Does mental imagery affect paranoia, anxiety and core beliefs? A pilot experimental study in an analogue sample

Alison Bennetts, Lusia Stopa and Katherine Newman-Taylor

Psychosis, 2020, vol. 12, issue 2, 182-187

Abstract: Background: Mental imagery is implicated in the maintenance and treatment of persecutory delusions, yet there is little experimental evidence for the effects of imagery on paranoia, anxiety and core beliefs – key therapeutic targets in CBT for psychosis.Aims: This pilot study examined the impact of a repeated imagery task in people with high levels of non-clinical paranoia, to determine whether a fully powered study is warranted.Method: Twenty-four people participated in a 3 × 3 mixed model design comparing paranoia, anxiety and core beliefs between imagery conditions (positive/negative/neutral) and across time-points (pre/post/follow-up).Results: The imagery task yielded large effects on paranoia, anxiety and core self-beliefs.Conclusions: Rehearsing interpersonal imagery in which the person experiences themselves as safe, secure, and able to trust others, may have large, sustained effects. A fully powered clinical study is warranted.

Date: 2020
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DOI: 10.1080/17522439.2019.1697731

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