Empowering change through science

There are so many wonder-cures and extravagant claims that it can be hard to know what to trust. Functional imagery training (FIT) is different because it is based on the science of how people think about their goals and what keeps them motivated to overcome challenges. It is grounded in the gentle, compassionate and evidence-based approach of motivational interviewing. To this we add powerful multisensory mental imagery to super-charge motivation, and training in self-motivation to give FIT long-lasting impact.

Here's what makes FIT special:

• It was developed from scientific research on motivation and temptations.
• Each step of FIT is based on evidence. FIT is fast, effective and engaging because there are no extra, ‘magical’, ingredients – just what works and nothing more.
• We only promote applications of FIT that are supported by evidence from research studies.

The core ingredients of FIT are a person-centred, approach that empowers people to make the changes that work for them, structured imagery guidance that builds desire for a goal and confidence to change, and tapered support that develops the individual’s skills of self-motivation.

FIT works better than verbal support alone. In our weight loss trial (Solbrig et al., 2019), people who received 4 hours of FIT lost over 6kg on average in 12m compared with under 1kg for those who received motivational interviewing. 

Frequent feedback from participants is that FIT creates a mindset shift where new behaviours are desired and enjoyed rather than dreaded. Mike* took part in the weight loss trial and found it “very surprising how quickly your mindset could change”. His turning point was where his image of how he wanted to look and feel was strong enough to cut out the cakes that would be “undoing the work that I’d done at the gym”. Soon after came “the light bulb moment: it’s working”.

If you’d like to know more about how FIT can help you empower your clients, please join our free webinar.

*We change names and details to protect privacy

Reference: Solbrig, L., Whalley, B., Kavanagh, D. J., May, J., Parkin, T., Jones, R., & Andrade, J. (2019). Functional Imagery Training versus Motivational Interviewing for weight loss: A randomised controlled trial of brief individual interventions for overweight and obesity. International Journal of Obesity, 43, 883–894