A new study published in the journal Psychology and Psychotherapy described how people who experience auditory verbal hallucinations made sense of their trauma-related voices and how their experiences change through imagery rescripting (ImRs). This psychological intervention aims to change the meanings of memories related to a person’s presenting problem by using mental imagery. This included finding ways to cope with their distress, having a new sense of safety and self-confidence, and feeling as though their voice had less power over them.
According to the research team led by Laura Strachan at Curtin University in Australia:
“Trauma-related voices may have an underlying protective function, and ImRs may support emotional validation, expression, and processing, which could alter participants’ perspective of their traumatic experiences their self-worth, and improve their ability and confidence to cope with distress and voice. It is possible that the therapeutic alliance in ImRs provides a secure attachment base, which supports the effective cognitive re-appraisal in lieu of less adaptive expressive suppression strategies.”
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good article, mostly. I believe there’s a lot more to it, but it’s definitely a step in the right direction. My main concern, however, is therapists taking on levels of trust to which they aren’t well suited. When money, rather than commitment, is the basis of the relationship, then that undermines how deep the trust can go…and at least for my wife, she needed ‘forever’ assurances, not just til ‘the money ran out’…
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The psychiatric/therapy industrial complex is, quite unwittingly, telling on itself! On one hand, they advocate the necessity of forming a ‘secure attachment base’ with another human being, like a therapist. Yet, on the other hand, the system is seamlessly transitioning to the use of AI as a substitute for these therapists.
And they do all this with a perfectly straight face! The irony is almost too rich to believe.
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