Trilogy Guided Imagery For Healing, Inc.

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

 We have provided answers to the most asked questions about Intrapersonal Guided Imagery.  However, if your question has not been answered here, please email or call us.  We sincerely want others to understand and appreciate Guided Imagery as much as we do, so we would be happy to talk with you. 

1.            What is Intrapersonal Guided Imagery (Guided Imagery)?

2.            How is Guided Imagery different from Hypnotherapy?

3.            What's the difference between Guided Imagery  and Psychotherapy?

4.            Is Guided Imagery dangerous?

5.            Is there anybody who should not use Guided Imagery?

6.            Is Guided Imagery "Mind Control"?

7.            How long can the benefits of Guided Imagery  actually last?

8.            Does Guided Imagery always work?

9.            How much will I remember when I wake up? Will I forget everything that went on?

10.          Will I lose control when I'm under Guided Imagery?

11.          Can somebody's mind be too strong for Guided Imagery to work?

12.          Can't I do this myself? Why do I need to see a Guided Imagery counselor or have sessions?

13.          How many sessions will it take and how much will it cost?

14.          How soon will I feel the benefits?

15.          What is Guided Imagery used for?

16.          Can I use Guided Imagery to resolve conflicts in my personal relationships with others?

17.          Can Guided Imagery help me get over the fear of public speaking?

18.          Can I improve sports performance with Guided Imagery?

19.          How about pain control?

20           Can I cure my insomnia with Guided Imagery?

21.          What if I can't wake up?

           Guided Imagery is like a directed daydream or it is sometimes called, a guided meditation.  It is usually set to soothing, relaxing music.  Although Guided Imagery has been called a type of "visualization" or "mental imagery", these descriptions convey  misunderstandings about Guided Imagery.  Guided imagery involves all of the senses, which allows the person to use messages or symbols from the mind, body and spirit to find solutions.   This is a gentle, nonthreatening counseling technique that offers powerful results.  Your deepest strengths and motivations can be revealed, your body's own healing abilities can be understood and used, and you can find faster and more lasting relief from your symptoms. 

2.        How is Guided Imagery different from Hypnotherapy?

            Basically, the two processes are very similar. Guided Imagery, however, is a much lighter meditative state and allows you much more freedom to have an experience unique to you. Whereas hypnosis deals primarily with behavior modification with specific instructions and commands, imagery is more  free flowing, affording new information and insight from the client, not the counselor.

3.         What's the difference between Guided Imagery  and Psychotherapy?

            Psychotherapy is “talk therapy” which relies heavily on the conscious mind to  reveal insights into solutions to your conflicts.  Guided Imagery, on the other hand, uses a light meditation in its sessions which allows you to access and reveal your unconscious solutions to problems.  While the Guided Imagery counselor and the client do talk during the imageries, the Guided Imagery counselor is trained to ask questions to the client that will lead to deeper and more meaningful information, allowing  you to feel symptom relief more quickly. 

4.      Is Guided Imagery dangerous?

            No.  Guided Imagery is completely safe.  There are no medications used, there is no “laying of hands”, and you are in a completely safe environment. 

            The only caveat to this would be if the client has low blood pressure, because during the meditative state your blood pressure will drop to a “sleep” state.  In the initial assessment, the counselors will check on this.

5.         Is there anybody who should not use Guided Imagery?

            There has been no evidence reported that would indicate that certain people should

not use Guided Imagery.

6.        Is Guided Imagery "Mind Control"?

7.        How long can the benefits of Guided Imagery  actually last?

             The benefits can last forever.  Guided Imagery can change how you experience your past hurts, unresolved conflicts and trauma.  If the client continues to use the principles learned in Guided Imagery for future problems, then the benefits of Guided Imagery will remain unchanged.  One of the techniques that is taught to you to reinforce the healing benefits of Guided Imagery is the introduction of an “Alpha Trigger”.  An Alpha Trigger allows you to return to the symptom relief experienced during the Guided Imagery session by using a simple gesture such as touching your tongue to the roof of your mouth, or putting your thumb and two fingers together.  

8.       Does Guided Imagery always work?

             Not for everybody.  As with all treatments for healing, some people will respond better to one treatment than another.

 9.        How much will I remember when I wake up? Will I forget everything that went on?

             You will remember everything.  In a Guided Imagery meditative state, you are still aware of your surroundings and your feelings. 

             No, you will not forget anything that happened during the imagery.  Because the mind does not know what is real or imagined, the images you produce in your imagery are “real” to the unconscious mind.

10.      Will I lose control when I'm under Guided Imagery?

             No.  You will not lose control at all.  You will be fully aware of everything that is happening. 

             Some people experience a little difficulty in the beginning just relaxing, so their ability to access their unconscious imagination is hindered.  This usually resolves itself by the second session of Guided Imagery.

12.      Can't I do this myself? Why do I need to see a Guided Imagery counselor or have sessions?

            The personal one-on-one experience provided by a qualified Guided Imagery counselor cannot be replaced with a CD or a book.  While these forms of learning about Guided Imagery are valuable tools to help you, personal sessions offer a much deeper dimension to your experience.  Your insights can be revealed and your questions answered immediately.  Our sessions normally run anywhere from 1-1/2 to 2 hours.  Remember, your imageries are mostly “symbolic” because your conscious filter is no longer being used, and you are now using the symbolic messages of your unconscious.  For instance, rather than your mother appearing in your imagery, in your imagination, she may come to you in the form of a lamb or a rabbit or a bear.  A qualified Guided Imagery counselor’s expert knowledge and training will assist you in sorting out the choices of meanings to the symbolism in your imageries.

13.      How many sessions will it take and how much will it cost?

            Each individual is unique and while some may experience significant relief in 1 session, others may take 12 sessions.  We encourage a minimum of 3 sessions to begin.  We have set our fees to be competitive and fair to our clients.  We offer 4 ½ hours of individualized guided imagery during 3 separate sessions for only $400.00.  That averages out to about $89.00 per hour.  If you schedule one session at a time, the cost is $200.00 per session. 

            We also offer a one hour relaxation only  session for only $100.00 if that would better suit your purposes.    

14.      How soon will I feel the benefits?

            Many people feel the benefits after the first Guided Imagery session.  By bypassing the conscious mind and accessing the unconscious mind, clients are able to “unlock” solutions very quickly.

15.      What is Guided Imagery used for?

             Guided Imagery can be used by individuals, couples and families for a variety of situations.  Relaxation, addictions, depression, anxiety, pain relief, post traumatic stress, unresolved conflicts, and sleep disorders are just a few areas that guided imagery has been scientifically proven to be successful.

         Yes.  Conflict in your personal relationships can actually be a signal to you that there is unresolved conflicts going on inside of you.  Through Counseling and Guided Imagery, you are able to recognize, heal and transform those “hidden” conflicts.  The healing that you will feel from this transformation will help you nurture yourself, and by nurturing yourself, you are then able to nurture your personal relationships. 

             Yes.  In an imagery – where your safety is assured -- you are invited to “experience” the event that is causing you a lot of anxiety.  In your imagination you are invited to see yourself speaking successfully and with great self-confidence.  Again, because the unconscious mind cannot distinguish between what is real or imagined, your speaking engagement is experienced as  “real” to your mind.   Your self-confidence increases each time you use Guided Imagery to imagine yourself as successful, so that by the time of the presentation, you are stress-free and confident about the outcome.

18.      Can I improve sports performance with Guided Imagery?

           Yes.  It has been reported that Tiger Woods has used guided imagery to help him.

19.      How about pain control?

           Yes.  If you click on our Guided Imagery Facts button, you can learn all about how many hospitals, including the Mayo clinic, use guided imagery to help their patients relieve and control their pain.  Cancer patients use guided imagery to effectively reduce the side effects of chemotherapy and radiation therapy.   A published study reports that the meditative state used in Guided Imagery speeds up physical healing time dramatically.  For example, a burn victim’s new cell regeneration was measured in a conscious state and compared to a guided imagery meditative state.  In a conscious state, the new cell regeneration measured 8 cells during a 3 hour period; however, in a guided imagery meditative state, the new cell regeneration measured 400 new cells in the same 3 hour period – that’s 50 times faster than when merely conscious! 

20.       Can I cure my insomnia with Guided Imagery?

           Yes.  In our sessions, what is called an “Alpha Trigger” is used.  During an imagery, when the client is at their most peaceful and rested place, an Alpha Trigger can be set which will allow you to “remember” the peacefulness you felt during your imagery.  An Alpha Trigger can be something as simple as touching your tongue to the roof of your mouth, or putting your thumb and two fingers together.   By using the Alpha Trigger, your thoughts immediately return to your peaceful, restful experience in the Guided Imagery session, causing your mind to “re-experiences” the relaxation felt in the session.  Your mind now “signals” the body to release the restorative chemicals and hormones felt when you were most relaxed and at peace, causing you to fall asleep much faster. 

21.      What if I can't wake up?

             Because you are in a daydream state of consciousness, and you are completely aware of your surroundings, your ability to “wake up” would never be an issue.