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Visit Our New Website: ImagineHealing

Using Guided Imagery for Surgical Support is designed to help individuals facing surgery or major illness promote their own health and well-being and to give caregivers—including medical support staff; therapists and other professionals working with body, mind, and spirit; friends; and relatives—the tools they need to provide effective support.

To provide more of the information of interest to those seeking support during times of medical need—and to those who provide such care—we have developed two new, dedicated websites. The first of these, Imagine Healing, is designed primarily to give those facing a serious medical situation with the information they need to do well, even better than may have been expected.

We also have a new website specifically for health-care providers who want more information and tools for providing support not only for surgery, but also for radiation, chemotherapy, dialysis, and other medical interventions: SurgicalSupport. On the SurgicalSupport website, you will find links to a number of resources, including links to reports on research, to help you be more effective in providing the best support possible for your patients and/or clients.

Be sure to visit these sites, and let us— Joel and Debra—know how we might be able to help.

The History and Scope of the SCS Program

The SCS program covers the entire process of preparing to cope with surgery or serious illness. It also provides specific training in the use of guided imagery and altered states to facilitate relaxation, health, and well-being for the whole person—in body, mind, and spirit.

Debra completed training in Peggy Huddleston’s seminal program, Prepare for Surgery, Heal Faster before studying hypnosis and NLP, and the SCS program in surgical support is indebted to Huddleston’s program and research base. Among the research findings are that those who completed a presurgical workshop using Huddleston’s program were (on average) a greater sense of peace before surgery, 20% less blood loss, 50% less need for pain medication, an earlier discharge (by one to two days), and fewer re-admits. See Heal Faster for more information about Huddleston’s program and the related research.

As Debra learned more about hypnosis and NLP, she began modifying her approach to surgical support, retaining the original benefits of Huddleston’s program while adding the power of change made possible by hypnosis and the techniques of Neurolinguistic Programming (NLP).

The need for surgery or the discovery of a serious health problem is often a turning point in life, and individuals will do best when they assume an active role in the process of recovery. The SCS program helps individuals turn what might be seen as a life-threatening event into an opportunity for personal growth and an enhanced sense of well-being.

It isn’t just a matter of doing better during surgery; it’s a matter of doing better for the rest of your life.

Using Guided Imagery for Surgical Support...

... brings into consciousness information that typically remains beneath the level of conscious awareness.

... educates physicians and medical staff about what they can do to support patients beyond the physical level.

... informs patients and clients about many ways they can help themselves heal more quickly and completely; provides research and suggested readings.

... assists you in understanding and using guided imagery.

... provides a sample script for guided imagery so you can enlist a friend or family member to provide you with support.

... blends well with professional practices like psychology or social work, Reiki or Healing Touch, massage therapy or bodywork.

...can assist you or your clients through such treatments as dialysis, chemotherapy, or radiation therapy.

Steps in the Surgical Support Process

If you or someone you know is facing surgery or another serious medical procedure, the steps that help support an individual through such medical procedures are the following:

Relax. Relaxation promotes immune function and allows the body to focus on healing. Discover what you need to know. Is your physical problem telling you something about your emotional, mental, or spiritual wants or needs? What do you need to know about the problem and the recommended medical procedure? Some prefer to have all the details, while others prefer to rely on expert opinion.

You can help yourself or others through surgery or another serious medical procedure by following the well-established steps presented in the SCS training manual.

Create positive expectations. Using creative visualization is one way of creating positive expectations. The idea is that we influence what we become by what we think about.

Organize a support group. Your support group may consist primarily of family, friends, and members of your spiritual or religious community. You may also wish to include trusted professionals, such as someone trained in Using Guided Imagery for Surgical Support, hypnotherapy, or guided imagery to provide encouragement and help facilitate your recovery.

Enlist the support of your medical team. Most physicians and other medical staff will be glad to provide appropriate mental and emotional support- especially when they recognize the ways in which such support makes their jobs easier.

Training in Using Guided Imagery for Surgical Support

Those who wish to provide support for those on a healing journey need just one day of training to learn how to help patients, clients, friends, and family do the following:

• Relax and feel peaceful and confident
• Make critical decisions with confidence and trust
• Heal emotional and spiritual causes of disease
• Recognize the love and support in their lives
• Release trauma from the past
• Identify resources within themselves
• Take control of their healing process
• Reconnect to their inner wisdom
• Find purpose in their healing journey

For more information about the SCS program, see Benefits of Training.

After completing a Master Practitioner intensive with SCS, Laurel, a participant from S.W. Michigan, attended a Surgical Support workshop with SCS and said, “Thank you for such a wonderful learning and expanding experience. It really deepened my understanding of NLP and hypnosis. Your combined wisdom creates an amazing container for growth, healing, and learning.”

For information about the training manual and CDs, see our other websites: Imagine Healing and SurgicalSupport. You might also find CDs and audio downloads of interest on our products page: Trance-formational Products.

An SCS Story

One of the graduates of our first workshop in Surgical Support had an unusual opportunity to apply the skills she had learned very soon after completing the training. Her quick thinking and skillful application of what she had learned prompted us to add a page just for stories like hers.

You can read about her experience at SCS Stories.

For More Information

Whether you are interested in a session before surgery in the comfort and privacy of your own home, a telephone session, or training in Using Guided Imagery for Surgical Support, call Debra (269/921-2217) or send email to debra@scs-matters.com.