When someone suffers an acquired brain injury such as a stroke or other type of brain trauma they will likely experience memory loss and benefit from cognitive rehabilitation. In cognitive rehabilitations, one form of therapy they may benefit from Mental Imagery which is learning to think in pictures. Mental Imagery has been shown to help healthy adults as well as individuals with cognitive problems due to trauma improve memory. It is considered to be one of the most important memory training techniques, which leads to improvements in memory performance.
Thinking in images helps the mind and body communicate with each other. Pictures translate into codes stored in symbolic systems in memory while words activate a different part of the brain. Mental imagery has been found to help a person remember information they need to know for a later date, also known as prospective memory. Examples would be remembering appointments or things on a to-do list or stories someone may need to recall to explain to others.
There are several different strategies that help a person learn how to think in pictures. One technique, which has been shown to improve memory, is self-referential image, which works by having a person envision themselves doing a task they are trying to remember. For example, if someone were trying to remember how to make a particular meal they would envision themselves going through the steps as they read the recipe. Another technique is to try to picture a visual image of the words they are trying to remember, as pictures are better remembered than information presented in words. An illustration of this is to visualize the items you need on your grocery list.
It takes training to become good at imagery to learn what words to form images of and what words not to waste time trying to image. Cognitive Rehabilitation therapy helps patients with acquired brain injury begin to turn words into pictures to activate the visual areas of the brain to help people remember to remember.