What is the difference between meditation and guided imagery?
Guided imagery was formerly called visualization. I teach integrative imagery, which takes place between a nurse guide and a client or patient. This utilizes individual life experience and imagination as opposed to predetermined images. There are many prepared visualizations. One is directing a client to a beach in Hawaii for relaxation. This picture might not work when the client is afraid of water. I use locations or experiences of the client’s own choosing. When I proceed this way, the client becomes an active participant in his/her own care. The focus shifts from a fight-or-flight to a healing response. This imagery can then be used in future situations such as disease prevention and health promotion. How would nurses use this in their practice? This isn’t so much a specialized discipline, but an enhancement of the skills and assessments that nurses already have. Scripted imagery is not concentrated on fixing a problem, but in helping patients come up with their own coping tools fo