The use fo Graded Motor Imagery (GMI) for patients who have upper limb dysfunction due to stroke or chronic pain is becomig more utilized as a therapeutic intervention. This capstone project focused on the implementation of a four-hour continuing education course on GMI and how it can be used in the practice of occupational therapy. This capstone project presented many different aspects of pain interpretation and how the central nervous system reacts to injury. Several research studies on the effectiveness of GMI and how it has been used for the treatment of chronic pain and post stroke were also presented. The implications for occupational therapy and how this project applies to the Scholarship of Application as well as the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning were also discussed. One implication in particular was presented for the professionals in attendance on how this project is meeting the goal of the American Occupational Therapy Association’s Centennial Vision of being a “powerful, widely recognized, science-driven, and evidence-based profession.”
