The Science of Imagination — and How It Heals Trauma
Recently, trauma expert Dr. Frank Anderson shared a reflection on the power of imagination in trauma healing (original post here) that deeply resonated with me. I found myself nodding along. He wrote about how vividly imagined experiences can activate many of the same neural pathways as real ones — how the brain doesn’t fully distinguish between what’s “real” and what’s vividly imagined.
That’s exactly what I see every week in Accelerated Resolution Therapy (ART).
ART is built on the same neuroscience Dr. Anderson describes: the idea that our imagination can help us rewire emotional memories. By engaging both hemispheres of the brain through guided eye movements and visualization, ART allows clients to literally reimagine a traumatic or distressing event — not by pretending it didn’t happen, but by giving the brain a new, safer way to encode it.
Imagination as a Pathway to Safety
When we guide a client to imagine something new — a comforting presence, a protective figure, or even themselves intervening differently — the brain and body respond as though that experience is real.
The amygdala calms.
The body relaxes.
The mind begins to store the memory without the same charge of fear, shame, or helplessness.
This is what makes ART such a powerful, efficient process. Clients don’t need to relive their trauma or talk about every painful detail; instead, they use their imagination to create a new ending — one that restores agency, safety, and connection.
It’s not “just imagination.” It’s neuroplasticity in action.
Completing the Cycle
As Dr. Anderson put it, trauma locks the brain into rigid patterns — hypervigilance, shutdown, shame. Through imagination, we reintroduce flexibility. In ART, this might look like helping a client visualize their younger self being rescued or cared for, or completing a defensive movement their body never got to finish.
In that imagined action, the nervous system learns something radically new:
“I can move. I can choose. I’m safe now.”
And once the body learns safety, it doesn’t unlearn it. That’s how healing becomes sustainable.
Rewriting What’s Possible
When clients finish an ART session, they often say things like:
“I can still remember what happened — but it doesn’t hurt anymore.”
That’s the power of imagination harnessed through neuroscience: the memory remains, but the suffering doesn’t.
So when you close your eyes and picture a new ending, don’t dismiss it as wishful thinking. That image might be the start of your brain — and your body — learning that it’s finally safe.
If you’re curious about how ART can help you reimagine your own healing, learn more here: https://acceleratedresolutiontherapy.com/