kuttner kuttner
Imagery with the Hospitalized Child

by

Leora Kuttner, Ph.D.





Dr. Kuttner is a clinical psychologist at B.C. Children's Hospital, Vancouver Canada, where she runs the Pain & Anxiety Management Service. She has written numerous articles on pediatric pain and has directed and produced educational documentaries including the acclaimed "No Fears, No Tears: Children with Cancer Coping with Pain" and "Children in Pain."

For the child in the hospital, in pain and removed from the comforts and natural rhythms of home, Imagery can be particularly therapeutic. Going into the inner world of senses, pictures, sounds or memories breaks the child's isolation, can begin to mobilize different facets of coping, can help modulate or shift pain and revives feelings of comfort and care.

The image and Imagery story-line ought to be tailored to the distinctive needs of the child, the specific illness or difficulty and most particularly to the child's developmental stage. In this article the therapeutic use of Imagery with three hospitalized children will be shared to illustrate the shifts in using Imagery with children of different ages.

Imagery with the Child Under Six

Imagery with the School-Aged Child

Imagery with a Teenager





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