What might GIM and MI be able to help you with?

 

If you suffer from anxiety or depression, have experienced bereavement, trauma or abuse, have relationship, work-related or other mental health difficulties, Guided Imagery and Music (GIM) and Music and Imagery (MI) may be able to help. More generally, they can support personal, creative and spiritual development. For those whose work involves the creative arts, whether performing or teaching, for example, GIM and MI may provide an especially helpful and accessible way to address work-related issues. GIM also provides a unique way for musicians to develop and deepen their relationship with music.

 

Verbal and creative exploration of issues

 

What is unique in GIM and MI is the combination of verbal counselling/psychotherapy with creative exploration and processing. This makes GIM an effective alternative to purely verbal therapy, where a number of different GIM and simpler MI methods may be used. These can be helpful in different ways at different times.

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Article about how music can help in talking therapy by Martin Lawes

 

Music and Imagery (MI)

 

In MI, you would be supported to choose music to listen to, and then draw (or possibly engage in other expressive arts such as creative writing) whilst listening to your chosen music. This can be a very helpful way both to develop your inner resources, resilience and wellbeing, and to work on difficulties. Most importantly, the use of music and art provides a unique way to work with the emotional core of the issues affecting you. This can make difficulties more manageable, the process potentially providing new insights and perspectives that might not come from verbal discussion alone. 

 

The music used in MI could potentially be of almost any type. It might come from your own pool of preferred music or alternatives might be provided for you to choose from. You don't need any particular artistic talent or experience, just a willingness to explore this way of working and discover how it might be of benefit to you.

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GIM

 

In GIM, you would listen to music in a deeply relaxed state with your eyes closed, lying down, the experience a bit like dreaming awake. You would be supported verbally throughout the process as you accessed your imaginative mind to work on difficulties. The process is a deeper one than in MI and can facilitate emotional transformation and allow solutions to problems to be discovered as may otherwise remain completely hidden and inaccessible. As in MI, the integration of verbal and creative processing is also important.

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If you want to find out more about MI and GIM, additional information can be found on other pages of this website.  

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Article about Guided imagery and visualisation in counselling and psychotherapy by Martin Lawes

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Trying it out

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It you're interested in receiving GIM and/or MI, the initial taster (assessment) session would include a brief MI experience, this allowing you to try it out before deciding whether to commit to further sessions. GIM therapy almost always begins with MI, as it provides a gentle and accessible way to begin to get used to working with music and imagery before working with other GIM methods. These latter may not always be needed, MI potentially very effective in itself. 

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Finding out more about costs and booking an assessment/taster session

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