Definition
A safe place is a real or imagined location your system treats as refuge — car, cockpit, cabin, nature path — paired with cues so you can return to regulated state on demand.
Origin
Standard in trauma-informed and sports-psychology imagery: a stable inner or outer resource before exposure, performance, or cognitive work.
Mechanism
Safety imagery down-regulates threat appraisal when the scene is vivid, repeated, and cue-linked. Physical places (car, walk route) and imagined places (airliner seat, cockpit) share the same training loop when intensity and repetition match.
Applications
Name one place + one cue (scent, bandana, breath count). Rehearse entry in low stress before relying on it mid-challenge. Cross-link Anchoring stacks.
Sources
Cite
- Shapiro, F. (2017). Eye movement desensitization and reprocessing (EMDR) therapy (3rd ed.). Guilford Press.
- Ross, J. (2008). Trauma model therapy. Manitou Communications.
Related doctrine
Anchoring · Three Types of Imagery