“Finding a New Place…” Metaphor and Narrative in One Cancer Survivor’s BMGIM Therapy

This case study was part of a mixed methods study of the influence of 10 BMGIM-sessions on mood and quality of life in six cancer survivors. The specific purpose of the case was to study how one participant experienced the therapeutic process, how she found meaning in the imagery, and how the imagery developed. The method was a combination of a qualitative, semi-structured research interview undertaken two months after the last session and a hermeneutic analysis and interpretation of the imagery evoked during the music-listening periods of the sessions. This analysis was inspired by Ricoeur’s theories of metaphor and narrative, as adapted by the author in a theory of three specific experiential levels in BMGIM (Bonde, 2000). The levels – 1. The narrative episode, 2. The narrative configuration of the ego and the self, and 3. The complete narrative – were all identified in the case material, and through the interview it was documented how the client found meaning in the imagery and its configurations. The case study finally discusses how BMGIM sessions may help cancer survivors in their rehabilitation process