We know that nightmares are a common and distressing issue for many children and teens. While they may not always signal a serious problem, they can be linked to difficult experiences and often cause children to feel scared, upset, or worried, even after they wake up.
To help your patients and their families, I created a handout on Imagery Rehearsal Therapy (IRT), a technique that empowers young people to take control of their dreams. This resource is designed to be shared directly with adolescents and their caregivers.
What’s Included in the Handout?
- Understanding Nightmares: The first page helps differentiate between nightmares and sleep terrors and offers tips for parents on how to respond when a child wakes up from a bad dream. It also provides simple strategies for prevention.
- Imagery Rehearsal Therapy (IRT): This section explains IRT, a five-step process that teaches patients how to change frightening dreams into less scary ones. It includes a guide for rescripting the nightmare, which involves writing or drawing the dream and then changing the story to make the “threat smaller and yourself stronger.”
- Practical Worksheets: The handout contains worksheets to guide patients through the IRT process, allowing them to write down their nightmares and rehearse the new, more positive versions.
- Mindfulness Grounding Techniques: A collection of mindfulness exercises is included to help patients relax and focus on the present moment, which can be useful before bedtime or after a nightmare.