Guided Imagery (Safe Place): Create a Calming Mental Space You Can Return to Anytime
This guided imagery exercise is for anyone who wants a calming place to return to in their mind. Follow the steps to build a vivid safe place you can revisit whenever you need to settle.
Reviewed by Michael Callans, MSW 
About this tool
Guided imagery is a relaxation technique that uses your imagination to create a calming experience in the mind. The most common version is the safe place (or peaceful place) exercise, where you build a detailed mental image of somewhere you feel completely calm and secure, real or imagined, and learn to return to it at will.
The technique works because the brain responds to vividly imagined scenes much as it does to real ones. When you picture a place in rich sensory detail, the sights, sounds, smells, textures, and temperature, the body begins to relax as if you were actually there. The more senses you involve, the stronger the effect.
Safe place imagery is widely used for anxiety and stress, and it is a standard grounding and stabilization tool in trauma therapy, where it gives people a reliable internal refuge to retreat to when distress rises. Because you create and store the image once, you can call it up quickly in difficult moments.
Take your time building your place. Choose somewhere that feels purely safe, with no painful associations, and add as much detail as you can. The work you do designing it now is what makes it powerful later.
Practice building and revisiting your safe place when you are already calm, not only in moments of high distress. This makes the image easier to access under stress later, much like a fire drill works best when it is rehearsed ahead of an actual emergency. A cue word, revisited regularly, becomes a fast route back into the felt sense of calm.
If distressing memories intrude even when you are only trying to relax, or if panic rises rather than eases when you close your eyes, stop and try a simpler grounding technique instead. Consider working with a licensed therapist trained in trauma-focused approaches, since imagery is only one part of a fuller toolkit for anxiety or trauma symptoms. You can search the Psychology.com therapist directory to find one near you.
References
- Utay J, Miller M. Guided imagery as an effective therapeutic technique: a brief review of its history and efficacy research. J Instr Psychol. 2006;33(1):40-43.
- Rossman ML. Guided Imagery for Self-Healing. 2nd ed. New World Library; 2000.
Cite this source
Psychology.com. (2026, September 15). Guided Imagery (Safe Place). Psychology.com. https://psychology.com/tools/guided-imagery
Guided Imagery (Safe Place) FAQ
What is a safe place exercise?
A guided imagery technique where you build a detailed mental image of a place where you feel calm and secure, then return to it in your mind whenever you need to soothe anxiety or distress.
Why use all five senses?
The brain responds to vividly imagined scenes much like real ones. The more senses you involve, the more convincing and calming the image becomes, which strengthens the relaxation effect.
Does it have to be a real place?
No. It can be a real place, a remembered one, or entirely imagined. What matters is that it feels completely safe and carries no painful associations.
Is anything I type saved?
No. Everything stays in your browser. Nothing is uploaded or stored, and the PDF is created on your own device.
How often should I practice guided imagery?
A few minutes a day is enough to strengthen the link between your safe place and a calm body. Many people find it most useful when practiced regularly while already relaxed, so the image becomes a fast, reliable route back to calm during a harder moment.
Can guided imagery help with panic attacks or PTSD symptoms?
Many people use a safe place image as one part of a broader plan for anxiety or trauma symptoms, often alongside grounding and breathing techniques. If imagery increases distress instead of easing it, stop and try a simpler grounding technique, and talk to a licensed therapist about a trauma-informed approach.