CHOOSING A SUBJECT
What Subject Can You Bring to a MAP Session?
A MAP subject can come from any area of your life. It may be something you want relief from, a pattern you want to experience differently or a possibility you want to explore. It can be a specific situation, relationship, emotion, recurring internal state, belief, memory, bodily response, behaviour, recurring pattern, event, decision you feel unable to make or goal that you feel blocked from pursuing.
In open-subject sessions, you choose and bring an identified area you want to work on, together with a clear intention for what you want to explore or experience differently. The subject does not need to be perfectly articulated; I can help you refine and focus what you already have in mind.
You do not need to spend time analysing it, tracing where it came from or trying to work out the answer before the session. This is not talk therapy or psychoanalysis. Greater clarity, a resolution or a possible way forward may emerge through working with the subject; it is not something you need to have figured out before you arrive.
In private 1:1 packages, we can identify a wider theme and work with it across several sessions, unpacking different aspects, associations and patterns from one session to the next. In themed workshops, bootcamps, retreats and some group programmes, I provide the theme, and you work privately with whatever it activates in your own experience.
Examples of Subjects You Can Work With
A MAP subject can come from any area of your life. These examples are not exhaustive.
FEARS, PHOBIAS AND ANXIETY
Anxiety, panic, persistent worry, fear of flying, driving, public speaking, enclosed spaces, heights, darkness, animals, medical procedures, failure, success, losing control or the unknown.
DEPRESSION AND PERSISTENT EMOTIONAL STATES
Depression, overwhelm, sadness, hopelessness, helplessness, numbness, discouragement, low motivation or an emotional state that continues to return.
TRAUMA, PAINFUL MEMORIES AND TRIGGERS
A traumatic experience, painful memory, present-day trigger or strong emotional or bodily response connected with something that happened in the past.
RELATIONSHIPS, GRIEF AND LOSS
Conflict, anger, rejection, abandonment, betrayal, heartbreak, jealousy, resentment, loneliness, difficulty trusting, bereavement, separation, unfinished communication, unforgiveness, empty-nesting or a relationship pattern that keeps repeating.
IDENTITY AND SELF-PERCEPTION
Sense of not belonging, confusion, low self-worth, inner conflict, insecurity, guilt, shame, self-criticism, body image, fear of being seen, difficulty expressing yourself, ageing or an identity that no longer feels aligned with who you are becoming.
HABITS AND RECURRING BEHAVIOURS
Avoidance, cravings, compulsive behaviour, overeating, smoking, addictive patterns, self-sabotage or another response you continue to repeat despite wanting something different.
WORK, LEADERSHIP, PERFORMANCE AND GOALS
Overwhelm, procrastination, perfectionism, professional pressure, workplace relationships, leadership challenges, career direction, confidence, visibility, communication, creativity, exam anxiety, sporting performance or a goal you feel blocked from pursuing.
HEALTH-RELATED AND BODILY EXPERIENCES
Emotional or stress-related responses connected with illness, pain, physical symptoms, medical procedures, surgery, sleep, ageing, bodily changes or concerns about your health.
IMPORTANT: THE SCOPE OF MAP COACHING
The inclusion of a mental-health or medical condition on this page means that the experiences, emotional responses, beliefs, memories or patterns associated with it may be brought to a MAP coaching session. It does not mean that MAP diagnoses, treats or cures the condition itself.
MAPbyLiudmila provides coaching. It is not psychotherapy, psychiatric care, medical treatment, diagnosis or crisis support.
Where a subject involves a diagnosed or suspected mental-health or medical condition, MAP coaching may complement—but does not replace—care from an appropriately qualified medical or mental-health professional.
Do not delay seeking professional care, discontinue treatment or change prescribed medication without consulting the qualified professional responsible for your care.
Six Ways to Choose Your Subject
There is no single prescribed way to choose a MAP subject. I have put together these six starting points to help you decide what to bring to a session.
USE YOUR MAPBYLIUDMILA REFLECTION GUIDE
When you work with me, you receive my MAPbyLiudmila Reflection Guide—a step-by-step supporting document with inquiry questions that help you reflect on significant moments, emotions, bodily responses and recurring patterns. You can use it between sessions to clarify and articulate a subject you may want to bring to our next session.
BRING A RECURRING THEME
You may notice the same emotional experience or pattern appearing across different situations, relationships or areas of your life. That recurring theme can become your subject.
CONTINUE WHAT OPENED IN YOUR PREVIOUS SESSION
Something that emerged during or after an earlier session—a memory, association, emotion, bodily response or another aspect of the pattern—can become the subject of your next session.
ALLOW A MORE PRECISE SUBJECT TO EMERGE
You may recognise the area you want to work on without being able to articulate the precise subject. Bring that identified area and your intention. Through focused awareness, I can help you refine what you already have in mind without turning the session into an analysis.
MAKE THE CONFUSION, RESISTANCE OR JUDGING VOICE THE SUBJECT
If you feel confused, resistant or unable to decide what is important enough to bring—or if a judging voice tells you that your subject is wrong, trivial or not dramatic enough—that response can itself become the subject.
BRING AN OBVIOUS FEAR, PHOBIA OR TRAUMATIC EXPERIENCE
Many times the subject is already clear: a particular fear, phobia, painful memory, traumatic experience or strongly activated response. You can bring it directly without preparing a detailed account or repeatedly retelling everything that happened.