Defining transpersonal experiences of Guided Imagery and Music (GIM)

The purpose of this study was to discover how transpersonal experiences of Guided Imagery and Music are defined. Guided Imagery and Music (GIM) is a method of psychotherapy which consists of imaging to classical music in a non-ordinary (i.e., relaxed) state of consciousness while dialoguing with a trained guide. Conventionally, transpersonal experience has been defined as sense of self expanded beyond individual ego, identity, and personality.;Review of literature revealed that (a) transpersonal experiences are integral to GIM, and are emphasized in GIM training; (b) criteria for identifying and distinguishing transpersonal GIM experiences, based upon perspectives of GIM clients, have not been established; and (c) research on transpersonal experiences (in general) has not included an empirical consideration of their distinguishing (i.e., defining) properties.;A qualitative interviewing method was implemented to address the study purpose. Participants were nine GIM practitioners (seven women and two men) with extensive experience as GIM clients.;Each participant underwent three interviews. In the first interview, participants identified several of their own GIM experiences (as clients) which they considered transpersonal, and several which they did not. In the second interview, participants made comparisons among their own experiences through a user-interactive computer program, yielding symbolic representations of interrelationships among experiences. In the third interview, participants annotated certain information which emerged from the second interview.;Verbal and symbolic information was combined and interpreted, yielding a definition of transpersonal GIM experience for each participant. In turn, these were combined to produce a model expressing similarities in definitions across all nine participants. The model was then grounded in samples of the original data, to verify the model's integrity.;Results indicated that participants defined transpersonal GIM experiences according to a wide range of phenomena, essentially distinguished by (a) a sense of universality (i.e., beyond particulars and the ordinary) in the imagery and music; and (b) a sense of unity with the imagery and music.;Findings were considered in terms of the GIM form and existing transpersonal models. Following this, the study method was evaluated. Finally, implications for clinical practice and future research were considered, and recommendations were offered.