imagery technique
the use of imagined scenes as a therapeutic technique, often in hypnotherapy but also in therapies that use breathing and relaxation techniques to reduce stress or anxiety. For example, an anxious client may be directed to imagine a placid scene recalled from memory, such as sitting, relaxed and calm, on a beach. The technique may be used by an individual in stressful situations, such as a nervous passenger in an aircraft. See also guided imagery; guided affective imagery.