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Updated: Jun 26, 2025
09:55
Use of a Psychophysiological Script-driven Imagery Experiment to Study Trauma-related Dissociation in Borderline Personality Disorder
Published on: March 8, 2018
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You're not alone: imagery rescripting for adolescents who self-harm.
Elisa Schmied1,2, Lisa Hack1,2, Bernhard Connemann2
1Christophsbad Goeppingen, Department of Applied Psychotherapy and Psychiatry, Göppingen, Germany.
Frontiers in Psychology
|May 17, 2024
Summary
Imagery rescripting (IR) effectively reduced non-suicidal self-injury (NSSI) and improved emotion regulation in adolescents. This two-session intervention, supported by a digital health intervention (DHI), proved feasible and beneficial for youth self-harm.
Area of Science:
- Psychiatry
- Clinical Psychology
- Digital Health
Background:
- Non-suicidal self-injury (NSSI) affects 20% of youth, often preceded by intrusive imagery.
- Imagery rescripting (IR) is effective for intrusive images and emotion dysregulation in other disorders.
- No prior research explored IR for adolescents with NSSI.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the efficacy and feasibility of a brief, two-session IR intervention for adolescents with NSSI.
- To assess the impact of IR on NSSI, emotion regulation, and associated clinical symptoms.
- To evaluate the utility of an app-based digital health intervention (DHI) supporting the IR treatment.
Main Methods:
- A single case series with an A-B design was employed.
- Seven adolescents received two IR sessions, with a DHI used between sessions.
- Evaluated outcomes included NSSI, emotion regulation, emotional distress, self-efficacy, and treatment satisfaction.
Main Results:
- Adaptive emotion regulation strategies increased up to 3 months post-intervention.
- Adolescents showed improvements in self-efficacy, depression, anxiety, and NSSI symptoms.
- The DHI was perceived as a helpful and supportive tool by participants.
Conclusions:
- The IR intervention demonstrated initial feasibility and benefits for adolescents experiencing NSSI.
- The app-based DHI proved to be a valuable tool in treating self-harming youth.
- Further research is warranted to confirm these promising findings in larger samples.
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