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Guided Imagery & Psychotherapy Uses

produced a physiological rejuvenation. The patient can also focus on a different physiological function such as the heartbeat; the pulse can be felt as the rhythm upon which life depends (Shames, 1996).

After feeling relaxed, the patient can be asked to visualize a safe place. Embellishment on this place can occur with the use of sensory data. This vision can then be used to assist in the healing process. For example, asking a patient to put himself into his imagined place can serve as a distraction during uncomfortable procedures or situations. Benefits of pain medication are enhanced by envisioning its soothing effects as it flows through the bloodstream. These visualization techniques are not recommended for psychotic patients since they are usually bombarded with many images already (Shames, 1996).

Cognitive restructuring can be done through guided imagery. Visual imagery is viewed as having a powerful role; human beings represent the world to the self in imagery and fantasy before the first word is said. Visualization allows for the capture of intricate relationships between facts, beliefs, and assumptions that may not be found in verbal representations. Imagery techniques in therapy allows for the access to cognitive structures that allows these structures to be worked in a manner that verbal techniques cannot. Images from dreams and fantasies give access to individual personal interpretations of reality with included distortions. This information allows for reexamination and restructuring of beliefs and assumptions. Imagery techniques have been used to treat depression, and to help resist cancer and control pain (Freeman, Simon, Beutler, & Arkowitz, 1989).

Fritz Perls used guided imagery for discovery and restructuring. In a well know dreamwork seminar, Perls worked with a patient who was reaching the end of a period of her life as a fertile woman. He allowed her own thinking and exploration to take p...

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Guided Imagery & Psychotherapy Uses. (1969, December 31). In LotsofEssays.com. Retrieved 11:33, March 29, 2024, from https://www.lotsofessays.com/viewpaper/1692061.html