Erickson alumni, ICF coach and PhD, Alexandra Arkhangelskaya: When words are tired, an image can hold the truth without demanding it speak

As helpers - coaches, therapists, trainers, facilitators; those of us who make room for others - we frequently carry silent exhaustion. Presence becomes thin but competent, and the why becomes unclear. Repetition and responsibility may eventually dull the relational depth that once energized the practice. A route back to vitality, meaning, and authenticity is provided by existential coaching, which emphasizes presence and authenticity (Spinelli, 2015).

Images can help us see again when words don't seem enough....

Existential coaching in brief: a philosophical practice? 

Existential coaching is a mindset that approaches freedom, uncertainty, values, and responsibility with curiosity rather than avoidance. It is not a collection of methods. In
actuality, that entails moving away from "What should I do next?"to "Who am I turning into here?” Helpers can re-establish a connection with choice and aliveness by adopting this contemplative posture.

Existential coaching is based on philosophical research into human existence rather than methods. According to Spinelli (2015), existential approaches assist clients in embracing rather than avoiding "the givens" of life, such as freedom, loneliness, meaning, and mortality. According to Kurtsenovskaia and Yates (2024), existential coaching is "a uniquely philosophical and deeply relational way of examining the paradoxes and challenges of human existence so as to empower clients to move forward in an authentic and reflective way."

Although there is little empirical data, existential coaches may help clients develop reflective awareness by urging them to accept ambiguity, investigate their own philosophical beliefs, and rediscover agency through meaning (Yates & Kurtsenovskaia, 2023). In this framework, the coach stops being a problem-solving strategist and instead becomes a companion and thinking partner.

Why bring in artwork?

Through art, clients can externalise feelings they are unable to yet articulate. A special synergy is created when existential coaching and art come together. Existential therapy encourages patients to sit in silence, paradox, and uncertainty; art offers a sensory mirror that can contain the unimaginable. Between the coach's observation and the client's inner world, the image acts as a third presence, a visual co-facilitator. The existential objective of developing an authentic self-relationship is in line with this synthesis: seeing oneself without passing judgement, as in appreciating art, is already a step towards freedom.

Thus, art transforms existential coaching from a dialogic approach to a multimodal one that involves embodiment, emotion, and thought.

A simple, practical tool you can use today

The following exercise can be offered to clients during reflective work or utilized by coaches for personal rejuvenation. It is ethical, straightforward, and based on
phenomenological awareness.

Image-Presence Dialogue (for you or your clients)

1. Choose a picture (a photograph, piece of art, or magazine clipping) that subtly appeals to you; you don't have to explain why.

2. Give it two to three minutes. Take note of your feelings, your body, and any words that come to mind.

3. Write or speak out loud:

o What aspect of myself is reflected in this picture?
o What does it ask me to acknowledge or remember?
o As I look, what is coming out of me?

4. Compose the trace. Take note of a few lines - not a reading, noticing.

5. Come back tomorrow. What has changed about me or how I interact with the
image?

Before you resume helping others, perform this five-step ritual as existential hygiene - a tiny act that helps you regain presence.

Helping the helper

Helping professionals need to interact with images in this way; it is not an indulgence.

Through artistic self-reflection, the coach can avoid empathy fatigue and maintain awareness of their own meaning systems. According to existential psychology research, re-establishing a connection with one's own values and aesthetic sensibility - two qualities that protect against burnout - is essential for renewal (Wong, 2020).

A direct path to this kind of reconnection is offered by art. It avoids defensive rationalisation, slows down thinking, and encourages sensory presence. This is the nutrient
that many helpers lack in order to be sustainable in their careers.

How it works: Illustrative cases

After months of transition, a senior coach, exhausted, selected a picture of the sea at sunset. She observed the paradox of dialogue: both motion and silence. Her week was completely changed by that realization: one protected block for depth, fewer context changes.

Just a more lucid way of being, no solution.

A picture of tangled roots caught the attention of another participant, who discovered an unconscious conflict between freedom and belonging. She was able to realign her commitments by giving it a name.

A picture of an open doorway with morning light caught the attention of a third coach who was returning to practice after experiencing burnout. She said that "it feels like breathing again," but she was unable to elaborate on why. She understood the image in conversation as a metaphor for permission to return to her work at her own speed, without performance. She reported feeling more present and grounded with clients over the ensuing weeks. The doorway came to represent her conscious return to her personal and professional lives.

These short stories demonstrate how imagery externalizes the inner story and gives tangible form to existential contemplation..

Ethical and boundary considerations

It takes ethical mindfulness to work with existential and artistic materials. Make art-based work client-led and optional. Clients should be made aware by coaches that pictures are metaphors rather than diagnostic instruments. While remaining resourceful and future-focused, coaching (not therapy) examines meaning and choice in the here and now (see McManus & Waters, 2024, on "reflethical" practice).

It is crucial to uphold the coaching framework and the non-pathological, forward-looking, and choice-based ICF principles. The coach constantly considers power dynamics, emotional safety, and interpretive influence as part of their reflective practice, which serves as a safeguard. Allowing meaning to arise instead of forcing it is the essence of ethical artistry.

Finally, our ability to be present can be muted by compassion fatigue. Images enhance existential reflection, which helps us rediscover our inner space and values. When they allow an image to speak first, many helpers rediscover curiosity (and joy); words can follow with less effort.

Start with one image today if you sense that subtle resonance - the desire to approach your work with greater ease and depth. Give it a week to keep you company. And I'm available if you want thoughtful company while you incorporate this into your work. The horizon can occasionally be restored with just one open discussion..

A final reflection

Whether you’re a coach or a coachee, what truly matters is this:

• Pause.
• Reflect.
• Reconnect with what matters.

Give yourself the space to hear your own voice again.

Sometimes, to move forward with meaning, all we need is a moment of stillness - a moment to sit down, sip that warm soup, and savor life, one gentle bite at a time..

ABOUT ALEXANDRA

Alexandra Arkhangelskaya, PhD, is an existential and CBT-informed coach working with clients navigating transitions - from migration and burnout to rebuilding identity after major life changes. A multilingual practitioner (EN/ES/RU) with a background in crisis response and over 20 years of international project leadership, she brings depth, clarity, and gentle strength into her work. Alexandra blends psychology, narrative practices, and art-based methods to support people in moments when the old life no longer fits and the new one hasn’t yet taken shape.

To follow and connect with Alexandra on LinkedIn, visit her profile or her website. 

Further reading

Drake, D. B. (2020). Narrative coaching: The definitive guide to bringing new stories to life.
CNC Press.

Figley, C. R. (2002). Compassion fatigue: Psychotherapists’ chronic lack of self-care.
Journal of Clinical Psychology, 58(11), 1433–1441.
https://doi.org/10.1002/jclp.10090 

Kurtsenovskaia, A., & Yates, J. (2024). What defines the practice of existential coaching? A
qualitative study of the perspectives of existential coaches. City University of London.
https://openaccess.city.ac.uk/id/eprint/33534/ 

May, R. (1953). Man’s search for himself. W. W. Norton.
McManus, F., & Waters, L. (2024). Reflethical practice: Navigating ethics in arts-based
coaching. Coaching: An International Journal of Theory, Research and Practice,
17(1), 1–14. https://repository.uel.ac.uk/item/8y2qw 

O’Connell, B. (2019). The handbook of coaching psychology (2nd ed.). Routledge.

Spinelli, E. (2015). Practising existential therapy: The relational world (2nd ed.). Sage.

Tschacher, W., Storch, M., & Fischer, R. (2022). Embodied cognition in artistic and coaching
processes. Frontiers in Psychology, 13, 865432.
https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2022.865432 

Wong, P. T. P. (2020). Existential positive psychology and the new science of flourishing.
Frontiers in Psychology, 11, 1901. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2020.01901 

Yates, J., & Kurtsenovskaia, A. (2023). Coaching for meaning and authenticity: Emerging
perspectives in existential coaching. International Coaching Psychology Review,
18(2), 45–58.