In a groundbreaking clinical trial conducted by scientists from SWPS University and the Nencki Institute of Experimental Biology, novel imagery-based psychotherapeutic techniques have shown promising results in alleviating the fear of failure rooted in adverse childhood experiences. Published in the respected journal Frontiers in Psychology, this research sheds light on how negative, formative episodes—especially those involving critical or harsh caregiving—can be transformed through targeted mental imagery interventions, providing a robust pathway toward lasting emotional relief and cognitive restructuring.
Adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) such as intense criticism, neglect, or punitive responses from caregivers have long been recognized as significant contributors to psychological distress that can persist into adulthood. These experiences not only influence emotional regulation but also shape cognitive schemas surrounding worthiness and self-efficacy. One particularly detrimental outcome is the chronic fear of failure, where individuals internalize the belief that mistakes irrevocably diminish their value. Understanding and treating the entrenched impacts of these early experiences is a major challenge in contemporary psychotherapy.
The research team centered their inquiry on whether imagery-based therapeutic methods could sustainably modulate the emotional and physiological reactions tied to painful autobiographical memories, specifically those involving childhood criticism. The study took place at the Poznań-based Laboratory of Affective Neuroscience at the Institute of Psychology of SWPS University and the Laboratory of Brain Imaging at the Nencki Institute in Warsaw, utilizing rigorous experimental controls and longitudinal follow-up designs to assess therapy outcomes.
A total of 180 young adults, aged 18 to 35 and characterized by significant fear of failure, participated in this randomized controlled trial. Over a fortnight, each participant underwent four therapy sessions designed to engage with distressing childhood memories related to critical experiences. The study compared three treatment arms to elucidate the efficacy and underlying mechanisms of different imagery approaches.
The first group engaged in Imagery Exposure (IE), an active control condition in which participants vividly recalled anxiety-provoking childhood situations. This technique aimed to facilitate habituation but did not involve altering the memory narrative. The second group underwent Imagery Rescripting (ImRs), a method that reimagines traumatic memories by introducing a compassionate “defender” figure—often conceptualized as a therapist—who intervenes in the critical situation to protect and support the younger self. The third cohort received the same Imagery Rescripting technique under a delayed stimulus response protocol (ImRs-DSR), designed to disrupt the original memory trace and amplify therapeutic impact.
Throughout and following the therapeutic interventions, participants completed comprehensive self-report measures assessing fear of failure, mood states such as sadness and guilt, and anxiety levels. In addition, physiological metrics including heart rate variability and skin conductance responses were recorded during memory recall tasks to objectively quantify stress reactivity. This multimodal data collection allowed for an integrative analysis of both subjective experience and bodily correlates of emotional processing.
Remarkably, all three imagery-based techniques induced significant reductions in fear of failure and negative affect, with effects persisting unattenuated at three- and six-month follow-ups. Participants exhibited diminished physiological arousal when exposed to previously distressing memory cues, signaling a durable desensitization and emotional downregulation. These findings robustly affirm the power of mental imagery in reconfiguring the affective impact of traumatic memories.
Julia Bączek, co-author and psychologist at SWPS University, emphasized that the study demonstrates a capacity to modify how adverse childhood memories are experienced, rendering them less emotionally charged and intrusive. This reframing suggests that psychological suffering linked to past criticism is not an immutable condition but a modifiable mental construct, contingent upon therapeutic method and engagement.
An intriguing mechanism underlying the success of Imagery Rescripting was the elicitation of a prediction error—a cognitive surprise arising when therapeutic interventions violate previously held expectations about self and caregivers. This mismatch between what the brain anticipates and what is actually imagined appears critical for updating entrenched negative schemas and fostering neural plasticity. Stanisław Karkosz, cognitive scientist and study co-author, highlights that the element of genuine surprise facilitates lasting change by enabling the brain to overwrite outdated, maladaptive memory patterns.
Importantly, the research reinforces that painful childhood narratives need not dictate adult emotional life. By harnessing imagery modalities that “rewrite” the endings of these mental stories, individuals can cultivate resilience and view failure and self-criticism through a more compassionate and realistic lens. This breakthrough aligns with emerging paradigms considering memory as a dynamic and malleable entity, amenable to therapeutic reengineering.
This study’s multi-arm randomized controlled trial design, combined with subjective and physiological indices, offers compelling empirical evidence for the clinical utility of imagery rescripting techniques. It opens avenues for integration into broader psychotherapeutic practices, aiming to reduce deep-seated fears and emotional burdens that undermine personal and professional fulfillment.
Ultimately, this work challenges entrenched beliefs that early adverse experiences permanently sculpt emotional vulnerabilities. Instead, it positions targeted imagery interventions as powerful tools to initiate and sustain meaningful therapeutic change. Through new neural learning pathways facilitated by prediction errors, individuals can disrupt maladaptive memory traces and reclaim psychological freedom from their past.
The article titled “Imagine yourself as a little girl…—efficacy and psychophysiology of imagery techniques targeting adverse autobiographical childhood experiences—multi-arm randomized controlled trial” is available on the Frontiers in Psychology website. It represents a key milestone in affective neuroscience and clinical psychology, showcasing how innovative cognitive approaches translate into real-world healing.
By demonstrating the potent capacity of imagery-based interventions to diminish fear of failure and attenuate negative emotional responses anchored in critical childhood memories, this research illuminates a promising therapeutic horizon. Clinicians, researchers, and mental health advocates alike may find in these findings both motivation and methodology to better address the enduring scars left by adverse early experiences.
Subject of Research: People
Article Title: Imagine yourself as a little girl…—efficacy and psychophysiology of imagery techniques targeting adverse autobiographical childhood experiences—multi-arm randomized controlled trial
News Publication Date: 16-Jan-2026
Web References: https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2025.1710963
Keywords: adverse childhood experiences, fear of failure, imagery rescripting, psychotherapy, prediction error, emotional regulation, autobiographical memory, cognitive neuroscience
Tags: adverse childhood experiences and emotional regulationclinical trials on childhood criticism therapycognitive restructuring of negative self-beliefsexperimental psychology research on traumaimagery-based psychotherapy for fear of failureimpact of harsh caregiving on adult psychologymental imagery interventions in psychotherapyneuroscience of autobiographical memory treatmentnovel psychotherapeutic techniques for emotional reliefovercoming childhood trauma through mental imageryreducing fear of failure with imagery therapySWPS University and Nencki Institute study
