Working with Image and Metaphor in Coaching Supervision
Why work with the imagination? The use of metaphors, stories, images and similar expressive media in the supervision process, is based on the assumption that a story or image can represent the objective or subjective perception of internal or external reality.
For example, a supervisee describes he is feeling that he is stuck, in a dry and arid place with his client, and that for him it is like being in a desert landscape with no way to get out. We can explore that story, that metaphor, by continuing the conversation, by drawing, by entering the desert place in our mind’s eye, and so on. What this brings in the way of deepening the learning is insight into the dynamics of the relationship the supervisee is caught up in. A new perspective becomes possible without the struggle of feeling the need to escape! What the supervisee discovers is that both he and his client can now explore the image together, what is it like for you, what do we need at this point, what is around us as we sit in our desert, is this a familiar place for you, and so on. The ‘stuck ness’ then becomes a place of possibility, rather than simply a nuisance or somehow a failure of the process.
What we are doing here is taking the present moment that is of concern and opening it out so that all its facets can begin to show themselves. We do this in the spirit of appreciative inquiry, we bring our curiosity, and our sense of awe to the amazing ways our imagination can teach us about how we are in the world. We also slow right down to take in the minutiae of the situation as it represents itself to us. We become explorers.
Another important assumption in this approach is that within each metaphor, story or image, there will be a creative solution already embedded in the story, awaiting the moment to reveal itself. In the desert metaphor, there was the possibility of growth once the supervisee really took in the immediate area of the desert he was in. One very tiny green shoot appearing out of what looked like a dead bush, began the opening to new possibilities.
By accessing the imagination, we have an unending source of riches that will nourish, guide and teach us about our relationships and ourselves. Within each of us, there lies an immense wellspring of creativity, and access to it is by way of the imagination.
When you find yourself in a situation of uncertainty or difficulty, find an image or metaphor; ask yourself, what is this like? Then you open the inner door to your creative self who will reveal more to you as you allow the exploration to develop. Part of your exploration may also include attention to your body’s experience, your ‘felt sense’ as you sit with the image. By simply being present with this process, without striving for meaning, or analysing it, you will find new insights emerging.
One of my favourite ways to work with a concern I have is to imagine I am sitting on a park bench with my concern beside me. We sit together and begin a conversation, let me tell you about myself, tell me about yourself, what brings you here today, and so on. It becomes easier then for me to relax and be open to whatever needs to come from my inner wisdom. Try it!
