COACHING AND THERAPY What “Fixing” Means– Part II

After the last Meta-Coach Reflection (“Coaching is not Therapy”), several therapists wrote to say that they did therapy and they do not “fix” people. That’s good. I’m glad that they think in terms of resourcing people, facilitating learning and growth with people, etc. That’s certainly how I mostly thought about it when I was in that field and that’s very much in line with the theoretical foundations of NLP and Self-Actualization Psychology.

And yet ... All of that got me thinking. Is it ever right and proper to “fix” someone? We say in NLP that “people are not broken” and that would mean that they do not need fixing, wouldn’t it? Or not? I think that NLP presupposition is certainly true for the great majority of people, for the average person. But for everyone? True enough, most people simply need some instruction, some coaching, some support and training and they will step up and take charge in their lives.