- Future Pacing
Articleissues
howto = August 2008
notable = August 2008
unreferenced = August 2008Expand|date=January 2007Future pacing is a technique of asking a person to imagine doing something in the future and then observing their reactions. It is typically used to check that a change process has been successful; (i.e. by observing body language when the person imagines being in a difficult situation before and after an intervention). If the body language is the same then the intervention has not been successful.
You can also use future pacing to "embed" change into the contexts of the future - to give the person an experience of dealing positively with a situation before they get into the same situation again. This is based on visualization: the mind cannot tell the difference between a scenario which is real and one which has been clearly visualized. The idea is that, having visualized positively, when they are again in the situation the previous experience will serve as a model for how to behave, even though the previous experience was imagined. As the mind cannot tell the difference between the visualization and reality, it accepts it as reality and makes the change.
References
Bandler, R., Grinder, J. (1979) Frogs into Princes: Neuro Linguistic Programming. Real People Press. 149 pages. ISBN 0911226192 Bandler, R., Grinder, J. (1975) The Structure of Magic I: A Book About Language and Therapy Science and Behavior Books. 198 pages. ISBN 0831400447 Bandler, R., Grinder, J. (1981) Reframing: Neuro-Linguistic Programming and the Transformation of Meaning Real People Press. ISBN 0911226257
Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.
