How to use rescripting with clients

ABOUT THE EPISODE

How can rescripting help clients revisit painful experiences?

Melissa draws on schema therapy, trauma-focused CBT and imagery rescripting to explain the method and where it can fit in therapy.

She and Natalie discuss managing strong emotion, working without a clear memory and bringing creativity and safety into the process.

• The principles of imagery rescripting
• Working with unclear memories
• Helping clients feel safe
• Planning and structuring sessions

What is imagery rescripting trying to change?

Dr Melissa Snaith introduces imagery rescripting through schema therapy and trauma-focused CBT. The work uses imagination to revisit painful experience and create a different response to what was needed, feared or left unresolved in the original situation.

The episode also considers work where memories are unclear. A perfectly detailed recollection is not presented as the only starting point; the therapist still needs a careful understanding of the experience, the meaning attached to it and what the client can safely approach.

How can rescripting be introduced safely?

Strong emotion can emerge when painful material is revisited, so planning and structure matter. Melissa and Natalie discuss helping clients feel safe, explaining the process and pacing the work rather than moving into imagery simply because the technique is available.

Creativity and even humour may sometimes have a place, but they need to arise within collaborative work. The client's response remains central, with enough room to pause, adjust and understand what is happening during and after the exercise.

Related listening: For another conversation about experiential methods in trauma work, listen to Why Tapping Works: Energy Psychology, including an EFT demonstration, the evidence base and integrating techniques with EMDR and IFS.