Anyone practice Guided Imagery?

renerian, BSN, RN · Nov 23, 2003

I have used it in the home health setting and found it very helpful.

renerian

healingtouchRN · Dec 12, 2003

I have a support group that meets @ my home monthly for energy workers (Healing Touch practitioners & wanna be's). I open my group with some good guided imagery CD's I picked while @ Harvard in '01. It is a marvelous way relax & center the group for the practice @ hand. I have used it as well with clients while pulling an arterial sheath & with myself since I am nursing my own injury (torn ACL)---bad for career! Tell me more about the course you took thru AHNA. When I get some $$$ I'm gonna join. I am taking the modules for HNC in Atlanta, going for 2nd one in Jan.

Home Health Columnist / Guide · Dec 12, 2003

I've used it in my practice while in Hospice and as homecare IV RN admiministering Chemo and blood products.

Power in using the body to heal has been done through the centuries.

icuabbie · Dec 13, 2003

Nice to see more responses on this. I have to leave for work in about 30 minutes so I'll post more on IAGI tomorrow. It's different from guided imagery and a great tool. Bye

renerian, BSN, RN · Dec 13, 2003

I look forward to learning more about your other process.

renerian

Marie_LPN, RN, LPN, RN · Dec 14, 2003

I saw a nurse on the L and D unit do this with a laboring mother, it was absolutely fascinating.

icuabbie · Dec 14, 2003

It really is an awesome process. Interactive varies from guided imagery in that is an interactive process between the guide and the client or patient. Once the client is in a relaxed state the guide facilitates the inner experience or work that the client needs help with. There are a lot of clinical applications of IAGI, such as;

relaxation and stress reduction

reducing anxiety

pain and symptom relief

preparation for labor and delivery

preparation for sugery and procedures

potentiating the action of medication and treatments

minimizing side effects

dealing with chronic illness

empowering the patient

tolerating difficult procedures

accessing inner wisdom and guidance

accessing insights and information concerning a particular problem or situation

active participation in the healing process

addressing emotional expression or release

exploration/understanding of parts and aspects of the self

finding meaning in illness or crisis and enhancing coping skills

Most nurses have the qualities to be a great guide. The process is always client oriented, generated and directed. Here's an short example:

1. Discuss the presenting situation or problem. Ask permission to explore this in imagery to aid in understanding.

2. Facilitate a relaxed, inner focused state.

3. Ask for an image to come to mind for ___(the pain/problem)

4. Ask the person to observe and describe the image in detail. What does it look like? What is the color, shape, size?

5. Ask the client what qualities or characteristics the image seems to embody or convey. The image may have certaiin feelings.

6. Find out what feelings or emotions arise for the person as they are exploring this image.

7. Faciliate a dialogue/open communication between the person and the image. Encourage expression of feelings between the two. The person may want to ask questions or find out more about the image. Perhaps why is this image here? What does it want or need? What does it have to share or say? If it's an image of pain or symptom, what does it need to be relieved or alleviated? In order to facilitate the communication, you can suggest "Give it a voice and let it respond." or "let it respond in a way you can understand.

8. Working with whatever time frame you have, let the person know that the imagery will need to be brought to a close soon. Keep in mind the resolution may not happen in one session and that this is an exploratory technique to learn and understand more about what may be going on for this person at this time. Provide closure and come back to a waking, alert state.

There are many specific techniques for specific goals. It is really sacred work when you can help someone get in touch with their subconcious and help them gain insight. Here's a quote from the class.

"Each patient carries his own doctor inside of him. They come to us not knowing that truth. We are at our best when we give the doctor who resides within each patient a chance to go to work."

---Albert Schweitzer---

Abbie

Alexa1811 · Jan 16, 2004

I have used guided imagery with good success. I have made tapes for other nurses, who were in crisis, or had health concerns. I am not certified, but would LOVE to know how to become so. I have lead guided imagery groups with Psych. patients at Florida Hospital. The feedback I get is " your a natural"

Regards,

Christina R.N.

TinyNurse, RN · Apr 16, 2004

I'm not certified, but believe in it myself, and have used it in the ER for pain relief until I can get the MD to see a patient and eval them.

jnette, ASN, EMT-I · Apr 16, 2004

Heh... guided imagery....................

been a "practitioner" since early childhood when there was no term/name for it. I was the ultimate daydreamer... great for denial issues, too ! :chuckle

Seriously, it IS wonderful, I just don't understand why people have to be "taught" to do this.. I always thought it was something ppl did naturally on their own... a common sense thing to do to relieve stress, no?

CharlieRN · Aug 16, 2004

I have used it on several occasions. It can be a very effective tool in giving the client a subjective sense of relief and possibly allowing them to resolve psychological conflicts. It is, and must be understood as, a form of hypnotism. As such it has almost no objective significance. It is not a reliable diagnostic tool. It is possible to do great harm using hypnotic techniques. It is possible to, for example, relieve the pain associated with real physical disorders, so that effective treatment is not sought.

Science is the tool that modern medicine and nursing is founded on. Science demands that therapy be shown to have objective value. Objective truth in a scientific sense is found through the use of double blind studies involving statisticly significant samplings.

I get very uncomfortable when supposed health care professionals say they "believe in" a form of therapy, in the sense of believing it is real. Scientific Health Care is not about what we think is real but about what can be proven to be real.

Every few years someone trots out another effect based on hypnosis in its various forms and calls it a therapy. No harm in that so long as it bills itself as only dealing with the subjective experience of the patient and not with the objective real world. Help the patient deal with his fears, fine. Help him focus on healing himself of AIDS or Cancer, excellent. But if you tell him that by means of your guided imagery or whatever, you will make it unnecessary that he take those nasty pills or have that surgery, then what you do has another name than "therapy". It is "quackery" at the least and "murder" at the worst.