Mapping is a process of describing something in words, pictures, symbols, or diagrams. Mapping can be as complex as a picture of our physical selves created through DNA mapping, or as simple as a line drawn from one point to the next. Mapping can be used to draw a picture of our inner values, feelings, and strengths using intuitive or cognitive processes. Vision Mapping is a tool that helps people reach below the surface of the conscious mind to see the imagination, creativity, and possibilities that may not have otherwise been apparent. Vision Mapping uses colors, pictures, symbols, and words to tap into forgotten dreams and lost feelings.

I was first introduced to mapping using the mind-mapping method popularized by author and psychologist Tony Buzon in the early 1970’s. While working with clients in transition at a college career center, I found that if I limited my explanation of the process, clients made unique and creative maps rather than the treelike images often used in mind mapping. Clients sometimes used lines, but more often they made elaborate images or pictures: a vision of their present, past, or future. Unlike a photograph that captures the physical essence as seen in mind mapping, these images were more like a vision or new awareness. Each of us has a mental picture that reflects our current reality or future expectations. A written map of this mental image allows us to question our perceptions and values. Counselors using the mapping process and intuitive communication skills, colored pens, and blank paper, will be capable of drawing out important values that may have been dismissed by the client as unimportant. Through this process I often feel an intimate connection with clients and their needs.

Vision Mapping is useful for describing a person’s vision of their future, their inner values, and their natural strengths. Mapping opens the door to understanding client needs, desires, and motivations, which makes it a wonderful assessment tool. The intuitive psychologist Carl Jung used colors, symbols, and pictures to help his clients tell their story, and to help them find their life purpose or vision. Self-expression has been used in different forms to assess and treat various disorders. Vision Mapping can be used by counselors to improve their ability to listen and communicate successfully with healthy clients. Vision Mapping is best learned in a group or interactive environment, but once learned can be used by clients to assess their own growth over time.

Freedom of expression is the most important aspect of Vision Mapping. To reach unconscious motivations, and bypass the rules that tell people what they should do, it is important to allow people to make their maps personal. Whether the client begins with their name and designs a map of their strengths, or starts with a value and discovers a deeper meaning, Vision Mapping will help them find balance between their conscious shoulds and their unconscious inner desires. Encouraging freedom of expression through the use of color, symbols, pictures, and words to reach the inner world beyond the client’s awareness is a source of creativity that gives them energy to do more than they could have imagined.

To learn more about Vision Mapping contact: Nancy Miller, LifeWork Design Coach, at lifeworkcoach@relationshipdesign.net or log onto www.relationshipdesign.net.