Does your T use imagery?

Mine doesn't really, but I was reading something over the weekend where the therapist used a lot of imagery with his clients. It was a mix of the client coming up with a set of imagery experiences and then replaying them in their head at least 6-10 times a day; the images were all a mix of experiences that worked on changing their current perceptions and struggles and also had an image of an ideal experience as well. For example, an image might be working on breaking the memory of an unhealthy relationship you had in the past which was still effecting you today. He also did a lot of guided imagery experiments taking his clients back into the past but then changing things that happened within the guiding. I wondered if anyone did that with their therapist or had thoughts about it's usefulness?

I haven't done that with T, but that is really interesting! I actually go onto Youtube and if you type in hypnosis you can sometimes find guided imagery ones. I looked for the one I really liked, but I can't find it. Some of them are good, others not so much.

I like the idea about doing this and imagining changing the past.

At first I was going to say "no", but then I remembered how we used to do EMDR. After I talked about an incident, T would ask me how I wished it had turned out, instead of the way it did. She would have me visualize the "better ending". I think it was helpful.

Rain, did you only think of the better ending the once in session or did you think about it at other times as well to reinforce it?

Anti, let me know if you find the one you liked again I think with his guided imagery it was different in that they provided a starting point from their memories and then he guided them from there

my old t did it once. it was based on the past. and my hypno t did it a few times. she inserted positive stuff. but not based on past stuff. it was a safe place. supposed to go there every day.

I read about a therapist who was successful in helping veteran's change/cure their nightmares by using imagery to change them.

have you gone there again on your own suzzie?

that could be interesting to use them with nightmares

Yes mine does, and it's really effective. I find it very powerful in terms of changing the ways in which I see myself and painful memories from the past.

that's great southpole have you adjusted the images as you go?

Yup! They keep changing as I work on things and I am able to build safe places, destroy places where abuse happened, change what abusers look like (make them small and harmless etc), make my child self strong and angry and able to punish/kick/stab abusers etc ... that kind of stuff is very powerful. One of my fave things to do it to change what places look like - so for example one of the places where CSA took place (this horrible barn ) has been changed. In my mind I burnt it down and a forest has grown over the top of the ruins, with vines and moss and huge trees, so dense that you can't see what was there before. I have also trapped the abuser under it all and I know that he has rotted beneath it.

Then elsewhere I have taken the little girl who was abused to a garden I loved as a child which has gorgeous flowers and shrubs, a swing set and a stream. She has lots of friends to play with, something she was never allowed as a child. So she lives there now instead of in the shed or any of the other places I have painful associations with.

Thanks Southpole, that's really great to read how you've used it to help and reading some of your examples helps me to see how it can be used practically aside from what this therapist was writing about. I hope it continues helping you a lot

My T doesn't use guided imagery, but she uses imagery in the sense that she sometimes puts my life into a metaphor and that leaves an image in my mind. For example, she has said that I am like a seed underground, and I can't see that I am growing, but my shell has cracked and the leaves are starting to come out. I try to picture this image when I get frustrated with my progress.