoreilly.com/
    Stacey Aldridge, LCSW @ HolisticallyStacey http://www.staceyaldridge.com
    Show More Show Less
    40 mins
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