Emotional Imagination Technique: What It Is And How It Is Applied To Anxiety
The emotive imagination technique aims to reduce anxiety that cause certain situations or stimuli. It is a behavioral technique, belonging to systematic desensitization, which aims to associate an anxious stimulus with a pleasant response.
In it, a pleasant scene is imagined, which causes that same sensation, this response being incompatible with a state of anxiety. In this article we will learn what it is, who it is aimed at and how it is applied.
Emotional imagination technique: what does it consist of?
The emotive imagination technique is a behavioral technique, typical of classical conditioning In classical conditioning, stimuli provoke automatic responses, and the idea is to associate these stimuli with a series of responses from the patient.
More specifically, the emotive imagination technique is included within the systematic desensitization techniques (it is a specific type of it).
It can be used in isolation or as part of another broader therapy. It is the case of REBT (Rational Emotive Behavioral Therapy) by Albert Ellis, who includes this technique as part of his therapy
A type of systematic desensitization
For its part, systematic desensitization (SD) consists of a procedure in which the patient faces the phobic or anxious stimulus through a response incompatible with anxiety, generally relaxation (although it can also be a pleasant state or a pleasant image). , as in the emotive imagination technique).
What is done with the emotive imagination technique is to associate an anxious stimulus that causes us anxiety and discomfort, with another stimulus of a pleasant nature, specifically, an imagined pleasant image or scene. This image or scene generates a state of calm in the subject which is incompatible with anxiety.
In this way, when associating these two stimuli (and if it is done effectively), what happens is that when the anxiety-generating stimulus appears, the person is able to automatically imagine a pleasant scene that reduces or completely eliminates the state of anxiety. initial.
To whom?
Thus, the emotional imagination technique can be applied to children, adolescents and adults. In fact, In school contexts it is easy to apply due to its simplicity of application
For example, a child who feels anxious when going to the dentist can imagine her favorite cartoon character while going to the dentist, or even during the procedure, to gradually alleviate the anxious symptoms (since they are incompatible with a pleasant state). .
However, although it may seem like a simple technique, for it to work, it must be practiced systematically and in different contexts.
Application
The application of the emotive imagination technique is carried out in the following way, through these steps:
1. Determine anxious stimuli
The first step is to determine the stimuli or situations that evoke anxiety, fear or fear.
2. Choose the nice image
Subsequently, they must choose the images or scenes (or only one) that generate in the patient a pleasant and calm state In the case of children, for example, it may be their favorite fictional character.
The third step of the emotive imagination technique involves the patient taking action, and imagining, with eyes closed and with all possible details, the pleasant image or scene previously chosen In the case of children, and if a fictional or cartoon character has been chosen, it is a good idea for the child to establish a kind of “relationship” with him.
Imagination capacity varies from one person to another (some may have it very good and others not), but it can always be learned, practiced and improved. Performing training exercises to develop it can be very useful.
4. Introduce the phobic stimulus
In the last step, the stimuli that generate fear or anxiety will be progressively introduced, so that little by little the patient associates them with the pleasant image. The ultimate goal is to eliminate anxiety, and that the person can imagine the pleasant situation automatically when the phobic situation appears or is faced
5. Elimination of anxiety
Finally, as the practice of, on the one hand, imagining the pleasant situation and, on the other, associating the phobic stimulus with the pleasant one, increases, this association can be strengthened and therefore eliminate the anxiety that it generates. the situation.
The role of emotions
But why is the technique useful? From psychology, it is known that emotions are responses that arise as a consequence of certain events, whether external (from the environment) or internal (from the person’s internal “world”).
That is, they can appear due to things that happen outside (for example, the death of a loved one), or due to things that happen “inside” (for example, thinking about the bad relationship we had with this deceased person). That is, in the second case thoughts, reflections, ideas that pass through our mind, etc. are included.
In this way, the emotive imagination technique aims to provide us with the tools that allow us to manage negative thoughts that usually cause the negative emotions or sensations we feel, such as anxiety or fear.
