In her book Fires in the Dark: Healing the Unquiet Mind, Kay Redfield Jamison notes that the role of a good therapist is to "accompany" a patient in a journey of memory and imagination. The book begins with stories of therapists who have worked with patients from World War I - for example, with an individual who had served in the war and was a poet. Jamison noted that with the patients it was important to not completely close the door on the pain and trauma of the past, but to transform and integrate it into the life of the present and future. 

Coaching is not therapy, but there are some similarities. Some say, erroneously, that therapy is about the past, and coaching is about the future. In truth, both are about both. In life, the journey of human development involves drawing the lessons of experience, and using them in positive relationship-building and wholeness. The International Coach Federation (ICF) promotes the ethic that each individual is "creative, resourceful and whole," and the role of the coach is to guide the client with powerful questions and observations which tap inner wisdom. 

That said, this is not to imply that a coaching client should ignore the pain of the past or somehow gloss over trauma. Like a therapist, a good coach can be a healer. A healer walks with the wounded, has empathy and vision, and employs a variety of techniques drawn from his or her own years on Planet Earth. Standing in presence is a big part of it, being aware, and pulling forth tools as they arise during the course of a conversation. A coach's rich portfolio of tools can include arts, beauty, faith, story and ritual. Coaching is a process which incorporates memory and builds upon it, and a skilled coach is able walk with a client on a quest toward self-actualization.