Page 3 - euroguidance-insight-newsletter-2015-spring

“Image in Coaching (Counselling)” - Interview with Dorota
Raniszewska, a Polish expert in visual counselling techniques

and Certified Points of You Trainer

photographs to enhance or replace
our verbal description”. Secondly, to
visualize change and raise the self-
esteem. Visualization is often used
in coaching or therapy in order to
strengthen a person’s motivation to
change. Let’s take an example of a
young graduate who wants to start
a freelance career but has doubts
and fears as a result of his/her in-
ner voice but also what he or she
has heard from family or friends. To
describe an action plan and create
a “TO DO” list is one step for this
person. But to “SEE THE DREAM”
is another important step. SEEING
one’s dream as a poster or a series
of photographs illustrating “What
will I look like and how will my life be
when I follow my dream” can bring
a new quality in believing in and in
Euroguidance: What does it re- decent or not, etc. Just think of fa- thinking of life projects that are not
ally mean “Image in Coaching”? mily expectations, gender issues, only about risk taking and fulfilling
personal growth or low self-esteem an action plan but also about having
Dorota Raniszewska: When I say which blocks self-expression. Or a VISION. Thirdly, to use actively vi-
“Image in Coaching” I mean using poor linguistic skills due to e.g. age sual memory in development. Visual
photographs and drawings in an (children), social origin or impair- memory represents a natural human
open, creative, and nonjudgmental ment such as speech or hearing mental process. Human minds use
way during a coaching or therapy defects. Linda Berman, one of the visual memory to perform even the
sessions. It covers using photographs phototherapy pioneers, wrote “So- simplest operations: from remembe-
as objects (developmental tools), ta- metimes concepts, feelings or visual ring the face of someone we’ve just
king photographs or drawing as ac- experiences can be difficult to ex- met in the office, to remembering
tivity (developmental activities), and press linguistically and we may use what time it was last we checked.
exploring images as vehicles of the
meaning – of the clients’ thoughts
and ideas (developmental content).

Euroguidance: What is the pur-
pose and what are the bene-
fits of using images in coaching?

Dorota Raniszewska: First of all, to
bypass verbal barriers and politically
correct thinking. Often, it is difficult
for people to express with words
what they feel, have experienced
in their lives or want in a relation-
ship. Either because of self control,
which is the result of what is cultu-
rally “stamped” as right or wrong,

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