Frequently Asked Questions
ImaginAction is a skill that uses our natural ability to focus and be absorbed in experiences to help feel better in some way.
ImaginAction is part imagination, because it is something you do in your brain. But it’s also part action, because it literally changes your experience in your body. Another name for it is self-hypnosis.
According the textbook Hypnosis and Hypnotherapy with Children (Kohen and Olness, 2011), self hypnosis is “a spontaneously or induced state of alternative state of awareness, in which an individual develops a focused concentration on some idea of image, with the expressed purpose of maximizing potential, creating change, and/or reducing or resolving some problem.”
In other words, it’s using the natural ability to become absorbed and focused on something, and specifically choosing where to direct that focus in order to feel better in some way. It sounds simple, and it is, but the results can be dramatic and make a big difference.
There are decades of research on how/how well this works, the neuroscience of it, and the different ways it helps people be more in control of their bodies, their feelings, and their experience.
If you are interested in learning more about the awesome nerdy science of it all, the American Society of Clinical Hypnosis and the International Society of Hypnosis, and the Society for Clinical and Experimental Hypnosis are great places to start!
You may have been told about this website by your doctor, or you may have discovered it on your own. Either way, you do not need permission, and you can do it on your own. That said, your doctor and medical team are there to help you, and it’s always a good idea to discuss the things that help you feel better with him/her. You may find they have some good ideas about how to best use ImaginAction to help you feel even better and more in control!
This website was created by the Division of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry and Child Development at Stanford Medicine. It was done in collaboration with the Meg Foundation, a nonprofit dedicated to empowering kids and families around pain management and anxiety.
The project was lead by Dr. Jody Thomas, a clinical health psychologist and internationally recognized expert in pain and hypnosis. Dr. Richard Shaw, Professor of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry at the Stanford School of Medicine, sponsored and collaborated on the project.
If you have any questions about any part of this website, please feel free to contact Dr. Richard Shaw or Dr. Jody Thomas