Imagery International Blog

Your source for the latest news about Guided Imagery, Imagery International, workshops, articles and products from our members.

Telechat February 10: How to Read Mental Images

February 25, 2010

Telechat date: February 10, 5 to 6 PM Pacific Standard Time

How to Read Mental Images: Learning the Hieroglyphic Language of the Mind for Clinical Use

with Gerald Epstein, MD

Dr. Epstein

Hieroglyphs – the pictorial language of the ancient Egyptian Pharaonic tradition is the only language ever to unite art and the spiritual dimension. In an analogous fashion, mental imagery is a hieroglyphic language where a pictorial representation intersects and combines with a divine language. The image is the true and natural language of the mind. These representations are called symbols, reflecting our everyday visible measurable reality and our invisible subjective qualitative consciousness – itself the repository of all the knowledge of ourselves. This language, like any other, is to be read as it is a book of life revealing ourselves to ourselves. In this talk I will discuss how to apply this method to both reading and fashioning imagery in your clinical practice.

Click here to visit Dr. Epstein’s website and read free articles written by him or about him.

Imagery International members can email us a note if you wish to attend this telechat.

We offer qualified non-member professionals a one time opportunity to join the conversation. Click here to request admission to the telechat.

Gerald N. Epstein, MD, has been a leading pioneer in the use of mental imagery for treating physical and emotional problems.  His education includes Medical school, residency in psychiatry and post-graduate training in psychiatry.  He trained 9 years with Madame Colette Aboulker-Muscat in “Waking Dream Therapy (long and short imagery practices); also influenced by the phenomonology practice of Medard Boss, MD.  He directs the American Institute for Mental Imagery (AIMI) a New York State Regent’s Chartered Post Graduate Training Center. His books include: Waking Dream Therapy; Healing Visualizations: Creating Health through Imagery; and most recently, Kabbalah for Inner Peace: Imagery and Insights to Guide you Through Your Day. Audios include: The Natural Laws of Self Healing, The Phoenix Process and Emotional Mastery (Feb, 2010). Under the auspices of the NIH OAM, he researched the efficacy of mental imagery in the treatment of asthma. As his work evolved over the years, he has become a leading exponent of the Western spiritual tradition and its application to healing and therapeutics.

Posted in News, Telechat | No Comments »

2010 Call for Conference Proposals

February 9, 2010

Jann Fredrickson, LICSW

Conference Proposals due March 20, 2010 – Imagery International’s Second Conference Cosponsored by Beyond Ordinary Nursing is October 22-24, 2010.

Hi fellow Imagery lovers!!

It’s that time again!! The second annual Imagery International Conference co-sponsored by Beyond Ordinary Nursing is happening October 22-24, 2010. We are now calling for proposals for workshops. Our theme this year is: Imagery for the Future: Illuminating Lives.

If you would like to be one of our presenters, please email the following information to me, Jann Fredrickson at JFredr7753@aol.com by March 20, 2010:

1. All workshops are to be 90 minutes long.

2. Your name, address, and email address.

3. Brief biography ( 25-50 words) including expertise for presenting on your topic.

4. Title of the workshop and how it pertains to our theme.

5. Two objectives stated with one action verb per objective and in measurable behavior or outcome.

For example, say you are giving a workshop to teach folks how to use Emotional Freedom Therapy and Imagery.  So your objectives would read:

a.  At the end of the workshop, the participant will have a basic knowledge of what EFT is and HOW it can be used in combination with imagery.

b.  At the end of the workshop, the participant will understand how effective the modalities of EFT and imagery are when used in conjunction with one another.

6. Course description (25-35 words).

7. Course outline.

8. What your AV needs will be.

You can call me with any questions: 651-208-6458 during the hours of 12:30pm to about 3:30pm most days ( this is walk time) or your can email me with questions.

We had a terrific lineup last conference and I know that this year it will be even better!!

Looking forward to hearing from YOU.

Jann Fredrickson

Conference Chair

Posted in Conference, News | No Comments »

February 7 Telechat: Personal Healing Imagery

February 1, 2010

Telechat date: February 7, 5-6 PM Pacific Standard Time

Flying Solo: Doing Non-Scripted Imagery without a Guide

with Leslie Davenport, MFT

Leslie Davenport, MFT

While we recognize the many benefits of experiencing imagery with an imagery practitioner, not everyone lives in an area where trained guides are easily accessible. Some people are restricted due to financial issues, and others who could benefit may be home bound. Most people compromise by using a scripted imagery CD, which eliminates the personally unique guidance that arises from within with an interactive style of imagery. This talk will present a successfully tested format that people can use on their own to access their personal healing imagery. It is also useful for clients who want to keep their imagery fresh and evolving between their appointments with a trained practitioner. This format can also be adapted to doing imagery work with a group.

Members click here to email us a note for the telechat you wish to attend. We will send back the phone number and bridge.

We offer qualified non-member professionals a one time opportunity to join the conversation. Click here to request admission to the telechat.

Leslie Davenport founded the Humanities Program at Marin General Hospital, which evolved into the Institute for Health and Healing in collaboration with California Pacific Medical Center in San Francisco. She offers integrative psychotherapy in the Health & Healing Clinic and teaches in their Integrative Medicine Program. She is the author of, Healing and Transformation through Self-Guided Imagery, (2009) published by Random House.

To learn more about Leslie click here to visit her website.

Posted in Telechat | No Comments »

What is CAM?

January 23, 2010

Guided Imagery is categorized by many healthcare professionals as falling under the aegis of Complementary and Alternative Medicine (CAM).

The National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine (NCCAM) is the Federal Government’s agency for scientific research on the diverse medical and health care systems, practices, and products that are not generally considered part of conventional medicine – CAM.

For more about CAM you can search the National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine click here.

Belleruth Naparstek

Scientific research is an important part of determining the efficacy of treatments.  Click here to visit Bellertuth Naparstek’s excellent website which features research and information on guided Imagery applications. Uses start from Alcohol and chemical dependancy to Yoga.  In between are anxiety, pain, panic attacks and multiple sclerosis – emotional and performance enhancement.

Posted in CAM | No Comments »

Bestselling Author – Interviews on T.V. and Radio

January 16, 2010

A long time Imagery International member, Dr. Charlotte Reznick is on a book launching circuit talking about her book – The Power of Your Child’s Imagination: How to Transform Stress and Anxiety into Joy and Success. Her book made the Los Angeles Times bestseller list.

Want to learn more about her imagery laden approach to working with children? You are invited to check her website calendar where you will find links to radio and television interviews. She may be speaking in your area. Dr. Charlotte is heading for the New York Times Bestseller list. She deserves the recognition.

You can see her on a recent television show in the San Francisco Bay Area (California).

Posted in Children | No Comments »

January 10 Telechat: Using Imagery at the End of Life

January 3, 2010

Telechat date: January 10, 4 PM Pacific Standard Time

Using Imagery at the End of Life

with Esther L. Johnson, RN, BSN and Andrew Wagner, MD

Esther L. Johnson is the Integrative Therapies Program Director of Pathways

Esther Johnson, RN

Andrew Wagner, MD

Home Health & Hospice. An integrative therapies specialist, Esther educates the clinical staff on integrating complementary and alternative medicine into end-of-life caretaking.

Pathways Home Health & Hospice is one of the largest community-based, not-for-profit Home Care and Hospice agencies in the San Francisco (California) bay area, with a daily census of approximately 350 patients. Pathways is not a facility, but rather provides care by making staff visits to patients in their home or residence.

Dr. Andrew Wagner is a family physician specializing in chronic pain, palliative care and Hospice. Andrew is a Family Practice Doctor with the Integrative Medical Clinic in Sebastopol, California.

They will use case histories to illustrate the breadth of using Imagery to address distressing physical symptoms, including pain that occur at the end of life. They will also cover “having difficult conversations” and the potential for healing, as well as the transformational process for both the individual and their family at this momentous time in life.

Members click here to email us a note for the telechat you wish to attend. We will send back the phone number and bridge.

We offer qualified non-member professionals a one time opportunity to join the conversation. Click here to request admission to the telechat.

UPCOMING TELECHATS

February 7, 5 PM PST

Flying Solo: Doing Non-Scripted Imagery without a Guide

with Leslie Davenport, MFT

March 7, 5 PM PST

How to Read Mental Images – Learning the Hieroglyphic Language of the Mind for Clinical Use

with Gerald Epstein, MD

Posted in Counseling, Telechat | No Comments »

Guided Imagery and Psychotherapy in Medicine

December 16, 2009

THE WISDOM OF THE BODY

Healing the Body, Healing the Self: Guided Imagery and Psychotherapy in Medicine

by Leslie Davenport, MS, MFT

Leslie Davenport

Leslie Davenport

“I don’t recognize myself: My body doesn’t feel the same at all. And suddenly there is a division between myself and the people I love. I’m in the ‘heart attack’ club now, and my family has no idea what this is like. Friends are becoming strangers, and strangers in cardiac rehab are becoming friends. Everything has been hijacked: my vitality, my spiritual beliefs (this doesn’t happen to someone like me!), my financial security, my future. I have no idea who I am anymore. And I’m terrified.”—Daniel

Daniel’s story is familiar to me. Having offered psychotherapy with guided imagery to hundreds of patients with severe illness and injury, I have seen how multiple losses—physical, spiritual, and psychological—stemming from a health crisis deconstruct a core sense of self, leaving them feeling like a stranger in a strange land.

Guided imagery has proven to be a valuable tool for helping patients find a safe harbor within themselves during these extremely stormy times. Guided imagery, which incorporates relaxation Read the rest of this entry »

Posted in CAM, Counseling, Medical, Member Articles | No Comments »

How Do I Disconnect from Mind Chatter?

December 15, 2009

Opening_To_Creativity

As I listen to my clients and the women who attended the retreat…the theme of– “How do I disconnect from the mind chatter? was a big one…

How do we deal with the challenges in our lives without obsessive worry?

In the retreat we talked alot about breathing, about stopping and noticing the sensations in our body…

We also talked about the importance of creating enough space in our lives to be present with the awe and wonder of the present moment and about ways to create a daily healing practice.

We explored our “circle of support” we imagined them in the guided imagery and we created collages that offered us a beautiful visual reminder.

(By the way, I was so excited to videotape all of those beautful collages encircling our alter.I had wanted to put the video on the website–and guess what..the lens cap was on…so–they are now only a memory in my imagination. -oh well..next time!)

Read the rest of this entry »

Posted in Member Articles, News, Personal Growth, Self-Care | No Comments »

Dottie’s Dream Come True

December 9, 2009

DottiePendeltonAbout ten years ago, I had a vivid and startling dream.  In the dream world, I was somehow creating bowls and other objects from paper pulp–luminous, energized items which I just loved myself and which others were attracted to as well. I felt strong and vital in the dream and so happy. The next day, I went to my local library and found just two books on the “new books” shelf–one was on how to cast paper pulp into bowls, and the other was about following your dream imagery wisdom.

That got my attention, so right away I began a long and compatible relationship with paper casting, which has evolved over the years into creating handmade cast paper  bowls for bowl-and-bead meditation as well as a variety of cast paper pastries. Click here for the rest of her story.

Look at her Bowl and Bead Meditation and Cast Paper Artwork some of the results of her dreaming.

Kathys_Bowl

Dottie is  a member of Imagery International and graduate of the Academy for Guided Imagery. She has a private practice in Davis, California where she offers guided imagery and other relaxation and meditation work.

Posted in Dreams | 4 Comments »

ImagiNews: December 2009

December 3, 2009

A free electronic copy of December 2009 edition of ImagiNews is available here:

http://imageryinternational.org/imaginews.htm

dec09issue

From the President’s Mind & Editor’s Imagination

The theme this month, Healing, really caused me to think deeply.

Bev Hollander

Bev Hollander

I found myself re-reading a book I have had for several years – Healers on Healing – a 1989 compilation of essays by renowned Healers edited by Richard Carlson, Ph.D. and Benjamin Shield. I was struck by the many ideas formulated. Because at least two of the contributors are in the Imagery field and known to many of us, I thought I’d quote from their essays.

Read the rest of this entry »

Posted in ImagiNews | No Comments »

Older Entries