Nightmare Treatment

Imagery Rehearsal Therapy (IRT) is a leading approach for treating nightmares that also addresses PTSD, anxiety, and other mental health symptoms. In the article, Nightmare Relief: Implementing Imagery Rehearsal Therapy in Counseling, my colleague and I introduce an IRT approach suitable for individual counseling that includes asking clients about their dream beliefs and dream practices. By doing that, you learn more about clients' beliefs, can better determine the appropriateness of IRT for your clients, and can adapt your use of IRT based on their dream beliefs. Then, the article guides therapists through the steps for IRT. The infographic below provides a quick description of the process.

Wagener, A. E., & Young, J. S. (2025). Nightmare relief: Implementing imagery rehearsal therapy in counseling. Journal of Mental Health Counseling, 47(2). 95-111. https://doi.org/10.17744/mehc.47.2.01

Imagery Rehearsal Therapy (IRT)