Guided Imagery as an academic discipline: Educational technologies in the development of personal maturity and creative thinking of students

The relevance of the study is conditioned by the growing interest of pedagogy and psychology in the use of guided imagery as an educational technology that can contribute to the development of personal maturity and creative thinking of students. In the context of training future psychologists, the search for innovative approaches to the development of their creativity and emotional competence is of particular importance. The purpose of the study was to identify the influence of guided imagery as an academic discipline on the development of personal maturity and creative thinking of students of psychological specialities. The methodological basis was the use of the guided imagery method (katathym-imaginative psychotherapy), which involved working with controlled mental images and subsequent reflection. The study involved 30 students of the “Psychology” speciality of the Kyiv University of Intellectual Property and Law, who during the semester took a course using basic symbols (“House”, “Flower”, “Clouds”, “Treasure”, “Mountain”, “Road”). A set of psychodiagnostic techniques was used to assess the dynamics of personal characteristics: Torrance Test of Creative Thinking, a method for determining the level of personal maturity, life orientation, Level of Subjective Control, and Hardiness Test. It has been established that after completing the guided imagery course, students showed a statistically significant increase in originality and flexibility of thinking, level of reflection, responsibility, awareness of life goals, and internalisation. Changes in the development of emotional competence and psychological stability were analysed, which confirmed the effectiveness of the method in the development of personal maturity. Practical recommendations for integrating guided imagery into the training plans of psychologists have been developed. The practical value of the research lies in the possibility of using its results by teachers of psychological disciplines and specialists in the educational sphere to improve the quality of professional training of students