Certain imagery-based psychotherapy techniques can help reduce fear of failure related to painful childhood experiences, according to research by scientists at SWPS University and the Nencki Institute for Experimental Biology. The findings were published in the journal. Frontiers in psychology.
Difficult experiences early in life, including criticism, abandonment, or harsh reactions from caregivers, can influence emotional well-being and quality of life years later. How adults respond when a child makes a mistake may be especially important in shaping future patterns of thought and emotion. In some cases, those experiences can contribute to a fear of failure based on the belief that mistakes make a person less valuable in the eyes of others.
Researchers from the Laboratory of Affective Neuroscience at the Institute of Psychology at SWPS University, based in Poznań, and the Laboratory of Brain Imaging at the Nencki Institute of Experimental Biology in Warsaw set out to determine whether image-based psychotherapy could reduce the ongoing effects of these painful memories on everyday life.
Testing whether memory work can create lasting change
The randomized, controlled clinical trial included 180 young adults (ages 18 to 35) experiencing fear of failure. Over a two-week period, participants participated in four therapy sessions focused on difficult childhood memories that involved criticism.
One group used the image exposure (IE) technique. Participants were asked to recall situations that had caused fear or anxiety (the active control group).
A second group received Imagery Rescripting (ImR), a technique designed to change the way a memory develops in the imagination. Participants recalled a distressing experience and then imagined an “advocate” (e.g., a therapist) entering the scene, confronting the criticizer, and offering support to the child.
The third group used the same therapeutic approach, but with a 10-minute delay procedure (ImRs-DSR). The researchers designed this delay to interfere with the memory trace associated with the critical experience, potentially strengthening the effects of the intervention.
Participants completed questionnaires and interviews, while researchers also tracked physiological measures. Follow-up assessments were conducted three and six months later.
Fear, guilt and stress decreased
All image-based approaches produced a significant and long-lasting reduction in fear of failure. Participants also reported lower levels of negative emotions, including sadness and guilt.
Their bodies also seemed to respond differently. Physiological reactions to memories of criticism decreased, indicating that recalling distressing experiences no longer triggered the same level of intense stress. These improvements remained evident during the three- and six-month follow-ups, suggesting that psychological effects remained stable over time.
“The study shows that it is possible to reduce the intensity of negative emotions and arousal associated with memories of childhood criticism. Appropriately selected techniques can influence how these memories are experienced, making them less burdensome,” says study co-author Julia Bączek, psychologist at the Laboratory of Affective Neuroscience at the Institute of Psychology at SWPS University.
Why surprise can be important
The researchers found that image rewriting worked especially well when it produced a “wow” moment. They linked this effect to prediction error, which occurs when there is a mismatch between what someone expects and what actually happens.
That unexpected difference can help loosen established emotional patterns and make it easier for the mind to replace old, painful responses with new ones.
“We have shown that a crucial part of image-based therapy is creating a discrepancy between what the patient expects and what actually happens in the new memory. It is this surprise that paves the way for lasting therapeutic change,” says study co-author Stanisław Karkosz, a cognitive scientist at the Laboratory of Affective Neuroscience at the Institute of Psychology at SWPS University.
Painful memories do not have to remain emotionally fixed
The findings suggest that imagery-based techniques can change the way people respond to current challenges by allowing them to “write” new, safe endings to painful experiences from the past.
The results also indicate that difficult memories (including those related to failure) do not necessarily have to be experienced in the same emotional way forever. Julia Bączek highlights that past experiences can be processed differently over time, rather than remaining fixed and immutable.