TY  - JOUR
A1  - Schwarz, Susan
A1  - Grasmann, Dörte
A1  - Schreiber, Franziska
A1  - Stangier, Ulrich
T1  - Mental imagery and its relevance for psychopathology and psychological treatment in children and adolescents: a systematic review
T2  - International Journal of Cognitive Therapy
N2  - This review provides an overview of the current state of research concerning the role of mental imagery (MI) in mental disorders and evaluates treatment methods for changing MI in childhood. A systematic literature search using PubMed/Medline, Web of Science, and PsycINFO from 1872 to September 2020 was conducted. Fourteen studies were identified investigating MI, and fourteen studies were included referring to interventions for changing MI. Data from the included studies was entered into a data extraction sheet. The methodological quality was then evaluated. MI in childhood is vivid, frequent, and has a significant influence on cognitions and behavior in posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), social anxiety disorder (SAD), and depression. The imagery’s perspective might mediate the effect of MI on the intensity of anxiety. Imagery rescripting, emotive imagery, imagery rehearsal therapy, and rational-emotive therapy with imagery were found to have significant effects on symptoms of anxiety disorders and nightmares. In childhood, MI seems to contribute to the maintenance of SAD, PTSD, and depression. If adapted to the developmental stages of children, interventions targeting MI are effective in the treatment of mental disorders.
KW  - Mental imagery
KW  - Psychological disorders
KW  - Children
KW  - Adolescents
KW  - Treatment
Y1  - 2020
UR  - http://publikationen.ub.uni-frankfurt.de/frontdoor/index/index/docId/75085
UR  - https://nbn-resolving.org/urn:nbn:de:hebis:30:3-750854
SN  - 1937-1217
N1  - Open Access funding enabled and organized by Projekt DEAL.
VL  - 13
IS  - 4
SP  - 303
EP  - 327
PB  - Springer
CY  - Berlin ; Heidelberg
ER  -