5 - (SYM 87) Changes in Self-schema Following Online Self-guided Imagery Rescripting for Trait Anxiety

Imagery rescripting (IR) is a therapeutic technique that has been found effective across psychopathologies. IR modifies and updates negative schema-based representations by recalling autobiographical memories of past events. During IR, the patient is requested first to relive a negative past event and then to reimagine the event with an agent (self or other) intervening. This study aimed to examine a transdiagnostic, self-guided internet-based intervention (IBI) of IR and to compare two conditions of agent type. We examine changes in the negative core belief regarding the past event, predicting that strength of the belief, distress associated with it, and preoccupation with it will decrease after IR. In addition, we predict that strength of the positive core belief that was formed following IR will increase at follow-up. We examine the relation between decreases in negativity of core belief with decreased in trait anxiety symptoms. Exploratory analyses will examine whether these changes are different for self vs other conditions. 300 high trait-anxious individuals were randomly assigned to one of the two experimental conditions of agent type with 20% of participants first assigned to a waiting list control group. Ethnicity data was collected to examine diversity of population. Our sample included White (n=271), Asian (n=10), Black (n=9), Mixed (n=6), and other (n=4) ethnicities. 141 participants rescripted their memory using their current selves, whereas 159 participants used a supportive other who intervened in their painful memory. Clinical symptoms, core belief ratings, and responses to Brief Core Schema Scales (BCCS) were collected at three time-points: pre-intervention, post-intervention, and one-week follow-up. The interaction for trait anxiety between time and condition was significant. Improvement in trait anxiety was found both for self and other conditions, but not for waitlist. There was greater improvement in the self condition than the other condition. Belief, distress, and preoccupation of the negative core belief decreased significantly at post and follow-up in both conditions. Negative and positive self schemas on the BCCS improved, however only the positive schemas about others improved. Changes in core beliefs were significantly associated with changes in clinical symptoms. These results suggest that self-guided online imagery rescripting improves trait anxiety symptoms and facilitates adaptive self-schema representations.