Type of imagery exercise

Goal

When to use it

Procedure

Safe place

Allow the patient to create an image in which he/she feels safe and protected

At the beginning of therapy, when a trustable therapeutic alliance has been created.

At the end of ImRS exercises or to heal intense negative emotions that arose within the therapy session.

1) The therapist asks the patient to sit in a comfortable position and to close his/her eyes.

2) The therapist asks the patient to recall a real or invented place where he/she feels secure and safe.

3) Once the place has been identified, the therapist asks questions about sights, sounds, smells, behaviors, bodily sensations, emotions, and thoughts the patient is feeling.

4) The client lingers for few minutes in his/her safe place, before ending the exercise.

5) Debriefing phase.

Diagnostic

Helps the patient to understand the connection between early negative memories and current problems and how

they have influenced the development of early maladaptive schemas

At the beginning of therapy, when a trustable therapeutic alliance has been created.

1) The therapist asks the patient to sit in a comfortable position and to close his/her eyes.

2) The therapist asks the patient to recall a strong negative event of the past or from a recent situation.

3) Once the episode has been identified, the therapist asks questions to get a detailed description of what is happening and on patient’s bodily sensations, emotions, thoughts and behaviors.

4) Once a negative feeling arises, the therapist might conclude the imagery or guide the client to go to his/her safe place.

5) Debriefing and discussion on the exercise.

ImRS

Allows to get in touch with intense negative emotions associated with childhood experiences and to identify their associated unmet core needs.

Allows healing and fulfilling those needs and bad feelings.

Helps to understand the link between the past and current problems.

Changes the meaning of what has happened intervening on patient’s core beliefs.

Across the whole change phase of therapy and in the final part of therapy, to further strengthen the Healthy Adult mode of the patient.

1) The therapist asks the patient to sit in a comfortable position and to close his/her eyes.

2) The client describes a recent episode where has experienced an intense negative emotion. Therapist asks a detailed description about the episode.

3) Using the floating back technique to connect the activated emotion with an episode from the past where a similar feeling was present. Therapist asks a detailed description of the episode, focusing on the child’s emotions and unmet core needs.

4) The patient’s Healthy Adult mode (or the therapist or any other real or fantasized helping figure) intervenes and fulfills child’s needs (rescripting).

5) The child describes from his/her perspective the adult intervention (interaction between the child and the adult goes on until all unmet needs within the episode are satisfied).

6) The Healthy Adult mode (or any other helping figure) goes to the recent episode and helps the patient to deal with the difficult situation.

7) After client’s opens his/her eyes, debriefing and discussion on what has happened in the exercise might take place.

Healthy Adult

Strengthen the Healthy Adult mode of the client

In the final phase of treatment.

1) The therapist asks the patient to sit in a comfortable position and to close his/her eyes.

2) The client describes a recent episode where he/she was in the Healthy Adult mode. Therapist asks a detailed description about the episode, specifically focusing on posture, tone of voice and other bodily sensations, emotions and thoughts.

3) The client is asked to hold back and breath through this healthy mode and to imagine a future near difficult moment where his/her Healthy Adult helps to cope with the event.