Guided Imagery Through Music (GIM)

Guided Imagery through Music (GIM) is a music-assisted process developed by Helen Bonny for self-discovery. It is the exploration of consciousness through sound, images, and alternative states. It is a gentle valuable life-enhancing therapy which seek to expand and enrich our knowledge of our journey toward wholeness.

The Bonny Method of GIM was conceived and developed by Helen L. Bonny, PhD inspired by a mystical experience with music while playing the violin. She combined her unique understanding of music and her well-developed interpersonal skills at the Maryland Psychiatric Research Centre in the early 1970’s, where she combined relaxation techniques and classical musical selections to encourage responses from patients. She went on to research her findings and to develop The Bonny Method of GIM.

The Bonny Method of GIM is characterized by the use of specially sequenced classical music in a one-to-one session. The sessions commences with an initial discussion. I provide relaxation and focusing suggestions to assist the client entry into a relaxed state. This is followed by an interactive music listening experience in which the listens to the music and describes the images, sensations, feelings, and awareness evoked. I also listening to the music, helping to focus and support the client’s image experiences in a variety of ways. At the end of the music I assists the client’s return from the expanded state of consciousness and to integrate the experiences of the session.