About The Academy
The Academy for Guided Imagery (AGI) is dedicated to
educating and supporting practicing health care clinicians,
coaches, and educators in their uses of imagery and imagery
related approaches to therapy and healing. The Academy is a
post-graduate training provider for health professionals,
and a source of self-care products and programs for those
struggling with a chronic, difficult, or painful illness
(see Can Imagery Help
Me?).
It is the culmination of 30 years of clinical research,
practice and exploration into the use of the human
imagination in the healing process (see
Research
Findings).
The Academy was formed in California in 1989 by the
professional working partnership of David E. Bresler,
PhD, LAc, a health psychologist and
acupuncturist, and Martin L. Rossman,
M.D.,
a medical doctor. For more history, see
History of
AGI.
AGI provides the nation's only comprehensive, integrated
curriculum for teaching Interactive Guided
Imagerysm (IGIsm)
skills.
IGIsm is
a clinical approach
which uses imagery in a highly interactive way to evoke the
patient's own inner resources - insights, creativity,
physiologic healing states, and good decision-making.
IGIsm incorporates innovative principles and
techniques from conventional and Ericksonian hypnosis,
Neurolinguistic Programming, psychosynthesis, and Jungian
active imagination, and adds a unique interactive component
that enhances the patient’s own ability to participate in
their health and healing, and transforms the therapeutic
relationship into one of supportive collaboration and
successful self-actualization (see What Is
Interactive Guided
Imagerysm).
Since its founding, the Academy has produced books, audio
and video tapes, CDs, DVDs (see The Imagery
Store), workshops and self-study
courses for health professionals, organizations, and the
general public (see Home Study
Courses). It is now the preeminent
organization teaching health professionals how to work
directly with the imagery process.
The Academy’s professional courses are accredited by the
American Psychological Association, the California Board of
Behavioral Sciences, the National Association of Social
Workers, the California Alcoholism and Drug Counselors
Education Program, and the California Board of Registered
Nursing (see CE Credits). The Academy has taught
over 15,000 psychologists, physicians, social workers,
family counselors, nurses, health educators, pastoral
counselors, and other health professionals in its
workshops around the world.
Using their experience training thousands of health
professionals, Drs. Bresler and Rossman have also developed
several highly effective self-care programs for the public.
Dr. Bresler’s programs, Free
Yourself from Pain and Break
Your Smoking Habit With Guided
Imagery,
and Dr. Rossman’s programs, Healing
Yourself: A Step-By-Step Program For Better Health Through
Imagery and Fighting
Cancer From Within teach the critical skills of
mind/body healing in clear, easy-to-follow steps
(see Self Healing
Tools). These self-care programs
are an inexpensive way to help people participate in
their own recovery and they guide the user through the
processes of relaxation, visualization, pain relief,
problem-solving, conflict resolution, and mind/body
awareness in ways that support the whole person’s
healing process.
The Academy holds an annual convention each year to
celebrate the graduation of our Professional Certification
students, and to offer special presentations on such issues
as the mind/body connection, addictions, cancer treatment,
pain control, heart disease and emotional and spiritual
healing (see 20th Annual
Conference). Since 1989, many of the
leading authorities in mind/body medicine have shared
their approaches with members of the Academy community
including such pioneers as Andrew Weil, MD, Dean Ornish,
MD, David Sobel, MD, O. Carl Simonton, MD, Lewis
Mehl-Madrona, MD, PhD Jeanne Achterberg, PhD, Larry
Dossey, MD, Joan Borysenko, PhD, Emmett Miller, MD, Stan
Grof, MD, Ernie Rossi, PhD, Belleruth Naparstek, LISW,
and Candace Pert, PhD.
Member's of the Academy's staff and faculty also also serve
as consultants to major health care and business
organizations in matters relating to employee health,
stress reduction and time management, executive
development, team-building and leadership training,
creativity development, and related issues.