Ontological coaching is a discipline based on the Ontology of Language, built on a simple but uncomfortable premise: we don't see the world as it is, we see it as we are. Two people facing the same situation —a layoff, a team conflict, a postponed decision— will interpret it differently depending on the automatic judgments they're looking through. Ontological coaching works exactly there: on the observer each person is, not just on the specific problem.
The 3 domains: language, body, and emotions
Every human phenomenon can be read through three interconnected domains. Language doesn't just describe reality, it creates it — the requests you make (or don't), the promises you keep (or break) shape what's possible for you. The body communicates before you say a word: your posture, your energy, opens or closes conversations. Emotions predispose action — from resignation it's hard to take initiative; from ambition, it's natural. Working on just one domain in isolation rarely produces lasting change.
You don't live the world as it is. You live it as you are.
What a "breakdown" is (and why it's the real starting point)
A breakdown is an interruption in the habitual flow of action — a moment where what you expected to happen doesn't, and it demands a response. It doesn't have to be a crisis: a conversation you keep avoiding, a decision you keep postponing, a pattern that repeats in how you communicate — all of those are breakdowns. Every ontological coaching process starts by identifying the real breakdown a person is facing, not a generic goal.
Change of observer: the work isn't changing the circumstance, it's changing how you observe it — so that actions that were invisible before become available.
Ontological coaching vs. therapy
This deserves an honest answer, no marketing spin: coaching and therapy are not the same thing, don't serve the same function, and aren't in competition. Therapy is a health science, with clinical training and a body of theory centered on diagnosis, understanding, and treatment of emotional and mental processes. Ontological coaching doesn't diagnose or treat — it works on the observer a person is, to design action toward a concrete goal. Ontological coaching does not replace clinical treatment when there's a diagnosed condition involved.
How it's applied in real sessions
In practice, this translates into 1:1 individual coaching sessions —virtual or in-person in Tandil— centered on the specific situation the person brings: a difficult conversation pending, a decision being postponed, a communication pattern that keeps repeating at work. There are no canned scripts or motivational formulas: the starting point is always that person's real breakdown.
Frequently asked questions
It works for both. At the individual level it works on a person's change of observer; at the organizational level it applies to team coordination and resolving communication breakdowns between areas.
No. Most processes start from an everyday breakdown —an avoided conversation, a postponed decision, a way of relating to others that keeps repeating— not a crisis.
It varies depending on each person's goal. It's defined in the first session, along with how often you'll meet.
Comments