The Bonny Method of Guided Imagery and Music – A Comprehensive Modality
By Jennifer Worthen, LPC, MT-BC, FAMI
Asheville, North Carolina, USA
GIM, at it’s core, is a music centered psychotherapy used to access and explore the human psyche. It induces a non-ordinary state of consciousness, which opens perceptions and awareness to underlying patterns of consciousness. A specially trained guide is crucial to the process. Music is a catalyst for change, and functions as a “co-therapist.” It often evokes striking insights and releases and leads to the core integration of body, mind and spirit (Bush and Stokes-Stearns, Mid-Atlantic Level I Training Manual).
The origin of GIM:
Dr. Helen Lindquist Bonny was a visionary throughout her career. Her work in developing what is now referred to as ‘The Bonny Method’ has been revolutionary in the field of music therapy as well as in the world of the healing arts modalities. It has changed the lives of students, practitioners and clients all over the globe, and was just recently introduced to South Africa at a Level I training in Johannesburg in April 2008.
The 1960’s was a time of great change and development in the United States. It is sometimes referred to as the time of the “Great Stretch.” During this period, emphasis was placed on exploring the inner world as well as the outer. An example of this was the work of the “Dream Team” at the Maryland Psychiatric Institute. The team included Dr. Walter Pahanke, Dr. Stanislov Grof, Joan Kellogg, MA, and Dr. Helen Bonny. These individuals were awarded a grant from the US government to explore consciousness through the use of LSD (Bush, 11-12).
When the research began, classical music was being used to augment the experience of the subjects who were receiving drugs. Eventually, Dr. Bonny began to experiment with using the music without the drugs, and the results were astounding. Dr. Bonny then began developing what is now called GIM (Guided Imagery and Music) (Bush, 13). Since that time GIM has continued to evolve and grow with those who experience and use it.
The structure of a GIM session:
The segments of a GIM session are as follows: 1) Pre-session talk 2) Induction/Relaxation 3) Music and imagery 4) Post-session talk. The mechanics are rather simple. The client (traveler) arrives for the session and sits down with the therapist (guide) to discuss prevalent issues and concerns, as well as to discuss what feels most important in terms of the focus of the work/session for that day. This is called the pre-session. It is at this point that an “intention” for the session is often set. The intention is a statement of focus that sets the stage for the psyche, and sends a message regarding what the traveler would like to explore during this particular session. Following this discussion and intention setting process, the guide leads the traveler through an induction, or relaxation process to assist the traveler in entering the non-ordinary state of consciousness, or “magnified mind state.”
The guide then selects a music program that is appropriate for the needs of the traveler. During the 30-45 minutes that the recorded music is played, a dialog occurs between the traveler and the guide. The traveler reports to the guide what is happening for him or her as the music evokes spontaneous imagery in many different forms, and the guide makes interventions to facilitate the traveler’s potential for deeper exploration and release. This is the most powerful and intimate part of a GIM session. After the music portion is complete, a post-session discussion takes place in order to allow the traveler to integrate and process what occurred during the session and how it may relate to the traveler’s life experience, current issues, and original intention. The guide may have the client draw a mandala at this point. A mandala is a therapeutic and sacred art form involving the use of a circle drawing.
The benefits of GIM:
It may have become apparent at this juncture that there are many benefits to doing this kind of deep work. Not only can one work towards healing elements of what Carl Jung would call “shadow” or dark material, but a traveler/client of this method is also given the opportunity to develop spiritually. The willingness to explore the transpersonal realms (beyond the body) creates vast opportunity for expansion and growth. All that is required is a desire and willingness to be open, to trust your inner wisdom and psyche as well as the physical guide with whom you are working, and to trust the process. The phrase “trust the process” is one that is frequently used with students and clients of the GIM method as a means of emphasizing the need for patience while doing the work and allowing the “work” to “work” without force. When this occurs, an individual’s life can shift and improve drastically.
The following song lyrics of a regular GIM client writing about her journey can serve as a good summary:
The journey is my home, the journey is my home
And I’m sinking into this darkness when I could chose to run
But it’s in the dark where the healing can be done
The journey is my home, the journey is my home
References
Bush, Carol A. Healing Imagery and Music: Pathways to the inner self. Rudra Press.
Portland, OR (1995).
Bush, Carol A. & Sierra Stokes-Stearns. Mid-Atlantic Training Institute Level I Training
Manual. Copywrited September 2000.
