Rewriting worry images did not outperform imagined exposure
Students with high worry improved after either guided imagery exercise, but the predicted advantage of rescripting was not demonstrated.
Based on the published abstract. The full paper may contain additional methods, results and limitations.
The 30-second takeaway
In this abstract-based trial summary, both groups reported less worry, anxiety, and image-related distress after their assigned exercise. Imagery rescripting did not show the greater improvements the researchers expected over imaginal exposure. These results leave its added benefit uncertain; they do not establish that the methods are equivalent or effective for a diagnosed anxiety disorder.
Participants were undergraduates selected for high worry, and follow-up was brief. Both groups received an active intervention, limiting what their improvement alone can show about benefit beyond no intervention.
What researchers found
Worry, anxiety, threat appraisals, and worry-image frequency and distress
Imagery rescripting versus imaginal exposure at 1 week; the predicted greater reductions with rescripting were not supported.
What participants practiced
Rescripting involved changing a feared mental image so it ended positively. Participants received therapist guidance by video call and were asked to replay a recording on several days before reporting their outcomes.
Improvement and superiority differ
Both conditions showed decreases in worry, anxiety, perceived threat, and intrusive-image distress from baseline. The central comparison was whether rescripting produced larger improvements, and the analysis did not support that predicted advantage.
The original publication
Brief imagery rescripting is equivalent to imaginal exposure in improving response to worry images among high worry individuals.
Stavropoulos L, Sabel I, Cooper DDJ et al.
Behav Res Ther · 2025
- PubMed ID
- 41242322
- Record checked
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