GUIDED IMAGERY
& MUSIC
When words fail music speaks
GIM THERAPY
PHILOSOPHY
& PRACTICE
Conventional talk therapies are based on activities informed by the left side of the brain. Talk therapies are popular because they draw on skills we are comfortable with such as reasoning and analysis. These abilities are valuable in helping us prioritize information, make decisions and create meaning from our experiences. However, without the attributes associated with the right side of the brain - emotion, intuition and creativity - the effectiveness of therapy is often limited.
GIM is unique as a therapy because it engages both sides of the brain allowing clients to make the most of their resources. Few activities stimulate the whole person the way music can. With imagery often described as 'the language of the unconscious mind' and music 'the language of emotion,' GIM makes an excellent complement or alternative to conventional right brain therapies.
The Bonny Method of Guided Imagery & Music (GIM) is a method of self-exploration and music therapy developed by Dr. Helen Bonny in the 1970s. She worked with renowned psychiatrist and researcher Stanislav Grof studying the therapeutic effects of altered states of consciousness.
"As medicine moves toward holistic approaches that integrate body, mind and emotion, it becomes more like music."
Dr. Helen Bonny, creator of GIM
WHAT CAN GIM DO?
WHO CAN GIM BENEFIT?
Most challenges for which a person will seek a counsellor can be effectively addressed through GIM. These include
depression, anxiety, stress management, trauma, addictions, relationship issues, chronic health problems and grief & loss.
As a music-centred approach appealing to both right and left brain, GIM helps you to
access inner strengths, reveal emotional blocks,
heal psychological trauma, manage chronic pain,
facilitate personal insight and support goals of self-realization.
PERSONAL GROWTH THROUGH MUSIC
The power of music to integrate and cure...is quite fundamental. [It is the] profoundest non-chemical medication."
Dr. Oliver Sacks
ABOUT ME
I studied Music Therapy at Capilano University before embarking on an MA in Counselling Psychology from the University of Victoria. I am a Canadian Certified Counsellor and the only counsellor on Vancouver Island who is also an accredited GIM practitioner through Association of Music & Imagery.
Music imprints itself on the brain deeper than any other human experience. Music evokes emotion and emotion can bring with it memory.
Dr. Oliver Sacks
GET IN TOUCH
Tel: 250.885.9066
Fax: 250.590.1502