ABSTRACT
Imagine you are lost in a forest on a journey to a destination you vaguely have in mind. You have no GPS satellite navigation device to help you but you do have a map which so far you have not needed to consult. Unfortunately, you have no idea where you are on the map, noticing several forests widely dispersed. You know where your journey started but you don’t really know whether you left it travelling north, south, east or west. Knowing that would at least give you a ‘ball-park’ idea of which part of the map you are likely to be in. Then, later information remembering the more recent features of your journey may help you to refine the area of the map to be searched. Until you know where you are, plotting a course to your preferred destination is likely to be a pointless exercise. In the same way, coaches wishing to guide clients towards development goals need to establish with the client where they are and how they got there. The earliest part of the journey will have disproportionately more significant influence on this. A basic understanding of developmental psychology is therefore of considerable importance to all those interested in nurturing adult development.
