Psychoanalyst David Shapiro presents many revisions to the classic psychoanalytic framework in his 1999 book, Psychotherapy of Neurotic Character. In contrast to Freud, he places greater emphasis on the here and now and less on the client’s past in order to achieve the latter’s objective of being autonomous. His book provided a welcome alternative to the tired Freudian paradigm:
“What constitutes therapeutic change? How does it occur? … Psychotherapy is essentially a subtractive process, not an additive one; it aims to remove, not to augment. It does not aim directly to increase self-esteem, but to diminish shame. It aims to increase interest in life, but in the indirect way of diminishing the subjective distress and preoccupation with self that interfere with interest in life. Psychotherapy aims to reduce or eliminate the distress and disability that are a consequence of the neurotic person’s reaction against himself. It aims therefore to diminish or eliminate the self-estrangement that is a consequence of that reaction, to bring the person into contact with himself. In sort, it aims simply to repair.”
Shapiro went on to make the analogy between sculptors and painters to explain the difference between therapy and coaching. In Neuro-Semantics, this means that the therapist is analogous to a sculptor who carves away excess material to reveal a hidden shape, while the coach is analogous to a painter whose job is to layer on color.
This shows one of the most important parts of therapy, which is getting rid of a person’s false understandings, frames, views, values, identifications, etc., that hurt them on the inside. What’s wrong with a person isn’t the person himself, but rather the wrong frames that affect their thinking. The person is fine, except that they are “cognitively wrong” (Maslow). When she gets rid of the bad ideas, she’ll be whole and more like a real person.
Coaching, on the other hand, is mostly about getting the client to add new and extra resources, like new frameworks (like belief systems) and higher-level goals. It’s more about making what’s already there better. It’s about using a person’s skills and abilities to do more in life and be more of who they are.
A sculptor looks for problems, like what’s in the way or stopping someone from doing something. A sculptor removes what isn’t real about a person so that the real person can show through. A sculptor must be able to spot false ideas, false identities, and other things that need to be taken away. So, therapists have been called “shrinks” because of this. They get rid of the fake things that cover up who you really are.
A painter looks for opportunities, natural skills and strengths, and untapped potential. A painter tries to add color and depth to make the world more beautiful. Since “to shrink” is the opposite of “to expand,” we could call teachers “expanders.”
Now, since every metaphor has its boundaries and can’t be stretched past a certain point, the same is true for this one. It is not the same as treatment or coaching in every way. But it helps to show the main difference between a sculptor and a painter. One takes away, while the other adds. So, in Meta-Therapy, therapists look for things that the person has added to his thought, feeling, speaking, and behavior that misdirects his energy, turn that energy against himself, and make him less resourceful. He looks for cognitive distortions, biases, and fallacies, and he has to deal with defensive thought when he does this. Why? Because the client usually thinks of these additions as being his or her “self.” So, it’s no wonder people are so angry!
In Meta-Coaching, the coach may find things that stop or hinder the client’s growth (question 14 of the WFO questions), but the main goal is to help the client and give them more power. Self-actualization, or becoming the best version of yourself, is the main goal. One clears the way, and the other shows the way to a tougher future. Both are important, though. Now that you know both are important, you can see why we recommend that all Meta-Coaches go to the Meta-Therapy trainings. It will help you learn more about both worlds and help you understand and use the Meta Place in more ways.
Curated by Danielle Tan.
Reference:
- [Certified_meta-coach] 2023 Morpheus #10 SCULPTOR OR PAINTER? by L. Michael Hall, Ph.D. Executive Director, ISNS.
