What
Is Interactive Guided Imagerysm?
Imagery has a long and varied history in the healing
traditions of mankind. The long standing knowledge that
imagery is a critical component of all healing experiences
is distinguished when we consider the vital roles played by
placebos, suggestion, and positive expectant faith.
Interactive Guided Imagerysm (IGIsm)
utilizes imagery, the natural language of the unconscious
mind. IGIsm is a powerful modality helping a
patient/client connect with the deeper resources available
to them at cognitive, affective and somatic levels. The
guide’s role is not to provide “better” images for the
client, but to facilitate an enhanced awareness of the
unconscious imagery the patient/client already has, and
help clients learn to effectively work with this imagery on
their own behalf. This process is capable of bringing about
profound psychological and physiological change, as it
simultaneously empowers and educates the patients.
For example, a client can be asked to close her eyes and
allow her mind to prompt a picture that symbolizes her
problem. Using IGIsm techniques, the client may
then be guided in an imaginary dialogue with this image to
explore and reveal its meaning and relevance to her problem
or issue. These images can provide important information
about the problem, as well as the client’s beliefs,
expectations, fears, resources and solutions. Since many
clients have uncannily accurate intuitions about their
problems and solutions, the imagery process makes these
insights easily available to them and their clinician.
Physically, imagery has the ability to directly influence
the autonomic nervous system, and the power of imagination
can be recruited to promote specific physiological changes
as an aid to healing. In addition, many studies indicate
that certain imagery techniques may stimulate physiologic
processes including immune and endocrine responses which
can accelerate the healing process.
As clinicians working with patients suffering from a broad
spectrum of medical and psychological problems, and with
others eager to learn more about health promotion and
weakness, Drs. Martin Rossman and David Bresler,
Co-Founders of the Academy for Guided Imagery, have
explored a wide variety of therapeutic and educational
approaches over the past 25 years. They have found that the
use of a highly interactive form of guided imagery has been
most effective in helping to meet therapeutic goals in
relatively brief periods of time.
The IGIsm approach is eclectic, holistic,
humanistic and non-dogmatic, incorporating skills from many
related disciplines including hypnosis, Jungian Psychology,
psychosynthesis, self-actualization and ego-state
psychology.
There are few physical, emotional or behavioral symptoms or
illnesses that are not affected to some degree by the mind.
IGIsm mobilizes the latent, innate healing
abilities of the client to launch rehabilitation, recovery
and health enrichment. IGIsm techniques are easy
to learn with proper instruction, and carry few, if any,
negative side effects when properly utilized; thus making
them an ideal adjunct to any other type of therapy. It is
our sincere hope that health professionals from all
disciplines will begin to utilize these techniques to help
their patients and clients more effectively help
themselves.