The purpose of this paper is to challenge the concept of development as an inherently positive process for human beings, particularly in the context of coaching. Drawing from Foucault (2001) , Han (2015) and Illouz ( 2007 ), I will show how the concept of human development is linked to a view of the 'self' (1) which is relative to the specific historical and social context of our times and (2) which contains a contradiction between the claim of freedom, happiness and success and a reality which

more »

... hides subtly but deeply internalized power dynamics. I suggest that coaching in general and particularly developmental coaching is one of the practices which has been produced by the mainstream therapeutic discourse to codify and normalize how the 'self' should be shaped and transformed in order to adhere to the demands of the economic and social system. The normative aspect of the modern therapeutic discourse and developmental coaching however is not selfevident, but hidden in a narrative which appears to present itself as non-normative and which considers individual freedom as the supreme value. This contradiction is quite implicit and subtle because instead of being the result of a struggle between individuals and an external system of authority, in the present historical context it becomes an individually internalized conflict (Han, 2015) .