Effectiveness of Guided Visualization and Mental Imagery in Decreasing the Symptoms of Depression and Increasing Hopefulness among Hemodialysis Patients

Depression is the most prevalent disease among hemodialysis patients which can endanger the individual’s health and aggravate the illness. The research purpose is to determine the effectiveness of guided visualization and mental imagery in decreasing the symptoms of depression and increasing hopefulness among hemodialysis patients. Therefore, the research employed a semi-experimental method with pretest, posttest and control group. A sample of hemodialysis patients was randomly selected and assigned to the experimental and control group. All the individuals were tested with regard to hopefulness and depression prior to and subsequent to the intervention. The experimental group received 12, fifty-minute sessions of guided visualization and mental imagery; however, the control group didn’t receive any treatment. Covariance analysis indicated that there is significant between-group difference with regard to depression and hopefulness. That is to say that guided visualization and mental imagery are effective in decreasing the depression and increasing the hopefulness among the hemodialysis patients. It can be concluded that guided visualization and mental imagery lead individuals to take control of their mental negative images which results in decreasing the depression and increasing the hopefulness.