Exploring the Rucksack of Sadness: Focused, Time-Limited Bonny Method of Guided Imagery and Music
Trondalen, Gro - Volume: 12
This article addresses focused, time-limited Bonny Method of Guided Imagery and Music (GIM) in a private music therapy practice with a female executive in her late thirties. The music therapy process was informed by a focal issue, a key metaphor brought forward by the client in her first session. She wanted to explore her “rucksack of sadness.” During the initial stage of the therapy process the therapist and the client agreed upon a focused, time-limited GIM series consisting of five sessions over 4 months, The GIM therapist also included elements from coaching techniques, introduced as homework. The research approach is a qualitative case study, while the clinical theory is informed by developments in relational psychology, highlighting an intersubjective perspective. Through the focused time-limited GIM process, the female seized personal strength and increased self-efficacy, which supported professional and personal development i.e. a renewed identity.