Selection of imagery in the relief of chronic and acute clinical pain

Abstract

This study examined the effects of pleasant imagery and type of pleasant imagery on the relief of acute and chronic pain. Two images were used in alternation, both selected from five images generated by the patient. The first image was the one most preferred by the patient; the second was the one determined by the experimenter to represent the most successful mastery of developmental stages according to the schmata outlined by Erickson (International Encyclopedia of Social Sciences, Vol. 9, McMillan, 1968 [1]). It was hypothesized that an image associated with successful phases of life would be less likely to provoke anxiety disruptive of the relaxation procedure and thus be more effective in the relief of pain. Both images were successful in reducing reported pain relief over a three-day period, but as predicted, the developmentally-selected image was more effective. The general effectiveness of these images held only for patients with acute pain.