Emotive imagination technique: what it is and how it applies to anxiety.

A technique based on classical conditioning that is used in therapy against anxiety.

The emotional imagination technique aims to reduce the anxiety provoked by certain situations or stimuli. that certain situations or stimuli provoke. 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, being this response incompatible with a state of anxiety. In this article we will know in what it consists, to whom it is directed and how it is applied.

Emotive imagination technique: what does it consist of?

The technique of emotive imagination is a behaviorist technique, typical of classical conditioning.. In classical conditioning, stimuli elicit automatic responses, and the idea is to associate these stimuli with a series of responses from the patient.

More specifically, the emotive imagery 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 a broader therapy. This is the case of Rational Emotive Behavioral Therapy (REBT) by Albert Ellis, who includes this technique as part of his therapy..

A type of systematic desensitization

Systematic desensitization (SD), on the other hand, consists of a procedure in which the patient is confronted with the phobic or anxious stimulus by means of a response incompatible with anxiety, generally relaxation (although it can also be a pleasant state or a pleasant image, as in the technique of emotive imagination).

How does it work?

What is done with the emotive imagination technique is to associate an anxious stimulus that causes anxiety and discomfort with another stimulus of a pleasant nature, specifically, an imagined pleasant image or scene. This image or scene generates in the subject a state of calmness that is incompatible with anxiety.

Thus, by associating these two stimuli (and if 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 initial state of anxiety.

To whom is it directed?

Thus, the emotive imagination technique can be applied to children, adolescents and adults. In fact, in school contexts it is easy to apply because of its simplicity of application..

For example, a child who feels anxious about going to the dentist can imagine his or her favorite cartoon character while going to the dentist, or even during the operation, in order 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 emotional imagination technique is carried out as follows, through these steps:

1. Determine the anxious stimuli.

The first step is to determine the stimuli or situations evoking anxiety, fear or dread.

2. Choosing the pleasant image

Subsequently, the following should be chosen the images or scenes (or only one) that generate a pleasant and calm state in the patient.. In the case of children, for example, it can be their favorite fictional character.

3. Imagining

The third step of the emotive imagination technique involves the patient taking action, and imagining, with eyes closed and with as much detail as possible, the image with as much detail as possible, 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 it.

The capacity for imagination varies from one person to another (some may have it very well and others may not), but it can always be learned, practiced and improved. Doing training exercises to develop it can be very useful.

4. Introducing the phobic stimulus

In the last step, the stimuli that generate the fear or anxiety will be introduced progressively, so that the patient gradually associates them with the pleasant image. The final objective is that the anxiety is eliminated, and that the person can imagine the pleasant situation. that the person can imagine the pleasant situation automatically when facing (the) phobic situation or when the phobic situation appears..

5. Elimination of anxiety

Finally, as the practice of, on the one hand, imagining the pleasant situation and, on the other hand, associating the phobic stimulus with the pleasant one increases, it will be possible to strengthen this association and therefore eliminate the anxiety generated by 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 internal "world" of the person).

That is to say, they can appear because of things that happen outside (for example, the death of a loved one), or because of things that happen "inside" (for example, thinking about the bad relationship we had with this deceased person). In other words, in the second case, thoughts, reflections, ideas that go through our mind, etc. are included.

In this way, the technique of emotive imagination aims to provide us with the tools to to provide us with the tools that allow us to manage the negative thoughts that usually provoke that usually provoke the negative emotions or sensations we feel, such as anxiety or fear.

Bibliographical references:

• Caballo. (2002). Manual for the cognitive-behavioral treatment of psychological disorders. Vol. 1 and 2. Siglo XXI.
• Diesing V. (2004). Pragmatic Methods in Psychotherapy, suggestion, hypnosis, autogenic training in child psychotherapy. Treatise on Child Psychotherapy. In: Bierman.
• Vallejo, M.A. (2012). Manual de Terapia de Conducta. Volumes I and II. Madrid: Dykinson.