{"id":23918,"date":"2026-10-20T00:00:15","date_gmt":"2026-10-20T06:00:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.unk.com\/blog\/?p=23918"},"modified":"2026-10-19T05:32:49","modified_gmt":"2026-10-19T11:32:49","slug":"imagery-rescripting-with-clients","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.unk.com\/blog\/imagery-rescripting-with-clients\/","title":{"rendered":"Why You Should Use ‘Imagery Rescripting’ with Your Clients"},"content":{"rendered":"

“The past is a foreign country; they do things differently there.”<\/em><\/p>\n

– L.P. Hartley<\/p>\n

I saw something fascinating the other day.<\/p>\n

A study found that a simple visualization exercise<\/a> can greatly lessen fear of failure<\/a> and reduce guilt and shame<\/a> as well as sadness in people with adverse memories of parental criticism in childhood.1<\/sup><\/p>\n

It’s pretty well established that a hard start in life, including abuse<\/a>, neglect<\/a>, and relentless childhood criticism<\/a>, can cause deep emotional scars, at least for some.<\/p>\n

But distressing early memories that continue to influence adult life can be reshaped using imagery-based techniques. And yes, I know that we know this already! But it’s great to see research proving it.<\/p>\n

By creating new, safer endings to painful memories<\/a>, unhelpful emotional patterns can be replaced with healthier ones, often reducing feelings of sadness and guilt.<\/p>\n

This approach, known as ‘Imagery Rescripting’, involves revisiting a troubling event and then imagining it unfolding in a more comforting and supportive way.<\/p>\n

Changing the feelings from the memory<\/h3>\n

The study (which so fascinated me!) included 180 young adults with a fear of failure<\/a> linked to childhood criticism. The researchers explored how early harsh treatment had shaped their self-worth, leading them to feel that mistakes made them less valuable<\/a>. In this way, the thought of failure had become more threatening<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Over four therapy sessions, participants recalled a painful childhood memory involving criticism from a caregiver<\/a>.<\/p>\n

One group used an Imagery Rescripting technique immediately after recalling the memory, while a second group used the same rescripting method but after a 10-minute delay (hypothesized to enhance its effect by providing intervention in what they called the “reconsolidation disruption window”). A third group simply recalled the anxiety-provoking memory.<\/p>\n

Those groups using Imagery Rescripting were guided to re-experience the memory but imagine a supportive figure, such as a therapist or current friend, defending them.<\/p>\n

All groups reported reductions in sadness, guilt, and fear of failure, with improvements lasting up to six months. But stress reduction when recalling the adverse childhood memories was much greater in those using Imagery Rescripting.<\/p>\n

So how exactly does Imagery Rescripting work, and what makes it so effective?<\/p>\n

Changing the past to change the future<\/h3>\n

We know that emotional conditioning from the past<\/a> can produce faulty pattern matching in the present<\/a>; that is, a situation or ‘trigger’ may produce a maladaptive emotional (and physical) response – until that is corrected through effective psychotherapy.<\/p>\n

The study demonstrates how memories of childhood criticism can be altered. They do not have to be recalled in the same painful way that produces fear of failure or other negative emotions.<\/p>\n

When we relate better to our past – in other words, overcome damaging emotional conditioning – we change the way we emotionally respond to our present and future lives too.<\/p>\n

\r\n \t\t\t\r\n \t\t\tWhen we relate better to our past \u2013 in other words, overcome damaging emotional conditioning \u2013 we change the way we emotionally respond to our present and future lives too.\r\n \t\t\t<\/span>\r\n \t\t\tClick to Tweet<\/span><\/path><\/svg><\/i>\r\n \t\t<\/div>\n

The effectiveness of Imagery Rescripting may lie in the unexpected ‘happy ending’ created during rescripting.<\/p>\n

Co-author of the study Mr Stanis\u0142aw Karkosz explained, “We have shown that a crucial part of imagery-based therapy is creating a discrepancy between what the patient expects and what actually happens in the new memory.”<\/p>\n

So, overall, the findings show that painful childhood memories can be reshaped, reducing their emotional impact and the fear of failure they produce.<\/p>\n

But there’s a strange element to all this.<\/p>\n

<\/div>\n

The client still knows exactly what happened<\/h3>\n

“Can you use hypnosis to make me completely forget a memory?”<\/p>\n

As therapists who use clinical hypnosis<\/a>, we get some pretty weird requests sometimes<\/a>. And when we do, we don’t always (for good reason!) say what we think:<\/p>\n

“Can you totally delete that memory I have of being rejected by my ex-girlfriend?”<\/p>\n

“Yes, of course! Would you like me to hit you on the head with a shovel or a mallet?”<\/p>\n

No, no, no. We can’t say such things!<\/p>\n\n

Though funnily enough, the idea of psychological repression was apparently originally derived from a misunderstanding of how closed brain injury worked: psychological injury was presumed to be of physical origin.2<\/sup> And of course, the idea of memory deletion is not without precedent. Psychiatry has tried some disastrous ways of trying to ‘delete’ memories in patients<\/a>.<\/p>\n

But this particular request – and I’ve heard many and varied iterations of it over the decades – reflects a general ignorance as to how the mind works. It incorrectly assumes that memory is always accurate<\/a> and that repression occurs, and should occur, because of trauma<\/a>.<\/p>\n

It fails to recognize that we as human beings have evolved to survive, and the permanent deletion of memories – which may otherwise serve as warnings of future mistakes – does not support that. We can’t learn from mistakes if we don’t recall them.<\/p>\n

This is fair enough, of course! Why should the average person be well informed about psychology? What I know about the inner workings of my car could be summarized on the back of a piece of paper the size of the average cell phone SIM card. But sometimes a little psychoeducation<\/a> goes a long way.<\/p>\n

So Imagery Rescripting isn’t about making someone believe that a bad thing didn’t happen and it all turned out great. It’s about changing the experience<\/em> of accessing the memory so that it no longer causes emotional problems in the present and future.<\/p>\n

It’s the same concept as when we use Rewind to help lift post-traumatic stress disorder<\/a>. The client still knows they were raped or in a train wreck – but the memory no longer haunts them or causes faulty pattern matches in the form of flashbacks or nightmares<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Now when it comes to the application of Imagery Rescripting, there are two important elements to recognize:<\/p>\n