In alternative medicine visualization sometimes occurs in conjunction with medical treatment, including cancer treatment (see oncology).
In one example of a visualization, one can imagine cancer cells as some slimy form of sea life being consumed by white sharks, which represent the body's immune cells.
Athletes sometimes use visualization to try to help them succeed at their sport.
Visualization forms part of Rosicrucianism and Esotericism in general. Magick also employs visualization.
Compare with meditation and with petitionary prayer.
The term visualization can refer to any technique for creating images to represent abstract data, for example with computer graphics.