Guided Imagery Helps Cancer Patients Breathe Easier (Literally)

By Belleruth Naparstek, LISW on May 23, 2010 in Guided Imagery, Meditation

Researchers from Case Western Reserve University School of Nursing used a one-group, repeated measures design to investigate the efficacy of guided imagery with theta music on 53 advanced cancer patients suffering from dyspnea (difficulty breathing). The intervention consisted of four periods: (a) pretest; (b) intervention with peaceful non-theta music; (c) intervention with 10 min of guided imagery with theta music, with the first and last 3 min being theta music only (i.e., the middle 4 min was guided imagery with theta music); and (d) post-test.

Dyspnea outcomes were measured with the Modified Borg Scale (MBS) for self-reported evaluation of dyspneic symptoms. Physiological parameters measured were pulse oxygen saturation (SpO2), end-tidal CO2 (EtCO2), heart rate (HR), and respiratory rate (RR). Post-test qualitative data were obtained via interview for subjective patient experience.

The results revealed that the combination of guided imagery with music produced a significant decrease in Borg Scale scores. It also significantly increased end-tidal CO2, decreased respiratory rate, and decreased heart rate. Additionally, 90% of subjects gave positive qualitative reviews of the guided imagery plus music intervention. Pulse oxygen saturation did not change significantly over time.

Music alone was also found to be effective, but not as effective as guided imagery plus music. The soothing non-musical intervention was not found to be effective.

The authors conclude that this study demonstrates that guided imagery with theta music is a useful intervention for palliative care of patients with dyspnea and should be considered for low-cost end-of-life palliative care for dyspnea.

Belleruth Naparstek, LISW, BCD
www.belleruthnaparstek.com

Citation
Lai WS, Chao CS, Yang WP, Chen CH. Efficacy of Guided Imagery With Theta Music for Advanced Cancer Patients With Dyspnea: A Pilot Study. Biological Research for Nursing. 2010 May 7. [Epub ahead of print]

About Belleruth Naparstek, LISW

Psychotherapist, author, and guided imagery pioneer Belleruth Naparstek, LISW, BCD is the creator of the popular, 55-title, Time Warner Health Journeys guided imagery audio series. Her first book, Staying Well with Guided Imagery (Warner) is a widely used primer on imagery and healing. Her second book, Your Sixth Sense (Harper Collins) has been translated into 9 languages, with a new 2009 edition just released. Her latest book on imagery and posttraumatic stress, Invisible Heroes: Survivors of Trauma and How They Heal (Bantam Dell), won the Spirituality & Health Top 50 Books Award and was released in paperback January of 2006. Highlighted in their 20th anniversary edition of their seminal book, Courage to Heal, Ellen Bass and Laura Davis call Invisible Heroes “the most useful book for trauma survivors to be published in the last decade”. As Prevention Magazine recently noted, Belleruth has been quietly creating an underground revolution among mainstream health and mental health bureaucracies, by persuading major institutions such as the U.S. Veteran’s Administration, the U.S. Dept of Defense, The American Red Cross, Aetna U.S. Healthcare, Kaiser Permanente, Blue Shield of California, United Health Care, Oxford Health Plan, GlaxoSmithKline, Ortho Biotech, Roche, Abbott, Amgen, and nearly 2000 hospitals, mental health centers, recovery clinics and vet centers to distribute her guided imagery recordings, in most instances free of charge to recipients. In addition, her audio programs have been involved in over two dozen clinical trials, with nearly a dozen studies completed to date. Efficacy has been established for several psychological and medical challenges, most recently for PTSD at Duke University Medical Center/Durham Veterans Administration Hospital. Naparstek received both undergraduate and graduate degrees from the University of Chicago. She maintained her psychotherapy practice for over 30 years and for several years taught graduate students at The Mandel School of Applied Social Sciences, Case Western Reserve University. Earlier in her career, she supervised psychiatry residents at Cambridge Hospital/Harvard Medical School and was Chief of Consultation & Education at the Woodburn Center for Community Mental Health in Fairfax County, VA. She also did a brief stint as a musical comedy actress at Second City and The Tip Top Tap of the Allerton Hotel in Chicago, and says that her musical comedy skills sometimes come in handy for teaching.

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