Psychological Professionals’ Relationship to Mental Imagery

This thesis explored how psychological professionals relate to mental imagery: how they view and experience using it in their therapeutic and supervisory practices. Applying Bell and his colleagues' (2015) broad definition of the concept enabled the study to incorporate a variety of imagery practices, from direct interventions to involuntary processes. The thesis analysed the application of mental imagery in cognitive behavioural and psychodynamic therapies and provided the first review of systemic and supervisory use of imagery.

Eighteen psychological professionals; six CBT therapists, six clinical psychologists and six non-registered psychologists were interviewed about their experiences of different applications of imagery. The interviews were analysed using thematic analysis (Braun & Clarke, 2022), and after a lengthy process of coding and developing themes, six themes were constructed to answer the research question.

Based on these themes, psychological professionals relate to mental imagery in their clinical practice as one of the many clinical procedures (Theme 1), approach it according to the content of the image (Theme 2) or see it as a practice influencing the therapeutic relationship (Theme 3). Mental imagery was also considered based on how its use affected the psychological professionals' view of themselves (Theme 4), and some participants emphasised their link to creativity and art (Theme 5) and some structural/organisational factors (Theme 6). All these different ways of relating to mental imagery could offer opportunities for psychological professionals to advance their clinical work but could also create difficulties. Unlike previous research, the study noted a high level of apprehension across the spectrum, from fear of not using certain procedures correctly to negative experiences with trauma images. The thesis ended with specific clinical and research recommendations and acknowledged the study's limitations.