Alice was told to imagine what her life would be like when she is older. This is an example of which Hawkins’ suggestion for working with older adults?

• A. Meeting
• B. Reading
• C. Examining
• D. Fantasizing

Answer: (D)

Imagining a future self is a technique used to help older adults explore how they want life to look and to plan for aging. In Hawkins’ approach, guiding clients to fantasize about their life when older is a specific way to tap into hopes, values, and long‑range goals. Alice was asked to picture what her life would be like later, so this is fantasizing.

Why this is the best fit: it creates a vivid, personally meaningful vision of aging, which can reduce anxiety, boost motivation, and inform practical planning about housing, health, relationships, and supports. It helps translate future hopes into present actions and decisions.

The other options don’t fit as well because meeting emphasizes social interaction and group process, reading involves processing information from texts, and examining centers on analyzing options. None of these directly cultivate a personal, future-oriented fantasy of aging.