The Invisible Maps of Social Relationships

Why do we feel close to some people and distant from others? The concept of the Social Panorama, developed by social psychologist Lucas Derks, provides answers: our brain creates mental maps of social relationships that unconsciously shape our emotions and actions.

We often feel close to certain people, while others may seem distant or even cold. This perceived closeness or distance to others is not random – it reflects a kind of mental map our brain creates of social relationships. Dutch social psychologist and NLP expert Lucas Derks has deeply explored these “invisible maps” and developed the concept of the Social Panorama. His research provides surprising insights: it shows that we spatially organize social bonds and roles in our consciousness – much like the physical world around us.

The Social Panorama is about how people “locate” others in their mental space and how these inner images influence their feelings and behaviors. Imagine that each important person – whether a family member, friend, colleague, or supervisor – occupies a specific position in your perception. These ideas of certain positions or “personifications” unconsciously influence how you interact with and perceive these people. By becoming aware of this process, we can gain control over our perceptions and actively improve our relationships. Lucas Derks’ Social Panorama model combines influences from social psychology and Neuro-Linguistic Programming to make interpersonal dynamics understandable and changeable. In this article, we take a comprehensive look at the Social Panorama, discover how it works, and learn how it can be used in coaching, team dynamics, and personal development.

Lucas Derks – The Pioneer Behind the Social Panorama

Lucas Derks is not only a pioneer in exploring mental space but also a creative mind with a diverse background. Born and raised in the Netherlands, he began his career in a surprisingly different field – art. His early passion for painting and his creative talent led to early success as an artist and musician. But Derks wanted more: he sought a way to gain deeper insights into human interactions and perceptions. This curiosity eventually led him to psychology and NLP, which has captivated him since the 1980s.

Derks soon began applying the NLP concept to social psychology. Inspired by working with NLP figures like Richard Bandler and John Grinder, he developed a need to understand social relationships as spatial arrangements. His central question was: How can the experience of human relationships be made visible as a mental structure? This question led him to the assumption that people organize social bonds and roles spatially in their consciousness.

Over the course of the 1990s, Derks researched and developed what would become the “Social Panorama” – a method that shows how people internally visualize their social interactions and give them spatial structure. The discovery that people represent their social relationships through mental “personifications” was groundbreaking. He realized that spatial proximity or distance, gaze direction, and even the size of these personifications symbolized the intensity and quality of the relationship. With this knowledge, he created a model that allows people to examine their social relationships and adjust them when necessary.

With the Social Panorama, Lucas Derks created not only a tool for personal reflection but also a foundation for coaches and psychologists worldwide. His method has since been applied in therapy, training, eating behavior, coaching, and especially team coaching, where it helps develop deeper understanding of interpersonal dynamics and transform them.

The Social Panorama at a Glance: Basics and How It Works

The Social Panorama is based on the idea that our brain creates “mental maps” in which each important person in our lives occupies a symbolic position. These “maps” or “panoramas” are visual and spatial representations of our social world and form the basis for our behavior and emotions in dealing with others. The basic elements of the model are the so-called “personifications.” These are not real people but internal representations that we create on an unconscious level of individuals, groups, or even institutions.

For example, the image of a dominant boss in a person’s mind may be large and close, reflecting a feeling of control and superiority of the boss. On the other hand, a close friend is often assigned a place at our side or in close proximity, symbolizing a sense of intimacy. The spatial arrangement of personifications in our mental space is crucial: the distance we perceive internally to a person, the gaze direction, and even the height convey specific emotions and attitudes.

Another central element of the Social Panorama is the flexibility of these mental representations. They are changeable and can be actively influenced. Through targeted techniques within the Social Panorama framework, people can learn to change the positions of their personifications – for example, by visualizing a problematic relationship at a “greater distance” or bringing a supportive figure closer. These changes to the “inner stage” often have an immediate effect on the feelings and the type of interaction people have with these individuals in real life.

The great advantage of the Social Panorama lies in its versatility and practical applicability. The model not only allows for analyzing and understanding existing relationships but also for actively shaping them and breaking through negative emotional patterns. By becoming aware of the spatial arrangements of our social world and adjusting them, we can work on our relationships in a very effective way and bring about positive changes.

The Practical Application of the Social Panorama in Coaching

The Social Panorama is a versatile tool for coaches that can be used in many contexts – from individual personal development to work in groups and teams. Through targeted visualization exercises, clients can “draw” their inner image of their social environment, which reflects both consciously and unconsciously the quality of their relationships. In this way, they can easily recognize which social bonds are supportive and which ones are more burdensome. A typical coaching process using the Social Panorama often begins with inviting the client to fully feel the emotion associated with a specific person or group. Then the client is asked where the image of this person appears in space. The coach guides them in establishing a spatial position: How far away is the person? Are they standing to the side or directly opposite? Are they at eye level or symbolically in a superior position? This spatial arrangement provides valuable insights into the client’s feelings and attitudes toward this person. The distance, for example, reflects emotional closeness, while height may indicate symbolic dominance or subordination.

Examples of Interventions and Techniques in the Social Panorama

Real changes usually begin with interventions where the client learns to change the mental positions. For example, a burdensome image of a person could be moved further away and into a less dominant position. The coach can guide the client to reduce the “size” of the internal figure or move its position to a spot that is less emotionally charged. Such changes are usually associated with a feeling of relief and increased control over the relationship.

Another example is the conscious placement of supportive personifications in the panorama. If a client finds someone inspiring or calming, that person can be mentally brought closer. This creates an emotional resource that strengthens the sense of support and can be accessed in difficult situations. Coaches report that this work often has a strong emotional impact because it directly affects the client’s unconscious reactions.

In a seminar context, a trainer can also consciously reflect on their own mental representation in the Social Panorama, especially with regard to their role as a leader – for example by asking: “How do I see myself in the group? Where am I located in my Social Panorama in relation to the participants?” If they previously saw themselves as too distant, inferior, or insecure, they can intentionally shape the representation to appear closer, more upright, or larger to boost confidence and authority. A trainer who previously saw themselves as very far from their audience could mentally bring them closer. If they even saw themselves as smaller than their audience, they could move to eye level and possibly deal better with their fear of public speaking.

Similar to the Social Panorama, a “Food Panorama” can be used in dealing with eating behavior and emotional eating. In this context, the mental representation of food, eating situations, and even oneself in relation to nutrition is examined. The idea behind it is that our relationship with food, just like our social relationships, is organized in a mental space. This mental arrangement influences our behavior, emotions, and decisions. Through targeted changes in the mental representation, behavioral patterns can be interrupted and healthier decisions encouraged. This method is particularly helpful as it deeply addresses the emotional and social aspects of eating behavior.

Application Possibilities in Coaching Teams

Teams work more efficiently and harmoniously when members share a common understanding of one another and their roles within the team. The Social Panorama is a powerful tool for making these dynamics visible and purposefully shaping them. Especially in team contexts, where individual personalities clash and conflicts arise, the method can help clarify relationships and strengthen cooperation. In most team contexts, a positive and non-confrontational change is desired.

In team building, the Social Panorama enables a unique visual analysis of the team structure. A coach can invite team members to draw their individual perception of the team by symbolically placing where they “see” the other team members in their mental space. These depictions often reveal insightful differences: Who is perceived as close or supportive? Who appears distant or even as a dominant figure? Such insights help not only individuals, but also the coach to understand existing dynamics and initiate targeted changes.

Effective team building can then be achieved by reorganizing these internal maps. For example, team members may be encouraged to mentally bring certain people closer if they are important for better cooperation, or to create distance from people whose influence is perceived as overwhelming. This not only creates a new awareness of roles within the team but also helps members reflect on and, if necessary, adjust their own positions and contributions.

The model is also highly effective in resolving team conflicts. When tensions arise within a team, they can often be traced back to specific conflicts between individual members or small groups. The coach can help the conflicting parties adjust their mental representations of the other party—for instance, by shifting the personification of the adversary to a less emotionally charged or symbolically “friendlier” position. Often, just comparing multiple team members' Social Panoramas can provide initial solution approaches. If, for example, one person appears as distant or isolated in several members' representations, this could indicate emotional barriers that can be specifically addressed and resolved. The coach supports taking on alternative perspectives and consciously assigning new roles within the team, which frequently reduces conflict potential.

In addition to acute conflicts, the Social Panorama can also contribute to long-term team strengthening. Regular panorama work fosters deep trust and a sense of belonging. Especially with newly formed or rapidly growing teams, it enables members to develop a shared mental model of the team structure and promote a sense of “we.” This work lays the foundation for future success and encourages open, harmonious communication.

A compelling example of application in the team context comes from working with a team that was suffering from internal tensions. One team member felt distant and excluded from the rest of the team. Through the application of the Social Panorama, the team member was able to consciously recognize their own position in the team’s mental image and work with the coach to mentally move closer to the other team members. This mental closeness also led to a visible behavioral change: The client participated more actively in exchanges and increasingly felt integrated. Other team members also reported that they felt the individual had become more approachable, which significantly improved overall team dynamics.

Tips for Applying the Social Panorama

To make the changes that occur when personifications are internally repositioned more stable and lasting, additional NLP techniques or other resources can be used. Typically, the spatial arrangements in the Social Panorama are deeply rooted in unconscious perception. Therefore, a single restructuring of the mental images may not always have a long-term effect. It can thus be helpful to support the change work with further techniques.

This also applies when the Social Panorama work touches on deeper emotional wounds or unconscious beliefs. Users should also note that different cultures or personalities may have different concepts of closeness, distance, and hierarchy, which can influence the mental representation of relationships. For coaches, it is therefore crucial to recognize and, if necessary, adapt to cultural and individual characteristics. For instance, the concept of “distance” or “closeness” might be interpreted differently in one cultural context than in another.

There is a risk of misunderstanding the Social Panorama by equating the personifications with real people. It is important that clients understand that the figures in the Social Panorama are mental representations and not the actual individuals. This distinction is essential to prevent clients from viewing the mental image of a person as an unchangeable reality. Coaches should clearly convey that the Social Panorama is a model that helps us explore and shape our perceptions—but not an absolute truth about the people in our lives.

Conclusion: Invisible Maps

The Social Panorama by Lucas Derks offers an innovative method to reflect on and actively shape social relationships on a deep yet accessible level. The model combines theoretical foundations of social psychology with practical techniques of NLP, thereby creating a space in which clients can better understand and sustainably change their interpersonal bonds. Whether in one-on-one coaching, therapy, or team development, the Social Panorama gives people the opportunity to redesign their social maps and let go of limiting patterns.

Working with the Social Panorama not only strengthens self-confidence and emotional resilience but also helps to develop a new sense of autonomy in social contexts. For many people, the Social Panorama opens up a new perspective that enables them to shape relationships more consciously and free themselves from burdensome influences.

The future of the Social Panorama promises further exciting developments, especially through scientific research in the field of mental space and collaboration with NLP methods. New insights into cultural differences and individual variations will further refine the model and improve its effectiveness in various coaching and therapeutic approaches. The International Laboratory for Mental Space Research (ILMSR) and the ongoing work of Lucas Derks and his colleagues at the Society for Mental Space Psychology (www.somsp.com) are helping to establish the Social Panorama as a foundational tool in NLP and psychology.

In conclusion, the Social Panorama is an enrichment for work in personal development and coaching. Those who know and consciously shape their inner maps can not only better understand their social relationships but also actively influence them in a positive way. The method offers a powerful opportunity for anyone willing to engage in this inner work to reshape their life and relationships—an ability more valuable than ever in our complex, interconnected world.