Through creative visualization, patients can envision their ideal future and begin to transform that image into an achievable reality. Imagining a positive outcome can shape the future and aid in addiction recovery, anxiety and depression. For those seeking a new approach to therapeutic techniques, this practice provides a different perspective to overcome mental barriers.

What Is Creative Visualization? | Benefits of Creative Visualization | Creative Visualization Techniques | Creative Visualization for Addiction Recovery
What Is Creative Visualization?
Using creative visualization, patients envision their lives as they want to create them. This technique involves forming vivid mental images to create an idea of what the future could be. Often, people use creative visualization and meditation together.
People have envisioned life and future events since humankind’s beginning. However, the technique began to develop under Cicero, a Roman statesman who used the term “mind’s eye” to refer to the brain’s ability to create images. In the 1970s, Shakti Gawain wrote about how to use the technique for personal development.
The practice comprises three central beliefs:
- Everything is energy, even thoughts.
- Energy is magnetic, and particular thoughts and feelings attract similar energies.
- Thinking transforms energy, so what you believe in your mind can shape reality.