Praise for ImageWork by press and other authors

I confess I was already a fan of Dina Glouberman and ImageWork before reading this book. In the early Nineties I read her first book and spent a glorious two weeks at her ImageWork training on the beautiful Greek island of Skyros. Since then, training as a Psychosynthesis counsellor has reinforced my enthusiasm for working with clients’ (and my own) images. Read more…

In my 50 years in the field, this is the best book I have read about working with imagery for healing, creativity and personal transformation. What a wonderful contribution! The clear writing and brilliant organisation make the imaginative processes immediately usable by the reader. This is a landmark book that will help many people learn to use their imaginations to heal and grow. I shall be studying it! Martin L. Rossman, MD, author of Guided Imagery for Self-Healing and The Worry Solution, co-founder and president of the Academy for Guided Imagery

This is an outstanding book, well written and original in its approach to using imagery for health and personal enhancement. Having trained thousands of health professionals for decades, I feel that this book will be of significant benefit, both personally and professionally, to all those interested in the healing potential of mental imagery. I have published numerous books on the topic and have regularly taught graduate and undergraduate courses, yet I learned a good deal from reading this book and recommend it enthusiastically to others. Anees A. Sheikh, PhD, Professor Emeritus, Department of Psychology, Marquette University and Founding Editor, Journal of Mental Imagery, past president of the American Association for the Study of Mental Imagery

As it says in the book of Proverbs, the value of this volume is ‘far above rubies’. I am, yet again, amazed by the juiciness and sharpness of what Dina Glouberman writes. For 40 years, she has developed her unique – and, by now, influential – way of working with imagery. Yes, she is interested in visualisations, but what really shines through this almost alchemical distillation and condensation of her work is a profound compassion for and interest in humanity in its individual and social aspects. The book is both a credo and something supremely practical that will inspire and assist all those engaged in therapy projects, understood in the widest sense. Andrew Samuels, psychotherapist, former Chair, United Kingdom Council for Psychotherapy, and author

Dina Glouberman wages a constant war against the cliché. She’s not content with the platitudes of ‘transformation’ or, worse, the lazy recourse to sunny talk of ‘growth’ and ‘potential’. Instead, in this book, she takes you, step by detailed step, into the imaginative heart of her approach, with all the skill of the veteran group facilitator. And she is that rare being – a teacher who really believes that your imagination is not a distant prospect and that the ‘imaginative’ does not belong only to a select group. You have access to it, it is your birthright and legacy. The Glouberman Approach is a generous and illuminating path to recovering and enjoying it. Using the exercises Dina so carefully presents, you will experience not only stimulation and enlightenment but also the unexpected discovery of an inner resource, a resource that will at times move you and astound. You’ve been warned.  Edward Boyne, Director of Training, MA in Humanistic and Integrative Therapy at Tivoli Institute, psychotherapist and writer

This is the legacy book of a renowned psychotherapist whose work I have seen transform many lives – a handbook for therapists and almost anyone who wishes to learn how to skilfully use and navigate ImageWork in healing and the innate power images can unlock. Written in very accessible prose, this is a rare book that deserves a place on the shelf alongside all the great books written by therapists of note. ImageWork is the opposite of talk therapy; it uses images that emerge from the soul. Read this book if you care to plan a future, understand your present and/ or make sense of the rich images you dream and/or see from time to time in your daily life. Be warned; it breaks new ground.  Monique Roffey, writer, lecturer, winner of the Costa Book of the Year award

I have worked with people struggling with deep-rooted conflicts and I know – from personal experience – that to make a difference in the world, we need to be able not only to imagine the world we want but also to intuit and grasp the steps to get there. With ImageWork, Dina Glouberman offers tools that everyone can use to harness the power of their imagination to do just that. This is a remarkable book by a woman whose methods have helped transform the lives of thousands of people who have attended her courses around the world. Whether you work one to one or in group settings, and whether your focus is personal or political, I feel sure you will benefit from this inspiring and practical book. Dr Scilla Elworthy, founder of Oxford Research Group, Peace Direct and The Business Plan for Peace, three times Nobel Peace Prize nominee

This book is brave, bountiful and brilliant. It is packed with activities to do, with insights about how to do it, and with the wisdom of experience in gently showing ways that we can all connect personally – and interpersonally – with our own experiences, lives and longings. And it’s brilliant because it shines like a beacon in an increasingly hard-to-navigate world. I started my life as an international author, speaker and consultant with one of Dina’s exercises in my little bedroom, more than three decades ago. It has been an amazing journey, and it all started with a few moments of gentle clarity that continue to resonate down the years and around the world. ImageWork is a wonderful example of the gentle yet profound practice of helping people to connect with their overlooked experiences and know-how. I highly recommend it. Dr Mark McKergow, co-director of the Centre for Solutions Focus at Work (SFWork), speaker, consultant and author

This book is a wonderful resource for anyone who wants to work with Dr Glouberman’s unique method of ImageWork. Having had the privilege of attending a workshop with Dr Glouberman myself, I personally found her ImageWork method life changing. One session was sufficient to shift my thinking in such a way that it has enabled me to resolve a longstanding personal issue of many years and let go of it completely. Judy Piatkus, author and founder of Piatkus Books and Conscious Café

Dina has created another comprehensive, practical and overall transformative guide – this time into the world of ImageWork. Her book is a must, both for novices to ImageWork, such as me, and for those who are experienced in this field. In a society dominated by emails and social media platforms, this book feels like a much-needed breath of fresh air. I’ve no doubt that it will help so many people to discover the power of imagery and to harness the imagination’s potential for change and, ultimately, healing. Jonny Benjamin MBE, author, filmmaker, founder of the youth mental health charity Beyond

Dina Glouberman is a genuine bright light in the world of therapy. A new book from her is always welcome, and this one is no exception. As she says, imagery is embedded in all versions of therapy and counselling and yet is often under- estimated, including in my own field of body psychotherapy. Learning to use it consciously is very powerful. I love the way she situates ImageWork as part of a ‘holistic, democratic, multi-dimensional, universalistic and interactive approach’. This is imagery work brought up to date and into line with current thinking and will be of value to practitioners across the board. Nick Totton, psychotherapist, trainer and author

This book is a beautiful and essential guide to the powerful process of ImageWork that Dina Glouberman has developed and to which she has dedicated much of her life. Superbly written and presented, it has the potential to affect and transform lives. Dina’s experience, deep level of mastery and sure-footedness shine through in every page. This is destined to be a classic.  Malcolm Stern, co-founder of ‘Alternatives’, psychotherapist and author

Praise for Joy of Burnout by press and other authors

Dina Glouberman is wise and witty and an inspirational teacher. Don’t pay a therapist. Buy this book and rise from your own ashes. Sue Townsend, author, Adrian Mole diaries

The Joy of Burnout is the book we have all been waiting for. Dr Glouberman takes this debilitating and puzzling phenomenon and offers powerful and practical insights to help us understand and transcend it. This extaordinary book is a must for sufferers of burnout and their families, friends, managers, counsellors and anyone who has been touched by this experience. It’s also a great read. Jack Canfield, co-author of Chicken Soup for the Soul

Dina Glouberman has written a book an entire generation can benefit from. This is such an important book. It unwraps the gifts of burnout for the first time. It is full of treasures; it will resuscitate your mind, heal your heart, give you back your life. The challenge will be finding someone who cannot relate to it!’ Robert Holden, author of Shift Happens!

Dina Glouberman is a home-maker of the spirit. She writes with an unusual and vivid openness and with a gift for striking images. This book is full of useful and illuminating suggestions. Margaret Drabble, novelist, editor and critic

Come on! Admit it! You know what it is like to have a sense of being worn out, exhausted, spent, numb, dead, cut off, disconnected – burnout – either a little bit or big time. This rich volume is not another chant of “Think this way; you’ll feel better.” This rich volume is a way to use that sense of being burnt out as a launching pad, a doorway into a new sense of joy, vibrancy, aliveness, passion, excitement. Are you ready to begin? Alvin R. Mahrer, PhD, Professor Emeritus, University of Ottowa, Canada

I felt stronger and more confident after reading Dina Glouberman’s warm, intelligent and exciting book, and the intimate glimpses into other people’s struggles made me feel less alone. Nell Dunn, author of Steaming, Up the Junction and Poor Cow

Reader comments on Joy of Burnout

I have just read The Joy of Burnout and it has finally inspired me to seek help following burnout five years ago. Quite an amazing book that truly reflects the state of burnout and gives hope to those still in the ‘black hole’. A.E.

The Joy of Burnout together with some self help relaxation tapes have helped me to come to an extremely difficult decision to quit my job after 14 years of long hours, passion and adrenalin, rushing highs and lows. The worry about money is actually less than the worry and stress the job was causing me. The case studies have been an absolute life line to me. Thank you. I feel like I am entering a new phase of my life where I do anything I want. A.C.

Thank you for writing The Joy of Burnout. I have been working through it a chapter a day for the last week and it has been so helpful and encouraging. It has put me back in touch with my needs and some of my inner energy, and has enabled me to get some clearer ideas about how to move forward in my overstressed and totally draining life. A.S.

I have recently returned from three overwhelming years in Aid & Development and couldn’t work out why I was discontented with the colour of air! Thank you for this wonderful resource and tool.. I look forward to sharing it with many (I have bought 10 copies for friends and family!) and to “loving wisely” in the future. R.R.

Your book is wonderful. I experienced burnout 2 years ago and have been struggling to come to terms with it ever since. Even with the help of a good counsellor, I could never discover the real cause of it, your book has helped me so much. Thank you. V.L.

This book was a life saver. I experienced burnout…was completely exhausted physically, mentally, emotionally, and spiritually. And, I was ashamed. This book helped me to embrace what I was going through, helped me to know I was not alone, and gave me tangible steps to work through to get beyond the burnout. If you have reached the point of burnout, please get this book. I don’t usually go for the self-help book, but this was just outstanding. Be sure to buy yourself a notebook in which to journal, because it helps to complete the exercises she includes in the book. I am happier now than I have ever been in my life, and I’m convinced it is because I didn’t just cover up or ignore the burnout, but used it as an opportunity to figure out what got me there in the first place so that I could make positive changes in my life.  J D (Dallas)

I was burnt out, suffering from chronic fatigue. A friend recommended this book…..Wow!! I felt validated in my experience and pain through the experience of the author and the many others she quotes in the book. And I got more GREAT ideas to support me in getting better through new attitudes towards life, letting go and radical trust! More than any other single thing, this book has kept me on track and inspired me in my healing, as I grow into a new, healthier life. God bless this author for sharing her great wisdom!!!!!!!! Nancy Madlin (NY)

After years of struggling to understand my exhaustion and erratic bouts of enthusiasm for my teaching career, yet unable to make a crucial break from the profession, I became enlightened after reading “The Joy of Burnout”. The book has empowered me to take control of my life and find joy in living. It is an enriching experience, bringing a sense of positivity, following long periods of suffering. C Foley (New Zealand)

Much gratitude to you and the book that sustained me during the long, dark night of the soul before I returned to the light. Kind regards, Miriam

Praise for Life Choices, Life Changes by press and other authors

This book is simply brilliant – and brilliantly simple. It’s the creative person’s self help bible. Sue Townsend, from the foreword

The best book I have seen on visualisation work … I love it. John Rowan, therapist and author

This book might change your life… Managers should try it, as well as teachers, counsellors and anyone who has responsibility for other people. Charles Handy, author

A noteworthy contribution to the literature of self help … it guides the reader towards a personal myth which can inspire personal excellence. John Grinder, co-creator of NLP

Reader Comments on Life Choices, Life Changes

I have just re-read this book for the fourth time…not because I didn’t understand it the first time!… more that it has so much to offer it needs to be revisited. At each reading and through the exercises, I’ve understood more about myself and my journey. Most self-help books are full of instructions about “what you need to do”, to be this or that kind of person. Very few of them give you the tools, to find your own way and your own solutions, while encouraging you to trust that you have exactly the resources and the wisdom you need – this book does, in spades!

It is fantastically helpful that Dina Glouberman, along with her wisdom, doesn’t flinch from sharing her own foibles and failings, as she makes her own journey. It is full of compassion, heart and humour and I couldn’t recommend it highly enough.

I’ve been using this book like a bible for over a decade. You just go back to some books again and again, because they never lose their charm, their relevance to your life (wherever it is taking you), and the comfort and challenge they give you. Like a priestess, Dina Glouberman asks you to think about what you do and what you could do in ways that are both uncomfortable and re-assuring. ImageWork is one of those simple ideas that takes you into deep places. Its about being in control without being a control freak; about confronting your dark side whilst always coming back to somewhere safe. Unlike most of my pop psychological books that have long since gone to the car boot sale or the Oxfam shop, this is one I have kept by my side. My sceptical and ultra-cool brother in law picked it up from the table when we were on holiday recently and I was luck to get it back. Its a practical and happy bit of magic in just 330 pages. J Dix(Woking, Surrey)

A life-changing book. This is a marvellous book, thoroughly recommended. I’ve used its strategies for a couple of major decisions, and both times I look back on the ‘life choices’ I made as a result with a deep and quiet sense of satisfaction and pleasure. Some of the visualisation ideas are surprisingly challenging, but effective. Dina Glouberman writes warmly and generously. It’s a book to go back to time and again. I also enjoyed her second title, ‘Joy of Burnout’. Would like to read more from this author. H. Mercer “Hilary” (London)

After trying even the first few basic exercises, I found it useful, and had a brilliant ImageWork session in which I subconciously changed my thinking patterns at a time when I felt very stagnant. …this is good stuff! M Sherman (Bristol)

Who am I? Where am I going? Everyone I know has asked themselves these questions and everyone I know has had trouble answering them. Dr Glouberman summarises the body of work that exists in psychology on the nature of imagery and it’s relationship to our unconscious, our conscious experience and our functioning in the world. Not only that, she does so in language that everyone can understand AND CRUCIALLY she goes on to do something that psychology rarely does – she tells us how to use it ourselves, to find our own personal meaning and way of being in the world. Images are us. Change your images change your self. I have used the exercises in this book over many years and continue to do so when I feel stuck in life (yes even when I’m out shopping!). Part of my job as a lecturer in Higher Education is to facilitate students in their personal development. This book will most definitely be on my reading list. A. Ross (Scotland)

Course participants comments

Easily one of the best facilitators in the world today.  Edward Boyne, Tivoli Institute, Co. Dublin, Ireland

When I did your course in Skyros in 1994, I nicknamed you the ‘Yehudi Menuhin of therapy’, and your work reminded me of a fabulous painting with a lot of fine brushstrokes. Now I feel you are actually the art gallery itself. There’s a spiritual dimension that wasn’t there before and this is like the house for all the beautiful paintings. Thank you for all. Vivienne

Dina Glouberman is the legendary founder of Skyros, an alternative holistic holiday on the Greek island, Skyros. If you ever get a chance to work with her, take it. She calls her method “ImageWork,” Sometimes what Dina does seems obvious; she’s giving your imagination a work out, somewhere between an idyllic massage and a boot camp for enlightenment. Then, out of nowhere, she asks a question or offers an interpretation that transports everything into a different world where you possess clarity, insight and compassion. It’s not merely that she gives you insight; you see how to get it. She is not just a gifted giver; she is one of nature’s true teachers. David Jenkins, dreamreplay.com

I was deeply moved by your session. The consequence was a feeling of wholeness, integration, strong sense of belonging and part of the larger whole – wonderful.

After the imageWork course I find I have a range of new resources at my constant disposal and a community to reach out to share them with. My images have continued to change and reveal surprising insights and it’s a great relief and an adventure to know they are there to be consulted, trusted and explored at any time.

The course went way beyond my expectations. Somehow Dina connects with everyone, and has touched a part of me which has opened up and will continue opening.

It was a revelation – life changing and deeply healing.

Awesome! Can it really be that simple?

ImageWork is now a vital tool for moving forward and keeping my life solutions simple.