Imagery Rescripting: Exploratory Evaluation of a Short Intervention to Reduce Test Anxiety in University Students

Abstract

Background: Test anxiety is common in university students. Demanding schedules may contribute to the relatively low utilization of professional counseling, when compared to other anxiety disorders. A possible solution could be a psychotherapeutic short-term intervention. The present exploratory study implemented a short-term psychotherapeutic treatment, consisting of two imagery rescripting (IR) sessions. The efficacy of IR techniques has already been demonstrated in the treatment of various anxiety disorders including test anxiety. Methods: Nine students suffering from test anxiety (m = 3, f = 6) underwent two weekly applied sessions of IR. Outcome variables were examined one week prior to (t1), immediately after (t2) and three months after (t3) the intervention, using self-evaluation questionnaires on test anxiety (PAF), depressive symptoms (BDI II), life satisfaction (FLZ), general self-efficacy and study-specific self-efficacy (WIRKALL; WIRK_STUD), intrusiveness of mental images (IFES), and change and acceptance (VEV; ZUF; BFTB). Results: There were no dropouts. According to results from ZUF and BFTB, the participants where highly satisfied with the intervention. PAF scores decreased significantly over time (t1 to t3), whereas WIRKALL scores (t1 to t3) and WIRK_STUD scores (t1 to t3 and t2 to t3) increased significantly. IFES scores decreased immediately after the intervention (t1 compared to t2) and further after the follow-up (t1 to t3). No changes in BDI-II scores were observed. Discussion: The findings indicate a high acceptance and efficacy of the two-session IRintervention. Limits are the lack of a control group, and the small sample size. Further evaluation in future controlled studies is needed.

Short Imagery Rescripting Intervention to Treat Emotionally Dysregulated Behavior in Borderline Personality Disorder: An Exploratory Study

“…The case for using IR to manage intrusive mental imagery has been strengthened by a recent meta-analysis describing efficacy and large effect sizes in the treatment of aversive memories occurring in the context of numerous mental disorders (23). The techniques have been effectively utilized in the treatment of major depression (24,25), anxiety disorders such as social phobia (26,27), specific phobia (28,29) or test anxiety (30), eating disorders (31), body dysmorphic disorder (32), and nightmares (33).…”

Mental Imagery in the Science and Practice of Cognitive Behaviour Therapy: Past, Present, and Future Perspectives

“…Although originally applied to distressing or core dysfunctional memories, in fact, the technique can be applied to any kind of imagery, and the past decade has seen an ever-increasing range of its applications as clinicians and researchers have realised the therapeutic possibilities. This has included using imagery rescripting of distressing memories as a stand-alone treatment for depression (Brewin et al 2009), including within the context of a self-help approach (Moritz et al 2018), to voicehearing (Paulik et al 2019) and nightmares (Sheaves et al 2019) in the context of psychosis, to distressing memories in OCD (Basile et al 2018;Veale et al 2015), test anxiety (Maier et al 2020), binge eating disorder (Dugué et al 2019), social anxiety (Norton and Abbott 2016;Wild et al 2007), and much more (see also Morina et al 2017 for a meta-analysis). This increase in clinical applications of imagery rescripting has been accompanied by interest in the underlying mechanisms, investigated in experimental studies (e.g.…”

Using Imagery Rescripting as an Early Intervention for Depression in Young People

“…They showed large within group effect sizes ( d = 2.10; d = 1.09; d = 3.00), and large effects compared to passive [ d = 0.83; ( 17 )] and active control groups [ d = 1.02; ( 16 )]. IR has also been applied to other types of memories, for example a case series ( 18 ) ( n = 9) indicated that two-sessions of IR could reduce test anxiety in university students. Excluding our work, only 2 single case studies ( 19 , 20 ) have used IR in YP under age 18; these showed promising results in reducing anxiety.…”

“…More generally, adolescence is a period characterized by increased flexibility and learning potential (8), and targeting mental imagery in interventions could have long-lasting benefits (9). IMAGINE (Integrating Memories and Generating New Experiences) is a novel intervention aiming to reduce depression in YP aged [16][17][18]. It combines IR with techniques to enhance positive future images and autobiographical memory specificity (10,11).…”