Sublimation

Sublimation is the turning of a hard-to-accept impulse or energy toward a socially valuable direction. Freud regarded it as the most mature of the defenses; for, unlike the others, instead of suppressing the energy it channels it into a constructive path. For example, intense anger can turn into a struggle for a right or into powerful art. Here nothing is suppressed; a raw energy finds a meaningful form. In coaching, this can inspire the client to see how they might carry a strong emotion they struggle with toward a creative or constructive direction rather than denying it.