Relationship trouble sends people looking in many directions, and Reiki is one of them. The pitch usually comes in two forms: that a calmer self communicates better, and that energy work can mend a bond or smooth conflict between two people, sometimes from a distance. The first holds a grain of sense. The second runs well past what the practice can support.
The defensible part is about the individual, not the relationship. Resentment and conflict are easier to handle when a person is not already wound tight, and a relaxation session can lower that baseline tension. Someone who feels calmer may listen more patiently, react less sharply, and approach a hard conversation with a clearer head. That is a real, if indirect, contribution, and it comes from the person being more settled rather than from any energy passing between partners.
The stronger claims do not stand. There is no scientific evidence for the energy Reiki assumes, and the idea that a practitioner can send healing to a relationship, shift another person’s feelings, or repair a bond at a distance has nothing behind it. A relationship involves two people’s choices, histories, and behavior, none of which can be adjusted by treating one of them on a table. Presenting Reiki as relationship repair sets up a disappointment, and it can let real problems go unaddressed while someone waits for the energy to work.
Communication itself is a skill, learned and practiced, not received in a session. Listening without interrupting, saying what one needs plainly, staying respectful during disagreement: these improve with effort and, when conflict runs deep, with help. For couples facing serious or ongoing difficulty, couples counseling or individual therapy addresses the patterns directly, which a relaxation practice cannot do.
Used honestly, Reiki sits at the edge of this picture as a way for one person to steady themselves. A calmer partner can be a better partner to talk to, and that modest effect is worth naming accurately. The repair of a relationship, though, happens between the people in it, through what they say and do, and no amount of energy work substitutes for that.