Guided Imagery Work with Kids: Essential Practices to Help Them Manage Stress, Reduce Anxiety & Build Self-Esteem

Book excerpt: A toolbox of scripts for practicing a popular relaxation technique with child clients. Guided imagery is a relaxation technique that uses sensory visualizations to engage the mind and imagination for healing. It is a simple, versatile therapeutic tool that uses “scripts” to help clients focus and guide their imagination, and has been shown to alleviate a host of common emotional issues in kids, from anxiety and insecurity to stress, anger, and the effects of bullying. Easier to practice than meditation or hypnosis, guided imagery allows kids to quickly focus, integrate their thoughts, emotions, and feelings, and practice self-compassion, all without the need for extraordinary discipline or time investment. This concise book lays out all the essential guidelines for using this helpful healing practice in therapy, counseling, and any type of helping work with children. The opening chapters present the groundwork, explaining what guided imagery is, how it differs from mindfulness and hypnosis, how it works, and how to integrate it into therapy practice. The second half of the book offers dozens of detailed, ready-to-use guided imagery scripts for therapists to follow in their work with children. This rich collection of scripts is organized around the most common issues children present with in therapy, accompanied by helpful notes for working with particular age groups, and illustrated in practice through illuminating case vignettes. Issues addressed include: • Anxiety and tension • Stress management • Low self-esteem • Emotional health • Difficulty showing empathy • Social stress • Low energy and lack of motivation And much more. Readers will learn techniques to treat a range of child problems and encourage inner healing, happiness, and goal achievement. Small in format, therapists can consult this guide any time they want to use a script with a child during the therapy hour. It’s an adaptable tool for novice and experienced therapists alike to achieve maximum benefits in a minimum amount of time, even with no prior knowledge of guided imagery. Guided imagery scripts can be used in conjunction with any therapeutic approach, and are easily adapted to fit particular needs. With the scripts, skills, and essential principles in Guided Imagery Work with Kids, professionals will have everything they need to begin applying this effective method in their work with young clients.