Eidetic imagery

An eidetic image is a type of vivid mental image, not necessarily derived from an actual external event or memory. It was identified in the early twentieth century as a distinct phenomenon by psychologists including E.R. Jaensch, Heinrich Klüver, Gordon Allport and Frederic Bartlett. Later, Akhter Ahsen located eidetic imagery in a structuralist context, and explored its therapeutic applications: psychotherapists sometimes encourage their clients to create and explore eidetic images as a way of coming to terms with past life events. Eidetic imagery has also been studied in relation to the creative arts.