Art in Coaching: A Beautiful Thing

Recently, I was in deep thought and reflecting on how engaging in artistic interests gives me quite a bit of enjoyment and actually makes me feel good. By “good”, I mean focused, calm, content, and generally positive. Well, that thought process led me to think of ways I can include more creativity in my work, because, why the heck not?

Let me be specific. In my learning design work, of course, there is an inherent need to be creative. In developing what is mostly e-learning, there are many elements I need to incorporate into the design – not the least of which is coming up with creative ways to gain and keep a learner’s attention and make the learning experience interactive, engaging, and effective. But that’s not the work I was referring to when I was thinking about including more creativity.

I was reminded of a friend who's a Certified Music Practitioner - a “specially-trained musician [who] provides live acoustic music at bedside, one-on-one, for therapeutic purposes.” It was remembering the work that he does that gave me the idea that I could and should incorporate art into my own coaching practice. So, what did I do? I asked my good friend Google to find some information for me and what happened next was nothing short of really cool! I was immediately delighted to find that art in coaching is indeed a thing – albeit a relatively new thing, although art in therapy has been around for a while.

After researching it further, I complete an accredited program on art in coaching and have since then become acquainted with a budding community of practitioners who are also expanding their coaching practices to include art.

I want to share some information for anyone interested in exploring art-based coaching. So, here are some insightful words directly from Anna Sheather, who's dedicated her time researching and creating that accredited workshop, and bringing awareness about this important body of work, which is growing and even attracting attention from some in the psychology community.

“Art in coaching is about working with our clients (coachees) in a way that gives them access to a deeper level of personal awareness, understanding, and meaning. Working in this way deepens and enriches our coaching conversations in a way that purely verbal coaching cannot. It creates transformational shifts in perceptions and understanding that can lead to significant changes in personal development and growth. As someone who both coaches and paints, my research and experiential evidence support my firm belief that art has an important role in coaching today.

What do I mean by art? When I talk about art, I don’t mean masterpieces; I mean any image that someone produces which means something to them. The art is their imagery made visible and tangible through using line, form, shape, and colour, whether it is drawing, painting, sculpture, or collage. It is about personal expression, and we can all do this. As coaches we facilitate this process, building a bridge between our client and their image.

As well as practicing, I have also written articles, given talks, and continue to research this powerful way of working. I have also developed a number of workshops and programmes for coaches who also want to develop an art-based practice. Through these, I share my practice.”

As someone who’s always had a creative flare, I can attest to the power of art to transform. I invite you to join me in an art-based coaching session and experience a unique way of communicating non-verbally to get into deeper reflection around complex topics.