Imagery and Imagery and MentoringMentoring

Imagery and Imagery and MentoringMentoring

Mentoring Mentoring

CPD & SupervisionCPD & Supervision

What is ImageryWhat is Imagery?• A set of mental pictures or

images. – The use of vivid or figurative

language to represent objects, actions, or ideas.

– The use of expressive or evocative images in art, literature, or music.

– A group or body of related images, as in a painting or poem.

– Representative images, particularly statues or icons.

– The art of making such images.

• Psychology. A technique in behaviour therapy in which the patient uses pleasant fantasies to relax, counteract anxiety and solve problems.

What is Imagery• Close your eyes and

then take a few deep breaths and allow yourself to relax. When you are relaxed, imagine you are holding a rose in your hand.

– What does it look like?– What colour is it?– What does it feel like?– What does it smell like?

What is ImageryTypes of Imagery• Schorr (1974) suggests as

visual imagery or visual memory to be especially vivid and permanent, it is easier to summon up a visual image than a tactile or olfactory one. He divides visual images into two types:

– Non-symbolic – where a specific concrete answer is elicited to the therapist's question e.g., the image is known and integrated

– Symbolic – images that are representational of certain people in the patient's life, or other intrapsychic elements that the patient cannot fathom what they mean e.g., the image is unknown or unrecognizable.

Exercise One• If you were a colour what

colour would you be?– what does being that colour

feel like?– what are the qualities of

that colour?– what do you like about this

being with colour?– what don’t you like about

this colour?– what colours does this

colour like to blend with?– what colours does this

colour not like to blend with?

– how does the above relate to you, your life, this situation?

Exercise Two• Working in pairs, identify an

issue/ problem that you would like to focus on.

– Mentee: Think of an image that is representative of that situation. Take some time to think about that image, explore it thoroughly in your mind. Describe your image to your mentor and the situation that it represents. Allow your mentor to ask you questions about the image so that you both can have a good understanding of the image.

– Mentor: Use the image as a tool to understand the mentee’s issue. Explore the significant features of the image and try to link them to the situation that the mentee is experiencing. What information and/or solutions does this provide you and the mentee with?

Exercise Three

Guided imagery exercise, led by Sue.