Mental Health

Aphantasia is not a mental disorder, but discovering you have it can be a psychological stressor for some. These resources explore the link between aphantasia and mental health.

Mental Health

Aphantasia is not a mental disorder, but discovering you have it can be a psychological stressor for some. These resources explore the link between aphantasia and mental health.

Video

How Do You Hypnotise Someone Who Can't Visualise? Inside Aphantasia and Hypnosis

Most hypnotherapy quietly assumes a mind's eye. Dr Paulina Trevena — a hypnotherapist who discovered her own aphantasia mid-session — has spent years proving that assumption wrong, and rebuilding the practice for minds that don't picture anything at all.

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Video

Disordered, Deficient, Dehumanized: How the Language of Aphantasia Research Shapes What We Think About It

A new paper in the Journal of Mad Studies argues that aphantasia research has a blind spot: it quietly treats visual imagery as the norm and aphantasia as the defect—shaping the questions scientists ask before anyone notices the assumption is there.

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Reference

Should aphantasia be rehabilitated? The case for subtype-specific interventions

Rehabilitation for aphantasia should be tailored to specific subtypes, as imagery loss often stems from different underlying mechanisms. This ensures that interventions address core pathologies like trauma or neurological damage rather than just the lack of imagery.

Silvanto, J. (2026). Should aphantasia be rehabilitated? the case for subtype-specific interventions. Cortex, 196, 137–139. doi:10.1016/j.cortex.2026.01.005

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Reference

The Nexus of Hoarding and Mental Imagery Extremes: Exploring Hoarding Tendencies in Aphantasia and Hyperphantasia

Aphantasics showed no increased hoarding symptoms, while hyperphantasics reported significantly lower symptoms than typical visualizers. This suggests that vivid mental imagery may actually protect against the development of hoarding behaviors.

Sabel, I., Kay, L., Pearson, J., & Grisham, J. (2026). The nexus of hoarding and mental imagery extremes: exploring hoarding tendencies in aphantasia and hyperphantasia. Psychological Reports. doi:10.1177/00332941261425581

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Reference

An inwardly focused cognitive style links mental imagery and mental health

Vivid mental imagery is linked to an inwardly focused cognitive style involving interoceptive awareness and mindful presence. This suggests that imagery ability influences mental health by mediating emotional processing and memory.

Kvamme, T. L., Rutiku, R., Wierzchoń, M., Griskova-Bulanova, I., Fardo, F., Barzykowski, K., Sandberg, K., & Silvanto, J. (2026). An inwardly focused cognitive style links mental imagery and mental health. Heliyon, 12(2), e44433. doi:10.1016/j.heliyon.2025.e44433

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Reference

Comparing the characteristics of hallucinations and mental imagery: a large cross-sectional study in the general population

Involuntary mental imagery is more frequent and vivid than hallucinations, though both share similar phenomenological traits. This suggests these inner experiences exist on a continuum rather than being entirely distinct phenomena.

Pepin, G., Lœvenbruck, H., Chauvin, A., Jacquet, C., Eichenlaub, J.-B., & Bortolon, C. (2026). Comparing the characteristics of hallucinations and mental imagery: a large cross-sectional study in the general population. Consciousness and Cognition, 137, 103974. doi:10.1016/j.concog.2025.103974

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Reference

Disordered, deficient, and dehumanised: How biomedical and cognitive approaches are limiting our understandings of aphantasia

Researchers found that biomedical and cognitive studies often frame aphantasia as a disorder or deficit, ignoring the lived experiences of aphantasics. This highlights the need for more inclusive research that avoids pathologizing neurodiversity.

Scholz, B., & Scholz, H. (2025). Disordered, deficient, and dehumanised: how biomedical and cognitive approaches are limiting our understandings of aphantasia. International Mad Studies Journal, 3(1), e1–17. doi:10.58544/imsj.v3i1.7389

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Reference

Imagery Rescripting: an update of the treatment protocol

Researchers updated the Imagery Rescripting protocol to focus on therapist-led intervention at the memory's most distressing "hotspot." This refinement improves emotional processing and offers non-visual alternatives for those who cannot imagine.

Arntz, A. (2025). Imagery rescripting: an update of the treatment protocol. Behaviour Research and Therapy, 195, 104913. doi:10.1016/j.brat.2025.104913

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Reference

Mapping the imageless mind: Towards a taxonomy of aphantasia

Researchers proposed a taxonomy distinguishing between neurological, psychogenic, and congenital aphantasia. This framework helps organize research by recognizing that the condition arises from diverse neural and psychological origins.

Bartolomeo, P. (2025). Mapping the imageless mind: towards a taxonomy of aphantasia. Neuropsychologia, 219, 109276. doi:/10.1016/j.neuropsychologia.2025.109276

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Video

Rethinking Mental Imagery: Why Scientists Had It Wrong (And Why That's Good News)

For decades, neuroscientists assumed they understood mental imagery. Then people with aphantasia proved them wrong—and changed the future of consciousness research.

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Video

The Body-Mind Disconnect: How Your Autonomic Nervous System Shapes Mental Imagery

What if the key to understanding mental imagery differences isn't in your brain's visual centers? New research reveals why your ability to visualize may depend on something unexpected: how well you sense your own body.

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Article

A Case of Aphantasia

A Case of Aphantasia is a piece of soft science fiction about a man who’s aphantasia is cured in therapy with a fictional technology. That cure comes at a deep cost. This is the first fictional story ever written on aphantasia.

recentlyby Dustin Grinnell

Article

Aphantasia and ADHD: You Asked, We Dug Into the Research

If you've ever felt like your aphantasia and ADHD are tangled together in ways you can't quite explain, you're not alone. Researchers are beginning to untangle that same thread — and what they're finding suggests the mind's eye depends on attention in ways we're only starting to understand.

recentlyby Tom Ebeyer and

Reference

The potential risks of opening the mind’s eye with psychedelic therapies

Some people with aphantasia report gaining visual imagery after using psychedelics, possibly due to increased neural plasticity and connectivity. This sudden onset of imagery could increase the risk of intrusive thoughts and other mental health challenges.

Koenig-Robert, R., Keogh, R., & Pearson, J. (2025). The potential risks of opening the mind’s eye with psychedelic therapies. Cortex, 191, 167–171. doi:10.1016/j.cortex.2025.08.002

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Reference

The role of mental imagery in worry: Insights from aphantasia

Aphantasics catastrophise less and feel less threatened by worries despite reporting similar overall anxiety levels as controls. This suggests that while mental imagery is not required for worry, it may amplify its perceived severity.

Dance, C., Meeten, F., & Simner, J. (2025). The role of mental imagery in worry: insights from aphantasia. Behaviour Research and Therapy, 193, 104838. doi:/10.1016/j.brat.2025.104838

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Discussion

Aphantasia & EMDR

recentlyMichael

Has anyone adapted EMDR techniques to work without visualization? I'm curious about alternative sensory methods for trauma processing.

Video

The Language Problem: How Simple Word Changes Make Therapy Work for Aphantasia

One key barrier to effective anxiety treatment for people with aphantasia isn't the therapy itself—it's the words therapists use. New study reveals that imaginal exposure therapy can be effective for people with aphantasia when therapists adjust their approach.

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Article

Mental Health Breakthrough: Aphantasia Does Not Shield Against PTSD

How aphantasia affects mental health treatment, revealing that while aphantasics don't experience visual flashbacks, they still feel emotions intensely, requiring alternative therapeutic approaches beyond traditional imagery-based techniques.

recentlyby Reshanne Reeder and

Reference

Stage 2 Registered Report: Propositional Thought Is Sufficient for Imaginal Extinction as Shown by Contrasting Participants With Aphantasia, Simulated Aphantasia, and Controls

People with aphantasia achieved successful fear extinction through propositional thought despite lacking mental imagery. This suggests that imaginal exposure therapy may be effective for aphantasic individuals by relying on non-visual cognitive processes.

Monzel, M., Agren, T., Tengler, M., Karneboge, J., & Reuter, M. (2025). Stage 2 registered report: propositional thought is sufficient for imaginal extinction as shown by contrasting participants with aphantasia, simulated aphantasia, and controls. Psychophysiology, 62(1). doi:10.1111/psyp.14756

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Reference

The Impact of Aphantasia on Mental Healthcare Experiences

Aphantasics often feel misunderstood by mental health professionals and find imagery-based therapies like CBT less effective. This highlights the need for neurodivergent-informed clinical practices that adapt to non-visual cognitive styles.

Mawtus, B., Renwick, F., Thomas, B. R., & Reeder, R. R. (2024). The impact of aphantasia on mental healthcare experiences. Collabra: Psychology, 10(1). doi:10.1525/collabra.127416

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