Café Scientifique is a place where, for the price of a cup of coffee or a glass of wine, anyone can come to explore the latest ideas in science and technology.
Meetings take place in cafes, bars, restaurants or even theatres, but always outside a traditional academic context.
The first Cafés Scientifique in the UK were held in Leeds in 1998. From there, cafes gradually spread across the country. Currently, some 70 cafés meet regularly to hear scientists or writers talk about their work and discuss it with diverse audiences.
Café Scientifique is a forum for debating science issues, not a shop window for science. We are committed to promoting public engagement with science and to making science accountable.
Our monthly meetings take place on the first Monday of the month at 7pm.
If you wish to be informed about future events, then please email one of the organisers and we will happily add you to our email list.
Meet the Organisers
Aphantasia: Thinking Without Pictures
Dr Paulina Trevena
Monday 31st March 2025, 7pm
Waterstones Glasgow, Sauchiehall St, Glasgow G2 3EW
Think of a memory, an item or scene…Can you do this without summoning up a picture in your mind? If so, you may have Aphantasia! Aphantasia is the lack of voluntary visual imagery and about 4% of the population have this condition. But it’s not just about visualisation – most aphantasics lack mental imagery across other internal senses, too. So they might not be able to imagine seeing, hearing, smelling, tasting or touching things in their mind. This different way of perceiving the world internally impacts on how people with aphantasia think, process emptions and recollect events. Though aphantasia is seen as a ‘neutral neurodivergence’ rather than a disability, it can present as a challenge under certain circumstances. One of these is accessing therapeutic and wellbeing practices based on guided imagery, such as meditation, psychotherapy or hypnotherapy.
Hypnotherapists commonly use visualisation and other mental imagery in their work. For aphantasics, this can pose a serious barrier to experiencing hypnosis – which is what Dr Trevena, an aphantasic herself, soon realised when she started training in hypnosis. This led her to research aphantasia in the context of hypnosis and wellbeing support. In her talk, Dr Trevena will take you on a fascinating journey into human imagination and explore how our mental imagery abilities can impact mental health.
Dr Paulina Trevena is a researcher and hypnotherapist. After years in academic research in social sciences and public health, Paulina discovered the world of hypnosis and was hooked! She eventually certified in hypnotherapy and subsequently left academia to establish her personal development business No Woo Woo! Paulina, who is neurodivergent with aphantasia and ADHD, specialises in supporting people with these conditions. She is on a mission to develop best practice for working with aphantasics in hypnotherapy and raise awareness of aphantasia in the therapy world.
Place: Waterstones Bookshop (Upstairs), Sauchiehall Street, Glasgow
Cost: **FREE** but please book using the Eventbrite link below **Hot & cold soft drinks, beer & wine available to buy at bar**
