ABSTRACT
Negative automatic thoughts (NATs) come in visual as well as verbal form. Some clients find it easier to work with images than thoughts to make cognitive change of their NATs. When clients imagine negative events, they often stop at the moment when their worst fear realized, as if the film has broken down and they do not see what happens next. For example, a client had graphic images of seeing himself turn into a sweating, gibbering, nervous wreck rooted to the spot when people laughed at him for spilling water over himself when taking a drink during a presentation. Wells suggests it is useful to finish-out images and take them beyond the worst point. The general thrust of fearful imagery change in cognitive behaviour therapy (CBT) is to help clients change the negative direction of their imagery towards positive and more successful coping scenes.
