[11] Bibliotherapy is the process by which a patient or participant reads fiction, poetry, and other creative with intent to experience a therapeutic outcome that manifests most commonly as the relief of psychological pain or mental distress as well as an increased introspective insight into himself or herself.
[15] Audio therapy imports the principles of bibliotherapy but provides the content on a recorded media, making therapeutic use of audiobooks[16] Creative visualization is the cognitive process of purposefully generating visual mental imagery, with eyes open or closed,[17][18] simulating or recreating visual perception,[19][20] in order to maintain, inspect, and transform those images,[21][22][23][24][25][26][27] consequently modifying their associated emotions or feelings,[28][29][30] with intent to experience a subsequent beneficial physiological, psychological, or social effect, such as expediting the healing of wounds to the body,[31] minimizing physical pain,[32][33][34][35][36][37] alleviating psychological pain including anxiety, sadness, and low mood,[38] improving self-esteem or self-confidence,[39] and enhancing the capacity to cope when interacting with others.
[42] Guided imagery is a mind-body intervention by which a trained practitioner or teacher helps a participant or patient to evoke and generate mental images[43] that simulate or re-create the sensory perception[44] of sights,[19][20] sounds,[45] tastes,[46] smells,[47] movements,[48] and images associated with touch, such as texture, temperature, and pressure,[49] as well as imaginative or mental content that the participant or patient experiences as defying conventional sensory categories,[50] and that may precipitate strong emotions or feelings.
Alternatively, the participant or patient may follow guidance provided by a recording of spoken instruction that may be accompanied by music or sound, as it is in audio therapy.
The term "psychoneuroimmunology" was coined by the American psychologist Robert Ader in 1981 to describe the study of interactions between psychological, neurological, and immune systems.
[70] Because of this interplay, a person's negative thoughts, feelings, and perceptions, such as pessimistic predictions about the future, regretful ruminations upon the past, low self-esteem, and depleted belief in self-determination and a capacity to cope can undermine the efficiency of the immune system, increasing vulnerability to ill health.
[71] However, the interplay between cognitive and emotional, neurological, and immunological processes also provides for the possibility of positively influencing the body and enhancing physical health by changing the way we think and feel.