Visualization offers a powerful tool in the fight against depression. It is by no means a substitute for conventional psychotherapeutic procedures, but by reframing the state of mind it helps clients take a few more steps on the road to recovery.

We begin by asking the client to drop the description “I am a depressed person.” Following the principles of narrative therapy, we focus on what is strong rather than what is wrong. The client must stop seeing himself as the problem. Instead, we ask clients to visualize depression as an agent seeking to force them into the abyss, the tank of warm water, or whatever image they commonly use to describe the depressive state.

Invited to reframe the problem in this way, my clients have described depression as, among other things, a gray cloud, a tall, thin gray man, and the Grim Reaper without the scythe. I instruct them to make their description more detailed: what are the shape, size, color, texture and temperature of the depression?

Next, I ask clients to come up with three possible weapons that would remove the agent from depression. I’m often reminded of a Monty Python sketch of a grand piano falling from the sky. Customers have come up with a varied arsenal: a sunbeam, a longsword, a water cannon, a flamethrower, a ray gun or a ton of water. The weapon should not be limited to discouraging depression or making it temporarily disappear. The weapon needs to dematerialize, eradicate, demolish and annihilate depression. This type of violent language helps clients see depression as an antagonist rather than an irresistible force and encourages clients to see themselves as worthy adversaries rather than helpless victims.

I ask clients to think of times when they have managed to avoid the abyss as victories over depression. In this way, they can see the fight against depression as one in which they occasionally achieve a victory and in which they may be turning the tide of battle.

Having devised three possible weapons of destruction, any one of which would be sufficient to destroy the depression, the client selects one and, on my signal, directs it at the opponent. I then watch in awe as the client, usually with their eyes closed, concentrates on this colossal clash until the enemy is vanquished. At the end of the process, clients usually smile, often for the first time in our therapy.

I remind clients that a single visualization will not be enough to cure depression, but by repeating the exercise daily on their own, varying their choice of weapon as they like, they can learn to regard depression as a force to be overcome and not as a threat. agent. of unavoidable doom.