chantaljolly.com Guided Imagery & Music Striving towards Wholeness Achieving balance, harmony and personal empowerment in everyday life.
Home About Chantal Music Therapy Sound Healing Guided Imagery&Music Energy Healing Team Building Drumming Chanting Meditation/Relaxation Contact/Events
Music, as a structured envelope of sound, is probably the most effective and safe opener to the doors of the psyche. It reaches beyond personal defenses to the realities and beauties of the person. Music gives access to the discovery of inner strength, uncovers the potential for creativity, and manifests ways in which life can be lived from a center of inner security. -Helen Bonny	The Bonny Method of Guided Imagery and Music is a unique method of imaging to music which can create an opening for healing and change, greater self-understanding, spiritual transformation, increased well-being, clarity and wholeness. With the help of a formally trained guide, you can relax and vividly experience the wonder and power of music through your imagination, feelings, and imagery. Music can take you on a journey into your own consciousness, getting you in touch with your inner ability to heal. Through the conscious use of imagery that arises in response to music, you can work through issues such as depression and grief, creative blocks, decision making, and life transitions. It can reach into the source of issues and transform the experience into one of empowerment and direction. During a session, guided by a formally trained facilitator, imagery is evoked in the form of symbols, memories or feelings. Carefully selected music serves as a catalyst to encourage spontaneous verbalizations, movements, and insights to create an opening for healing and change to occur. The totality of the experience enhances self-understanding, therapeutic goals and spiritual transformation. Format of a GIM Session Check in: A GIM session begins with a conversation to check in and determine a focus for the session. This is a time to set goals and find out what is important to you. Relaxation: This is followed by a relaxation which prepares you for the imagery and music experience. Music and Imaging: Music is then carefully selected by the facilitator. As you go through your journey, a dialogue with your guide helps to deepen and expand your experience. Integration: At the end of the musical journey, you are invited to further explore your experiences with the guide, noting any images that seemed meaningful to you. Afterwards, you have the option of creating a visual image to help you better enjoy and remember the insights you received during your journey. A transcript of the session is provided so that you may reflect on your GIM experience at your leisure. The Bonny Method has been used successfully with adults, adolescents, children, persons in recovery, persons with mental and emotional health issues, cancer, HIV, trauma, grief, depression, and life-threatening illnesses. The Bonny Method of Guided Imagery and Music offers persons the opportunity to integrate mental, emotional, physical and spiritual aspects of well-being, as well as awaken to a greater transcendent identification. It is practiced primarily in psychotherapy and counseling settings. Facilitators who conduct sessions in this one-to-one modality have backgrounds in the helping professions and are formally trained in The Bonny Method. Inspired by a mystical experience while playing the violin, Helen L. Bonny, Ph.D., felt called to bring other persons to the healing power of music. She used her unique understanding of music at the Maryland Psychiatric Research Center in the early 1970s where she combined relaxation techniques and classical music selections to elicit responses from patients. She went on to research her findings and develop The Bonny Method. Read more about The Bonny Method.