MPD & Imagery

Multiplicity, Abuse & Healing Network
Peer Support for Abuse Survivors

advertising

The Survivor's Guide to Sex: How to Have an Empowered Sex Life After Child Sexual Abuse

ISBN-1573440795

Description: This book offers an affirming, sex-positive approach to recovery from incest and rape.

Join the MAH Network Forums with others who are trying to heal!

MPD & Imagery

source: Sheppard Pratt – Dissociative Unit

What Is Imagery?
Imagery is using the imagination to create a picture in the mind as an aid to using a specific coping skill. This mental picture may include color, sound, texture, scent, taste, or feelings and emotions.

How Can Imagery Help Me and My System To Function Better?
Imagery can be used to help you and/or your internal parts of your system to reduce tension and promote relaxation; it can be used to create safe places for you and your internal system.

Imagery can be used to create and maintain a distance between you and painful or intrusive thoughts, feelings, and recollections; it can be used to help in containing these painful or intrusive thoughts, feelings, and recollections until you and your therapist are able to process them. It can be used to control the pain of body memories.

How Do I Do Imagery?
For relaxation and safe places work, create a picture in your mind of a peaceful and comfortable place. Add to that picture the colors, sounds, scents, tastes, textures, feelings, and emotions which help you to feel comfortable, calm, safe, and rested to create a comfortable safe haven for yourself and the internal parts of your system.

For distancing and containment work, use your imagination to create a control device to make intrusive thoughts, feelings, and recollections less vivid, less intense, and less frightening. Use your control device to move the intrusive images away from you, then create a “container” in your mind and store them in this container until you can share them with your therapist.

One example of this kind of imagery is to imagine that you are watching these troubling recollections on a television screen. you can create a remote control device which you can use to record what you are seeing on a video tape. At the same time, you can reduce the volume, diminish the brightness, reduce the contrast until the screen is fuzzy and blurred. You might want to use your remote control to fast-forward your intrusive recollection on the screen in your mind. You might then mentally remove the tape from the machine and store it safely in a container in your mind until you can “watch” it with your therapist. This is only one example. You and your system will need to work together to develop ways of your own to use imagery of this type to meet your special needs.

Disclaimer: I am not a health care professional. I am an abuse survivor. The resources on this site are for information and education only. Information on this website is meant to support not replace the advice of a licensed health care or mental health care professional. Please consult your own physician for health care advice.

Copyright Policy: Information included on the MAH Network site is in the public domain; however, you will encounter information that is owned/created by others, including copyrighted materials. Those other parties retain all rights to publish or reproduce those documents or to allow others to do so. Any copyrighted materials included on this site remain the property of their respective owners/creators and should not be reproduced or otherwise used. It is not the intent of the MAH Network to have violated or infringed upon any copyrights. If you believe we have, please let us know and we’ll take care of the matter promptly.

Last edited: 01/02/03.