Future pacing in hypnosis is not only about visualizing success but also stepping into the experience in a sensory way. Identifying an invisible leader, which could be the desire to achieve the goal, can help a lot during this process. For example, a person who can’t control their behavioral responses during certain situations like arguments or disagreements, which in turn leaves them feeling guilty and interfering with their social life and self-concept, could benefit from this. The invisible leader here could be the desire to wash away the feelings of guilt and have a better social life. This invisible leader could help you make the client experience the event as if it is real and draw them toward success.
Here’s a quote that inspired me
“If you want to build a ship, don’t drum up the men to go to the forest to gather wood, saw it, and nail the planks together. Instead, teach them the desire for the sea.”
Abdullah shared his experience with me when Maqnoon used this therapeutic technique on him for overcoming performance anxiety before any presentation. Here, she wanted to increase motivation, confidence, and overall enhance a positive state. Thus, she used the help of association, making him experience the situation from a first-person perspective, engaging with the emotions, sensations, and thoughts he had at the moment. She also utilized his resources by making him imagine that he was giving a presentation related to a psychoanalytic perspective and that Sir Owais and Maqnoon were cheering for him, which again left him with a pleasant state of mind. In his case, the actual desire was a boost in self-confidence and trust in his own abilities.
But a person with social anxiety might not feel the same as Abdullah. In this case, you can use dissociation, making them view themselves presenting on the stage and then view the crowd’s response from a third person. If association were used here, the client might relive all the negative physical anxious arousals. Thus, using dissociation here might help them make a rational judgment that probably the crowd isn’t judging them the way they fear; it is just a presentation.
Concluding that identification of the goal can lead to a better understanding of whether to use association or dissociation for future pacing in hypnosis. If the goal is to get rid of negative emotions, any phobia, or a traumatic event, it is better to use dissociation. To intensify positive states and motivate the person, it is better to use association.