Two studies investigating the use of guided imagery
specifically by children with sickle cell disease
yielded mixed results.31, 32 Gil and colleagues taught
children daily coping practices for pain that included
the use of “pleasant imagery,” and found that on the
days the children practiced, compared with missed
days, they were more functional and less likely to
visit the ED or miss school.32 Although these benefits
were absent at one-month follow-up, the researchers
concluded that consistent daily practice could lead
to more successful home management of pain. But
in an unpublished pilot study, Braniecki, testing an
intervention that included guided imagery, reported no significant differences between the intervention and
control groups