Strategy 6: Access to Meaning

Abstract

Through the strategy of access to meaning the coach helps the client realize that the stakes involved in a given situation have a number of different logical levels. Among the key models that help to identify these levels is that of the identity backbone. It can be used in a number of ways: to address the symptom; to examine the chain of causality between an event and the symptom and thus unblock the situation; to clarify a final purpose and transform the client’s view of the situation by revealing a totally different, and liberating, perspective. As the coach deploys the strategy of access to meaning, the client grows in his awareness that he is a participant in a reality that is in constant movement, and this realization may bring to light a latent need, of which he had not previously been aware. He may suddenly become aware of a dysfunctional behavior, see a causal link that unblocks a situation, or even come to an understanding of a purpose in life that enables him to see the situation in a new, and liberating light.