ResearchJournal of Behavior Therapy and Experimental Psychiatry
Treatment of PTSD: A comparison of imaginal exposure with and without imagery rescripting
Arntz, Tiesema and KindtNovember 2007
Our summary in plain words
What This Study Is About
Researchers wanted to see if adding a technique called "imagery rescripting" to standard therapy could better help people with Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). They specifically looked at whether changing the "ending" of a traumatic mental image could help reduce difficult emotions like anger, guilt, and shame.
How They Studied It
The study involved 71 people with chronic PTSD. They were split into two groups:
- Imaginal Exposure (IE): Participants repeatedly visualized their traumatic memory in detail to face their fears.
- IE + Imagery Rescripting (IR): Participants did the same visualization but then "rescripted" the memory. This involves using mental imagery—the ability to picture things in the mind—to intervene in the memory, such as having their adult self step in to protect their younger self or changing the outcome to feel more empowered.
Both groups received 10 weekly therapy sessions, and researchers measured their symptoms before, during, and after treatment.
What They Found
Both types of therapy were very effective at reducing overall PTSD symptoms. However, the group that used imagery rescripting saw significantly better results in managing "non-fear" emotions. Specifically, they had much better control over their anger and felt less hostility and guilt compared to those who only did standard exposure therapy. Additionally, people were less likely to drop out of the treatment that included rescripting.
What This Might Mean
This suggests that while facing fears is important for treating PTSD, working directly with mental imagery to "rewrite" the emotional meaning of a memory can address a wider range of symptoms. For people with aphantasia (the inability to visualize), these specific imagery-based techniques might be more challenging to use, which highlights the need for researchers to understand how different "internal landscapes" affect therapy outcomes.
One Interesting Detail
The researchers found that therapists actually preferred the imagery rescripting method because it felt more "acceptable" and less distressing for both the patient and the therapist than simply reliving the trauma over and over.
This summary was written with AI and may contain errors. Check the original paper.
Authors
Arnoud Arntz
2 papers in the libraryMeike Tiesema
1 paper in the libraryMerel Kindt
1 paper in the library
Cite this paper
Arntz, A., Tiesema, M., & Kindt, M. (2007). Treatment of ptsd: a comparison of imaginal exposure with and without imagery rescripting. Journal of Behavior Therapy and Experimental Psychiatry, 38(4), 345–370. doi:10.1016/j.jbtep.2007.10.006
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