Nightmare Exposure And Rescripting
Imagery rescripting is an effective treatment for intrusive and unwanted memories. Nightmare Exposure And Rescripting employs similar techniques and can be employed as a stand-alone treatment for recurrent nightmares.
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Offers theory, guidance, and prompts for mental health professionals. Downloads are in Fillable PDF format where appropriate.
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Introduction & Theoretical Background
Exposure to- and rescripting of- nightmares is a helpful technique for taking control of bad dreams. There is evidence that imagery rescripting for nightmares can be used as a stand-alone intervention. Nightmare Exposure And Rescripting contains instructions and worksheets for conducting this technique.
Therapist Guidance
As with traditional imagery rescripting the client is guided through a helpful sequence of questions:
- Eliciting the nightmare/image
- Eliciting the current emotion
- Considering the desired emotion
- Then developing a new image to accompany the desired emotion
References And Further Reading
- Davis, J. L., & Wright, D. C. (2006). Exposure, relaxation, and rescripting treatment for trauma-related nightmares. Journal of trauma & dissociation, 7(1), 5-18.
- Krakow, B., Kellner, R., Pathak, D., & Lambert, L. (1995). Imagery rehearsal treatment for chronic nightmares. Behaviour research and therapy, 33(7), 837-843.
- Long, M. E., Davis, J. L., Springer, J. R., Elhai, J. D., Rhudy, J. L., Teng, E. J., & Frueh, B. C. (2011). The role of cognitions in imagery rescripting for posttraumatic nightmares. Journal of clinical psychology, 67(10), 1008-1016.
- Long, M. E., Hammons, M. E., Davis, J. L., Frueh, B. C., Khan, M. M., Elhai, J. D., & Teng, E. J. (2011). Imagery rescripting and exposure group treatment of posttraumatic nightmares in Veterans with PTSD. Journal of anxiety disorders, 25(4), 531-535.
- Swanson, L. M., Favorite, T. K., Horin, E., & Arnedt, J. T. (2009). A combined group treatment for nightmares and insomnia in combat