THERAPEUTIC IMAGERY WITH SUBSTANCE MISUSERS:A Practitioner’s Guide

This book offers a clear and comprehensive guide for practitioners who wish to draw on therapeutic imagery in their work with substance misusers. The approach and strategies described here are based on the author’s many years of clinical practice in a wide range of drugs agencies. This book discusses the safe and effective use of imagery at different stages of the recovery journey. It explains how to draw on the powerful diagnostic capacity of images in therapeutic work with complex conditions, and it also identifies classic imagery patterns associated with specific drugs. It describes simple visualization procedures that can be used for ameliorating drug withdrawal symptoms and includes guided imagery scripts designed to promote recovery. It also discusses in detail how imagery can be used effectively in ongoing psychotherapy with substance misusers. The creative process of therapeutic imagery is illustrated throughout by case vignettes.