ABSTRACT
Meaning- or sense-making in therapy and coaching is one of the fundamental concepts of psychodynamics. Meaning also arises from personal attributions to life events, experiences, thoughts and actions. Human beings continuously search for meaning and attempt to subjectively make sense of what they perceive in the inner- and outer-world. Meaning can emerge, and this emergence can be cultivated through an attitude of not-knowing and negative capability. In the consulting room, the development of meaning can be fostered using a number of techniques, such as the coach employing an attitude of not-knowing and ignorance, through a process of co-creation, by working with symbols on every level they emerge and by mentalising. An attitude of ignorance on the part of the coach is to unfolding new meaning. The capacity to mentalise is a prerequisite to the creation of meaning and is also highly relevant to leadership.
