Visualisation means deliberately rehearsing a skill, a situation or a goal in your mind, using all your senses. It works best when you picture the process and the obstacles, not just the result. Start with our complete guide, then use the videos, apps and courses below.
1 guide · 1 article · 13 videos · 9 podcasts · 4 experts · 6 courses · 4 directories · 6 books · 3 apps · 4 free tools
Visualisation is the deliberate use of mental imagery to rehearse a skill, prepare for a challenge or picture a goal. It covers sport-style mental rehearsal, guided imagery for relaxation and goal visualisation. Research shows mental practice improves performance, especially when you imagine the steps and obstacles rather than only the finished result.
This hub gathers the best places to learn and practise visualisation in one spot. Our complete guide explains the techniques and the science. Below it you will find free videos from researchers, sport psychologists and well-known teachers, podcasts, courses from free university options to professional certification, the classic books, apps, free self-tests and directories of qualified professionals.
If you are new, read the guide, then pick one short video and try a single five-minute session: one situation, all five senses, in real time. Process visualisation, where you picture yourself doing the steps, usually beats only picturing the prize.
To make visualisation more useful for goals, try WOOP (Wish, Outcome, Obstacle, Plan) from Professor Gabriele Oettingen. It pairs a positive picture with planning for what might get in the way. The sport psychology podcasts explain the PETTLEP model that athletes use to make imagery feel real.
If you find you cannot picture anything at all, you are not doing it wrong. You may have aphantasia, which affects a few people in every hundred. The VVIQ-2 self-test and the aphantasia videos explain your options, including imagery based on feeling, sound and movement.
Every link here was opened and checked by our editors before it was listed, and each card notes who made it, where it lives and whether it is free. We favour researchers, qualified psychologists, universities and established publishers over anonymous channels, and we recheck links regularly. Nothing on this page is paid placement unless it is clearly labelled as sponsored.
Visualisation is low-risk for most people, but it is not a replacement for medical or psychological care. If imagery brings up distressing memories, stop and speak to a qualified professional.
New to visualisation? Our complete guide covers what the research shows, process versus outcome imagery, six step-by-step techniques, a 10-minute guided script and what to do if you cannot picture anything.
Visualisation is the deliberate practice of creating vivid mental images of a skill, situation or outcome before it happens, along with the sounds, physical sensations and emotions that…
Dr. Joe Dispenza has emerged as one of the most influential voices in the intersection of neuroscience, quantum physics, and personal transformation. His groundbreaking books have helped millions…
The Success Principles author explains how he uses daily visualisation to work towards goals.
A clip on when mental rehearsal actually helps you learn a skill, and how to do it.
Covers when to picture the end goal, when to picture the obstacles, and why that difference matters.
A psychiatrist's practical guide to rehearsing difficult situations in your head before they happen.
A health psychologist explains how athletes use imagery and how anyone can borrow the technique.
A university explainer on how athletes build vivid, multi-sensory imagery.
The researcher behind WOOP explains why only fantasising about success can backfire, and what to do instead.
An animated introduction to aphantasia from the neurologist who named it.
Covers the full range of mental imagery, from none at all to extremely vivid.
The author of Creative Visualization explains her approach in a classic TV interview excerpt.
Joe Dispenza on mentally rehearsing your day ahead each morning.
A neuroscientist on vision boards, attention and the brain science behind goal imagery.
A short guided morning visualisation from the author of Manifest.
Episode: the audio version of Huberman's deep dive into mental training.
Episode: research-based visual and attention tools for goals.
Episode: Jack Canfield's own visualisation routine and tips.
Episode 212: the researchers behind the PETTLEP imagery model explain how to imagine effectively.
Episode 141: using imagery to build motivation, from sport to everyday goals.
Episode 130: a sport psychology professor on practical imagery for performance.
Episode: why picturing your goal works best when you also picture the obstacles in the way.
Episode: two UK authors on visualisation, stress and the brain.
Episode: what to do if you can't picture things in your mind's eye.
Jack Canfield has sold over 500 million books, holds a Guinness World Record, and has spent five decades teaching people how to achieve goals most would dismiss as…
Joe Vitale went from sleeping on the floor of a public library in Dallas to becoming one of the most recognised self-help authors and Law of Attraction teachers…
Manifestation, and Living in the End Neville Goddard taught one radical idea for over 30 years: your imagination is not a toy. It is the creative force behind…
Roxie Nafousi went from battling addiction, depression, and zero career prospects to becoming a three-time Sunday Times bestselling author with over one million copies sold worldwide. Her secret?…
A 4-week online course on mental practice and the PETTLEP imagery model, plus self-talk and goal setting.
A free 24-hour course worth CPD points, including a session on imagery in injury rehabilitation.
Professional training in FIT, the research-tested imagery-based motivation method.
A 150-hour professional certification in guided imagery for health and therapy professionals.
A self-paced 10-module masterclass with sessions on visualisation, affirmations and vision boards.
A 28-day programme built around the Silva Method's mental-screen visualisation techniques.
Find a chartered UK psychologist, including sport and exercise psychologists who use imagery training.
Check that anyone calling themselves a sport and exercise psychologist in the UK is registered, as the law requires.
An international finder for CMPC-certified mental performance consultants, many of whom work online.
Certified Interactive Guided Imagery practitioners, searchable by country.
The classic 1978 guide to using imagination to shape your life. ISBN 9781608684649.
Canfield's best-known book, with chapters on visualisation, affirmations and goal setting.
The 1960 self-image classic that popularised mental rehearsal. ISBN 9781800818972.
Meditation and mental rehearsal for changing habits. ISBN 9781848508569.
A UK bestseller on manifesting, with visualisation as one of its core steps. ISBN 9780241539590.
A neuroscientist's take on visualisation, vision boards and neuroplasticity. ISBN 9781785042003.
A free meditation app with thousands of guided visualisation and guided imagery tracks.
The official free app for WOOP: Wish, Outcome, Obstacle, Plan. Mental contrasting, step by step.
Free official instructions for WOOP, the research-based way to pair a positive picture with planning for obstacles.
A free browser library of guided visualisations for calm, confidence, sleep and goals.
A free self-test from the psychologist who created the Vividness of Visual Imagery Questionnaire.
The university's summary of FIT research on motivation, weight loss and behaviour change.
Mental practice has a solid research base for performance. A classic meta-analysis found a reliable, moderate benefit from mental practice compared with no practice (Driskell, Copper and Moran, 1994). A meta-analysis of imagery in sport found that physical practice still works better, and the two together work best (Simonsmeier et al., 2021). Imagining the steps also beats imagining only the outcome (Pham and Taylor, 1999).
There is an important catch. Fantasising only about an ideal future can sap the energy you need to pursue it (Kappes and Oettingen, 2011). That is why techniques like WOOP pair the positive picture with the obstacles. Mental imagery also varies widely: some people have little or none, a trait called aphantasia (Zeman et al., 2015). Claims that visualisation alone can "attract" outcomes are not supported by research.
Read our complete guide, then try one short guided video and a single five-minute session. Choose one specific situation, use all five senses and imagine it in real time, from start to finish.
For performance, yes, with conditions. Reviews of dozens of studies show mental practice improves skills compared with no practice, and it works best alongside real practice. Picturing the steps and the obstacles beats picturing only the result.
You may have aphantasia, which means little or no visual imagery. Try the free VVIQ-2 self-test, then use imagery based on feeling, movement or sound, or a written plan such as WOOP. The aphantasia videos and podcasts here explain more.
Visualisation is a mental skill studied by psychologists and sport scientists. Manifestation and the Law of Attraction add the belief that picturing something draws it to you, which research does not support. Our guide explains where the two overlap and how to use visualisation in a practical way.
Insight Timer and the WOOP app are free to use, and Insight Timer has an optional subscription. The Manifest App and Mindvalley are free to download, with paid content. Check each store page for current pricing.
In the UK, use the BPS Directory of Chartered Psychologists and check the HCPC register, because "sport and exercise psychologist" is a protected title. Internationally, the AASP directory lists certified mental performance consultants.
Do you teach visualisation, guided imagery or mental skills training? We are building a directory of trusted practitioners, courses and apps for every technique. Get in touch to be listed.
Apply to be listedThis hub is for general information and self-help education. It is not medical or psychological advice. External resources are selected by our editors and checked when listed; we are not responsible for third-party content.
