Visualization and mental imagery are two techniques that are both part of what is now called psychoneuroimmunology, which includes techniques such as meditation, hypnosis or biofeedback, with which they are moreover often used. In this sheet, you will discover these techniques in more detail, their specificity, their history, their benefits, who practices them, how to perform a visualization and finally, what are the contraindications.

The main principles common to both disciplines

Akin to self-hypnosis, visualization and mental imagery are techniques that aim to harness the resources of the mind, imagination and intuition to improve performance and well-being. Although the 2 terms are often used interchangeably, we generally agree on the following difference: in visualization, we impose precise images on the mind, while imagery seeks to bring out the representations that belong to the mind. unconscious of the subject.

The 2 techniques have several fields of application and are sometimes used together. They are used in particular in sports, where they are now part of the training of any high-level athlete. In the therapeutic field, they can be used in situations strongly dependent on the psyche, to modify behavior or reduce stress, for example. As for treating ailments or diseases, they are generally used in a complementary way to medical treatments.

Mental imagery: bringing out images produced by the imagination

What is generally called mental imagery has the function of bringing to the mind images produced by the imagination, intuition and the unconscious, such as what happens in a dream. The idea is to use the “intelligence” of the unconscious and the capacity of the organism to “know” what it is experiencing and what is good for it. Most of the time, mental imagery is done with the help of a speaker who can guide the process, and help decode its meaning and draw concrete applications.

This technique is used in different more or less therapeutic contexts: to get to know better various aspects of oneself, to stimulate creativity in all aspects of one’s life, to understand the causes of a disease and to find ways to cure oneself. In order to achieve the state of mental relaxation necessary for the emergence of images that are not dictated by the conscious, it is necessary to initiate the exercise with a period of greater or lesser relaxation and free the mind from current concerns. . Then, the subject initiates a “mental adventure” which provides a favorable context and allows situations to materialize in his mind.

Visualization: this ability to represent an object

Visualization is this mental capacity that we have to represent to ourselves an object, a sound, a situation, an emotion or a sensation. Depending on its intensity, this representation can trigger more or less the same physiological effects as reality would. When, for example, we are very afraid in the dark, the bodily manifestations of fear are practically the same as if a monster were really threatening us. In contrast, thinking about a pleasant situation brings the body into a real state of relaxation.

We therefore use visualization to act on behaviors or physiological processes (to accelerate healing, for example). For some purposes, the mental representations of visualization must conform to reality. This is the case when a person is preparing for an activity that they find risky or difficult, say a dive from the 10-meter springboard. Systematically, the subject represents all the elements of the activity: the place, the desired attitude, the precise details of each element of the dive, the stages as they must take place as well as the subject himself in overcoming difficulties. Repeated intensively, this exercise would have a conditioning effect on the body, which would thus be more likely to conform to the planned scenario, during the real dive.

In other situations, it seems preferable that the visualization be transported to the field of metaphor. Healing visualization often uses this approach: it is about giving a symbolic form to the disease and to what will make it go away. In this register, there are positive and negative visualizations. Take the case of a burn on an arm. A positive visualization would consist, for example, in imagining a spooky and beneficent animal (only if the subject likes animals) licking the wound to make it disappear. It could also be to simply represent yourself with the healed arm, as if by magic. A negative visualization, on the other hand, could involve an army of workers who tirelessly work to capture the infectious agents that are created in the wound and crush them to render them harmless.

There are arguably no limits to the situations in which visualization or mental imagery can play a certain role. But in many cases, the effect can only be assessed subjectively. Some scientific studies attest to the benefits of these techniques in certain cases. Note, however, that these approaches are often used in conjunction with other similar techniques, self-hypnosis and relaxation, for example. It is therefore sometimes difficult to separate the specific action of each of them.

Reduce and prevent stress and anxiety, and improve well-being

Two reviews of studies conclude that visualization, often in conjunction with other similar techniques, can reduce stress and anxiety and contribute to the general well-being of healthy people. It could also improve the well-being of people with serious illnesses, such as cancer or AIDS. Visualization can also help relieve the manifestations of most health problems related to or likely to be aggravated by stress, from hypertension and insomnia to arthritis and myocardial infarction. .

Reduce the side effects of chemotherapy

It is now recognized that relaxation techniques, including visualization, markedly reduce the unwanted side effects of chemotherapy. Researchers mention in particular effects against nausea and vomiting and against psychological symptoms such as anxiety, depression, anger or the feeling of helplessness.

Reducing Pain: A Review of Studies of Mind-Body Therapies for Pain Management concludes that these approaches, including visualization and imagery, may be beneficial, particularly when used together. with each other. There are cases of chronic back pain, arthritis, migraine and pain following surgery.

Improve motor functions

Mental imagery and visualization appear to have a positive effect on improving motor functions. According to the conclusions of 2 study summaries, they apply both in the field of sport and in that of physiotherapy. According to another study, “virtual” training could, under certain circumstances, be as effective as real training in instilling complex motor skills in patients with learning disabilities.

Reduce preoperative anxiety as well as postoperative pain and complications

According to some studies, visualization, including listening to recordings before, during and after major surgery, may reduce anxiety related to it. It has also been found to improve sleep, better pain control and less need for pain relievers.

Improve quality of life in relation to cancer

Numerous studies conclude that visualization, among other things through sound recordings, improves the quality of life of cancer patients. There are reports of reduced anxiety, a more positive attitude, more vigor and better social relationships.

Support creativity

According to a meta-analysis, it appears that visualization may play a certain role with individual creators. However, it is pointed out that creativity is an eminently complex phenomenon and that visualization is only one of the many elements that participate in it.

Other studies have shown that these techniques may reduce symptoms of migraine, improve the quality of life of people with osteoarthritis, fibromyalgia, interstitial cystitis and Parkinson’s disease. Visualization and mental imagery would also reduce nightmares and abdominal pain in children and improve rehabilitation in burn patients.

The specialist

Many health professionals use visualization or mental imagery in addition to their basic techniques. But it is rare for a speaker to specialize only in visualization.

Perform a visualization session alone

Here is an example of a visualization to get rid of a sentence

Suppose that an incident that has already passed continues to contaminate our existence beyond what is desirable and that we cannot forget it. A suitable exercise might be to symbolize the feeling, say a bottle filled with tears. It must then be represented in great detail – shape, color, texture, weight, etc. -, then tell him explicitly that we must part with it to continue on its way. Then imagine walking in a forest, finding a small clearing, digging a hole with a shovel and placing the bottle in it. We bid him farewell with conviction (“I’ll leave you here forever”) before filling the hole with soil, placing the moss and wild plants back on top. Then we see ourselves leaving the clearing, going back in the forest, and returning to our house, our hearts relieved.

Become a practitioner

There is no formal association that governs the practice of visualization or imagery, but the Academy for Guided Imagery offers healthcare professionals accredited training called Interactive Guided Imagery. The list of licensed practitioners in several countries can be found on their website (see Sites of interest).

Contraindications of mental imagery

It seems that everyone can benefit from these techniques. Children would respond particularly well. However, very rational adults might resist the “staged” aspect of the process.

Dr. Carl Simonton, an American oncologist, is generally credited with having conceived and popularized the use of visualization for therapeutic purposes. From the early 1970s, intrigued by the fact that, despite an identical diagnosis, some patients died and others did not, he explored the role of the psyche in the medical history of his patients. He observes in particular that the patients who recover are fighters capable of persuading themselves that they can be cured and see themselves doing it. Likewise, the doctor who believes in the recovery of his patient and who can communicate it obtains better results than the colleague who does not believe in it. Simonton was familiar with the work of Dr Robert Rosenthal1 on “automatic prediction making”, published a few years earlier. This work demonstrated how people often behave in ways that increase the likelihood that an expectation will come true, whether positive or negative.

Convinced of the need to teach patients to be fighters, Dr. Simonton incorporates training in this direction into his medical care program. This training includes several elements, including visualization exercises in which the patients imagine the medical treatment in the form of small entities (we suggest that they use Pac-Man, popularized at the time in the first video games) in devouring their cancer cells. The Simonton method has always been conceived as an adjunct to classical medical treatment and is still practiced in this way.