<p>Imagination plays a central role in psychotherapeutic practice, yet it is often threatened as a technique or as a secondary cognitive activity. In this paper, I develop a process-oriented understanding of guided imaginative retrospection, conceptualising imagination as a culturally-mediated and developmental process. Drawing on clinical material and cultural-psychological theory, it is shown how present affective experiences are aligned with earlier biographical situations through therapist-guided imaginative engagement. The analysis reconstructs four interrelated process dimensions: (1) initial affective patterns triggered in everyday situations, (2) imaginative reconstruction of the biographical origins, (3) changes in self-relation and narrative flexibility and (4) transfer, partial transfer or non-transfer into everyday life. These processes illustrate how imagination supports the reorganisation of meaning, affect regulation and agency over time. To synthesise these findings, this paper introduces a process model of guided imaginative retrospection, complemented by an A-transition-B model and a process-coordination perspective inspired by developmental theory. Together, these models highlight the importance of the transition as a distinct process state in which changes are prepared but not yet stabilised. Psychotherapeutic change unfolds gradually and depends on emotional readiness, inner safety and timing. Guided imaginative retrospection is presented as a developmental practice that supports transformation as a context-dependent process rather than a linear outcome does.</p>