Imagery (Psychotherapy)
Synonyms
Directed Reverie Therapies
Directed Reverie Therapy
Guided Imagery
Imageries (Psychotherapy)
Imagery
Imagery, Guided
Reverie Therapies, Directed
Reverie Therapy, Directed
Therapies, Directed Reverie
Therapy, Directed Reverie
The use of mental images produced by the imagination as a form of psychotherapy. It can be classified by the modality of its content: visual, verbal, auditory, olfactory, tactile, gustatory, or kinesthetic. Common themes derive from nature imagery (e.g., forests and mountains), water imagery (e.g., brooks and oceans), travel imagery, etc. Imagery is used in the treatment of mental disorders and in helping patients cope with other diseases. Imagery often forms a part of HYPNOSIS, of AUTOGENIC TRAINING, of RELAXATION TECHNIQUES, and of BEHAVIOR THERAPY. (From Encyclopedia of Human Behavior, vol. 4, pp29-30, 1994)