Abstract: The visual world and images indisputably are a vital part of life experience. It is in how to understand these images and their function that conflicts arise. In this study the different approaches to imagery in art therapy, dreamwork, and metaphors are examined. Relevant theoretical approaches, namely Gestalt therapy, Jungian analysis, and Neurolinguistic Programming (NLP), are used to define the image as an independent element of the psychological experience. The image has no further function than to be and is not an illustration of pathology.