Guided Imagery
Definition
Guided imagery is a technique that uses individual imagination with directed imagination to reduce stress (Patricia in Kalsum, 2012).
Snyder & Lindquist (2002) defines imagination guidance as the intervention of the human mind and body using the power of imagination to achieve physical, emotional and spiritual affect.
Guided imagery is categorized in mind-body medicine therapy by Bedford (2012) by combining imagination guidance with mind meditation as cross-modal adaptation.
Imagination is an individual's mental representation in the relaxation stage. Imagination can be done with various senses including visual, auditory, olfactory and tactile.
Imagination guidance is a powerful technique to focus and imagine which is also a therapeutic process (Bonadies, 2009).
Watanabe et al (2006) proved the results of their research which states that imagination guidance increases positive mood and reduces individual negative mood significantly and cortisol levels as measured using a saliva test also show a significant decrease.
Guided imagery is a process that uses the power of the mind to move the body to heal itself and maintain health or relax through communication in the body involving all senses including touch, smell, sight, and hearing (Potter & Perry, 2005).
Guided imagery therapy is a relaxation method to imagine places and events associated with a pleasant sense of relaxation (Kaplan & Sadock, 2010).
Guided imagery technique is used to manage coping by imagining or imagining something that begins with the relaxation process in general, namely asking the client to slowly close their eyes and focus on their breath, the client is encouraged to relax, empty the mind and fill the mind with images to create peace and calm. (Smeltzer & Bare, 2008)
Benefits of Guided Imagery
Guided imagery has elements that are generally the same as relaxation, which is both bringing the client towards relaxation. The purpose of this guided imagery technique is to induce a very strong psychophysiological response such as changes in immune function (Potter & Perry, 2009).
The benefit of guided imagery is as a behavioral intervention to overcome anxiety, stress, and pain (Smeltzer & Bare, 2002).
The use of guided imagery cannot focus on many things at once, therefore the client must imagine a very strong and very pleasant imagination (Brannon & Freist, 2000).
There are so many benefits to be gained from applying guided imagery procedures, here are the benefits of guided imagery according to Townsend (1977):
1. Reduce stress and anxiety
2. Reduce pain
3. Reduce side effects
4. Reduce high blood pressure
5. Reducing blood sugar levels (diabetes)
6. Reduce allergies and respiratory symptoms
7. Reduce headaches
8. Reduce hospital costs
9. Promotes wound and bone healing
Guided imagery can evoke neurohormonal changes in the body that resemble changes that occur when an actual event occurs (Hart, 2008). It aims to evoke a state of psychological and physiological relaxation to promote healing changes throughout the body (Jacobson, 2006).
Guided Imagery Technique
Various guided imagery techniques based on their use, namely (Grocke & Moe, 2015):
1. Guided walking imagery
This technique was discovered by psychologists. In this technique the patient is encouraged to imagine standard scenes such as; meadows, mountains, beaches.
2. Autogenic abstraction
In this technique the patient is asked to choose a negative behavior that is in his mind then the patient expresses it verbally without limitation. If successful, the patient will see changes in emotional and facial expressions.
3. Covert sensitization
This technique is based on the reinforcement paradigm which concludes that the imagination process can be modified based on the same principles in behavior modification.
4. Covert behavior rehearsal
This technique invites someone to imagine the coping behavior he wants. This technique is more widely used.
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