Brightening the day with flashes of positive mental imagery: a case study of an individual with depression
Brightening the day with flashes of positive mental imagery: a case study of an individual with depression
This article presents a case example of an individual with current major depression engaging in a positive mental imagery intervention, specifically a computerized cognitive training paradigm involving repeated practice in generating positive imagery in response to ambiguous scenarios. The patient's reported experience of the intervention suggests the potential of the positive imagery intervention to “brighten” everyday life via promoting involuntary “flashes” of positive mental imagery in situations related to the scenarios, with associated beneficial effects on positive affect, future expectations, and behavior. Enhancing this aspect of the training–i.e., involuntary positive imagery in contexts where it is adaptive–may hold particular promise for reducing anhedonic symptoms of depression. Developing simple computerized interventions to increase the experience of positive mental imagery in everyday life could therefore provide a useful addition to the drive to improve treatment outcomes.
579-589
Blackwell, S.E.
b582f3cf-2834-45a5-939d-19742ee2097a
Holmes, E.A.
a6379ab3-b182-45f8-87c9-3e07e90fe469
2017
Blackwell, S.E.
b582f3cf-2834-45a5-939d-19742ee2097a
Holmes, E.A.
a6379ab3-b182-45f8-87c9-3e07e90fe469
Blackwell, S.E. and Holmes, E.A.
(2017)
Brightening the day with flashes of positive mental imagery: a case study of an individual with depression.
Journal of Clinical Psychology, 7 (5), .
(doi:10.1002/jclp.22455).
Abstract
This article presents a case example of an individual with current major depression engaging in a positive mental imagery intervention, specifically a computerized cognitive training paradigm involving repeated practice in generating positive imagery in response to ambiguous scenarios. The patient's reported experience of the intervention suggests the potential of the positive imagery intervention to “brighten” everyday life via promoting involuntary “flashes” of positive mental imagery in situations related to the scenarios, with associated beneficial effects on positive affect, future expectations, and behavior. Enhancing this aspect of the training–i.e., involuntary positive imagery in contexts where it is adaptive–may hold particular promise for reducing anhedonic symptoms of depression. Developing simple computerized interventions to increase the experience of positive mental imagery in everyday life could therefore provide a useful addition to the drive to improve treatment outcomes.
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J Clin Psychol - 2017 - Blackwell - Brightening the Day With Flashes of Positive Mental Imagery A Case Study of an
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e-pub ahead of print date: 2 February 2017
Published date: 2017
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Local EPrints ID: 508160
URI: http://eprints.soton.ac.uk/id/eprint/508160
ISSN: 0021-9762
PURE UUID: 6a7d7fe9-a6ab-4880-aca3-473250f5978e
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Date deposited: 14 Jan 2026 17:31
Last modified: 15 Jan 2026 03:16
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Author:
S.E. Blackwell
Author:
E.A. Holmes
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