I was nearing the end of my Diploma studies when a client contacted me to ask if I thought kinesiology would help alleviate her 8-year-old son’s anxiety over having to get an MRI. He had attempted to have one locally, 12 months earlier, but was so distressed upon seeing the machine that he refused to have it. This resulted in re-booking it at the Queensland Children’s Hospital which includes a four-hour drive (one way) and an overnight stay.
When the appointment letter arrived, confirming his date and time for the MRI, her son became quite distressed, crying most nights from anxiety. The appointment letter stated that if they weren’t successful in getting him to have the MRI at the allocated time, they had reserved for him to undertake the procedure, the following day, under general anesthetic.
I asked my teacher if she thought I could assist and her response was “absolutely”. She suggested that if the MRI was a tunnel one, to ask the client to purchase a play tunnel and to bring it along to the session and get him comfortable lying in it.
The session: After the formalities, we started off the session by setting up the tunnel and I asked the child what he’d like to do with it; he happily crawled into it and laughed. I ran a light on the outside, down the middle of the tunnel and asked if he could see it, what he was feeling and if he was feeling safe. All questions were positive in response.

He then moved to the table, where Mum helped me slide the tunnel, from his feet first, until he was fully engulfed. He thought it was great fun. I gave him his Mum’s phone to watch a movie on (apparently, they get to see a movie in the real MRI machine) and again ran the light down the middle and checked in with how he was feeling. When I asked him if this was going to be the same as getting the MRI, he said “No, that’s going to be scary.”
I draped myself in a white sheet, held my clipboard and instantly transformed the scene into a medical one (with a bit of imagination) and discussed the MRI procedure with him. I draped a blanket over the tunnel, then the sheet so it was darker, I ran the light down the middle and tested his emotion (via surrogation) – anxiety.
I did a ‘postural stress’ balance with him, role-playing what each step of the MRI procedure was going to be like, finding the emotion and talking him through it. In the end, he showed no stress at the thought of the MRI and even took a selfie on Mum’s phone! It tested up for him to practice with the tunnel at home three times before his appointment; to which he responded "I'll do it four times!"

The day of the MRI procedure came and went without a hitch. His mum was so thrilled that she wrote me a glowing review on her Facebook page – which was an amazing way to launch my career, as by then, I had just completed my Diploma studies!
‘Shout out to Heidi at We've got this. I honestly cannot recommend this lady and kinesiology as a modality enough if you’re experiencing challenges and just need a little nudge to push through ❤️’
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