Don't pathologize, mythologize

The Harbor at Lorient, 1869 by Berthe Morisot

We need to provide our clients with meaningful contexts for their struggles. Its not just about being dissatisfied with work or life or relationships. Its about understanding ourselves and our lives from a broader perspective, one that can give us a sense of meaning and help us understand our place in the web of life.

Our job as coaches has traditionally been to have clients "dream big", see the possibilities for themselves, and take action to create that reality.

As coaches, we have to be continually attuned to the deeper desires that our clients bring. And we need to be aware that action is not always what's needed or desirable. Growing up in western society, in an individualistic and capitalist society, we are focused on action and results and productivity. But what many clients need is permission to sit back, slow down, and really dream.

There's nothing wrong with who they are. Its time to stop pathologizing slowness and smallness and interdependence and stillness. Its time to stop pathologizing unhappiness and anxiety and loneliness and ennui. Its time to stop pathologizing unconventionality and non-consumerism and caring and compassion. We need to help clients tune into their deeper desires. We must teach them to slow down, open up, and be willing to receive whatever images and ideas come to them.

The magic is in the meaning of the dream, not the size of it. The magic is in the meaning that the dream holds for the client. And we help our clients make meaning. Superior coaches help clients make meaning. Superior coaches help clients weave stories that create meaning for them. Superior coaches help clients mythologize, not pathologize their stories.

Mythologizing and creating meaning are techniques I teach in the Authentic Wholeness Coach Training Certification Program.

For your consideration:

~~What a Society Designed for Well-being Looks Like

~~The Pathologizing Culture

~~Why the Rise of Mental Illness