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.
Grunert and colleagues · Journal of Behavior Therapy and Experimental Psychiatry
Adding imagery rescripting helped 79% of PTSD patients who failed to improve with standard exposure. This suggests that active manipulation of mental imagery is necessary to resolve trauma-related emotions like anger and guilt.
Arntz, Tiesema and Kindt · Journal of Behavior Therapy and Experimental Psychiatry
Adding imagery rescripting to imaginal exposure significantly improved anger control and reduced guilt in PTSD patients compared to exposure alone. This suggests that active modification of mental imagery is more effective than simple exposure for treating trauma-related emotions.
Rauch and colleagues · Journal of Traumatic Stress
In exposure therapy for PTSD, distress while reliving the trauma fell steeply and image vividness fell slightly; only the drop in distress tracked recovery. This suggests recovery depends more on a memory becoming less frightening than less vivid.