Was there any control group? From the brief description, it doesn't sound like it. If not, how can you tell if the CD was responsible, vs. likely medications, and hopefully therapy (beyond milieu "therapy").

Regards,

Mike
http://drmikemiller.com

What were the sources of the guided imagery? It is made available to the public?

The 'controls' were 'treatment as usual'. Both groups were given pre- and post-tests on measures of depression, anxiety, stress and comfort. The imagery, developed in Portuguese, was described as:
GI was recorded on a 21-minute-long CD for this study by a collaborator, a clinical psychologist, chosen because of her pleasing voice and considerable knowledge about mental health. In the audiotaped
CD, patients were invited to (a) do deep diaphragmatic breathing using the abdomen and diaphragm; (b) do progressive muscle relaxation
exercises involving tension then full relaxation of each muscle group; (c) imagine relaxing natural scenes like landscapes, paying attention to smells and natural sounds to stimulate the senses; (d) imagine meeting somebody with whom they could share their life situation; and (e) create positive, comforting, and serene images of the hospital
context. The therapist intended that patients idealize a space where they could experience a sense of ease, safety, refuge, positive images and becoming free of disturbing thoughts.
The CD script was guided by the literature revue about GI (Achterberg, 1985; Rossman, 2000), relaxation (Payne, 2003), comfort needs of patients in stressful health care situations (Kolcaba, 2003), and a qualitative study about the lived experience of comfort/discomfort of psychiatric mental inpatients (Apóstolo, 2007). For example, the following statements addressed physical, social, environmental, and psychospiritual comfort by improving feelings of peace, freedom, and transcendence: “…imagine a meeting with somebody with whom you could share your life situation….What would you like to share… Feel this environment as a place of peace…where you feel protected…where you can renewyour energy and your life….This is calm and safe environment were
you feel free and in peace…”.
The CD was submitted to a validation process including experts and 25 patients and nursing students. Between 70% and 88% agreed or strongly
agreed about the relaxing quality of the CD, mental images, voice, music, and the volume. However, only 28% agreed or strongly agreed about the ease of breathing exercises. According to the participants'
suggestions, the time between inspiration and expiration was shortened. Soft and relaxing background music was added as a background for
the script (Apóstolo, 2007).

p.s.
Often the imagery itself is included in an appendix, but it was not in this case. You can write to Kathy Kolcaba at the U of Akron School of Nursing and ask for an English version of it, if she has it. It seems to be based on work by Marty Rossman and Jean Achterberg from the '90's.

Whenever I recommend your CDs to clients, which is often, I tell them to listen to them once a day for two weeks. And as you explain in your intros, I explain that the CD will have much greater benefit if they do. Even if this study wasn't so rigorous in its design, it still shows the potential benefits.