Prof. Dr. Gina Kaestele

Professional Qualifications:

• Licensed psychotherapist for behavior therapy
• Additional professional trainings in Leuner work, art therapy, Gestalt and solution oriented psychotherapy
• Founder of the Institut Imago, offering workshops for health professionals
• Trainer for the Bonny Method of Guided Imagery and Music (GIM), approved for all levels of training by the Association for Music and Imagery (AMI)
• Trainer for the Mari Assessment Research Instrument (www.maricreativeresources.com)

Methods used in my individual session work and in my trainings:

• Guided Imagery and Music (GIM)
• Leuner method / Symboldrama
• solution focused counseling
• cognitive-behavioral strategies
• Mari Card Assessment
• art therapy

Personal Preferences

I was born in Munich, Germany, where I am presently living and teaching.
Besides my psychotherapeutic work I love teaching. Working with imagery and music is my favorite occupation. The uniqueness of each individual is seen in the individual imagery. After having guided thousands of sessions, I am still fascinated that an image is never alike.
In the early years of the development of GIM, Helen L. Bonny and her team had the vision that GIM would spread out around the globe. In an image where Helen L. Bonny visualized the future of GIM, she saw arrows flying around the earth in every direction. Her vision became true, as GIM is practiced in many different countries.
My personal vision is to teach Guided Imagery and Music (GIM) worldwide. I would like to send out my arrows to different countries.
I always enjoyed travelling to foreign countries. Being merely a tourist never interested me. I have always tried to build a deeper connection to the personal life situation of the people I met. I love to meet people from different continents and experience different mentalities, life situations, and cultural backgrounds. Presently, I have set up GIM trainings in Germany, Austria, and South Africa. I teach in German, English, Spanish, and French.
I am very grateful to teach GIM in South Africa and learn more about the personal joys and fears of my students. Teaching in South Africa, I became aware how important it is to prepare professionals to be able to work with trauma and crisis intervention techniques. Guided Imagery and Music can offer helpful ways to strengthen and to empower people in difficult social and political environments.
I have been working with GIM for many years. It is still always inspiring for me to experience how we all have an inner wisdom which guides us exactly where we can grow and discover unique solutions and insights.
For me, music has healing power. It can awake the hidden treasures within me and within my clients. In my trainings I see my participants change. While working with the music, they become more joyful and relaxed, and open up to their creative potential.