Imagery Rescripting (ImRs) is a therapeutic technique addressing specific memories of earlier experiences associated with present problems. By imagining that the course of events is changed in a more desired direction, powerful therapeutic effects have been found. The interest in and applications of ImRs are quickly increasing. This review discusses clinical studies assessing effects of ImRs, as well as possible processes underlying ImRs, and laboratory studies examining these underlying processes. It is concluded that although research into ImRs is still in its infancy, and many studies have their methodological limitations, results are promising. Therefore a research agenda is sketched, suggesting the next steps in both clinical and fundamental research.

We present a systematic empirical update and critical evaluation of the current status of research aimed at identifying a variety of psychological mediators in various forms of psychotherapy for depression. We summarize study characteristics and results of 35 relevant studies, and discuss the extent to which these studies meet several important requirements for mechanism research. Our review indicates that in spite of increased attention for the topic, advances in theoretical consensus about necessities for mechanism research, and sophistication of study designs, research in this field is still heterogeneous and unsatisfactory in methodological respect. Probably the biggest challenge in the field is demonstrating the causal relation between change in the mediator and change in depressive symptoms. The field would benefit from a further refinement of research methods to identify processes of therapeutic change. Recommendations for future research are discussed. However, even in the most optimal research designs, explaining psychotherapeutic change remains a challenge. Psychotherapy is a multi-dimensional phenomenon that might work through interplay of multiple mechanisms at several levels. As a result, it might be too complex to be explained in relatively simple causal models of psychological change.

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