The Sacred and the Profane: How Therapeutic Tools Are Being Twisted into Sales Strategies

In the contemporary landscape of coaching and therapy, a troubling trend has emerged. Practices once regarded as sacrosanct—tools designed to foster trust, healing, and personal transformation—are now being co-opted and repurposed for commercial gain. Somatic awareness, trauma-informed care, and even techniques developed to create safety are increasingly employed, not to serve clients, but to convert them into paying customers.

The shift is subtle yet seismic. Techniques that once epitomised the integrity of therapeutic work are now marketed in business workshops as methods for “closing sales.” Advertisements on social media platforms now promote courses that teach practitioners how to adapt therapeutic techniques for sales. These posts, often targeting therapists and coaches, promise to reveal the “secrets” of somatic sales strategies that can create clients “anytime you want.”

As someone who has witnessed the evolution of coaching and therapy over decades, I have observed how elements of these professions have, at times, been warped under the weight of social and economic pressures. Once-sacred practices, rooted in trust and transformation, now risk being recast as tools of persuasion and profit. What does this commodification of care mean for the future of these professions? What does it reveal about the values that underpin them?

Perhaps most pressing, what might be the cost—not only to individual clients, who seek solace and connection in moments of vulnerability, but to the collective trust that sustains the integrity of these disciplines?

Therapeutic Tools as Sales Tactics

Somatic awareness is a profoundly healing practice. It enables individuals to tune into their inner states, fostering self-awareness, emotional regulation, and connection. With roots in various Eastern practices, such as contemplative awareness and body-based meditative traditions, somatic awareness has long been revered not only for its therapeutic power but also for the ethical considerations that underpin its use. These traditions emphasise the importance of intent, alignment, and the practitioner’s responsibility to serve the client’s growth above all else.

Yet, this transformative tool is increasingly being repurposed for sales.

Consider a recent Instagram advertisement, posted by a self-described somatic sales coach. Aimed at therapists and coaches, the ad promised to teach viewers how to use the body’s signals to guide sales conversations. The coach explained how practitioners could interpret a client’s posture or microexpressions to determine whether the client was “collapsing” emotionally during a sales pitch—possibly because they felt they couldn’t afford the service. The ad advised against proceeding with a sale in such cases, instead encouraging practitioners to “meet clients where they are” and “call them back into their full power and truth.” While these phrases may sound aligned with therapeutic principles, the underlying goal was clear: to convert hesitation into commitment, ultimately securing a sale.

Active listening, another cornerstone of ethical therapeutic practice, has similarly been co-opted. Once a means of fostering genuine understanding, it now appears in sales scripts as a way to “extract pain points” and guide conversations toward pre-determined outcomes.

Even trauma-informed care—grounded in principles of safety and respect—is being reframed. Its language is woven into marketing narratives to make potential clients feel “seen” and “understood,” while leading them toward a transaction.

When these tools, developed to empower, are retooled as strategies of persuasion, the relationship between client and practitioner undergoes a disturbing transformation. The client ceases to be the centre of care and instead becomes the target of calculated strategy.

Philosophically, this shift recalls the dangers of instrumentalisation: the reduction of individuals to mere means for achieving external goals. When clients are treated as instruments of profit rather than ends in themselves, the relational essence of therapeutic work collapses.

The Silent Cost of Betrayed Trust

The commodification of therapeutic tools leaves a mark. When potential clients feel subtly manipulated—whether they can articulate it or not—they carry an invisible wound. They may question their own judgement, carry a vague sense of unease, or feel diminished in ways that are difficult to name.

For many, these moments of betrayal deepen existing patterns of mistrust. Individuals seeking help are often grappling with trauma, uncertainty, or a history of being let down by others. A single exploitative interaction, even if cloaked in good intentions, can reinforce a narrative of distrust—not just in professionals but in the process of healing itself.

Worse still, such experiences can retraumatise clients. When a practitioner employs tactics that mirror the power imbalances or manipulations that a client may already associate with past harm, the result can be profoundly destabilising. This is particularly true for those with a history of relational trauma, where safety and trust are fragile achievements.

The long-term consequences of these breaches are significant. Clients who feel exploited in therapeutic or coaching interactions may find it difficult to seek help in the future. They may struggle to engage in meaningful therapeutic work, fearing that other practitioners will prioritise profit over care. This hesitation can delay or derail their healing process, leaving them isolated in their struggles.

The cost does not stop at the individual. The misuse of therapeutic tools ripples outward, eroding public confidence in these professions. The trust that underpins coaching and therapy—already fragile—is further diminished, making it harder for even the most ethical practitioners to earn the faith of those they hope to serve.

Trust is the currency of these professions, and it is not easily repaired once compromised.

A Vulnerable Audience

This trend is particularly troubling because of the audience it targets. Clients seeking therapy or coaching often arrive in moments of profound vulnerability, hoping for guidance and connection.

What they encounter, however, is increasingly a sales funnel. Promises of “breaking through limiting beliefs” or “transforming your life” are used to entice, leading to high-pressure consultations designed less for insight than for conversion. These sessions, presented as exploratory or therapeutic, often lead clients toward signing contracts.

Such practices strip away the autonomy that is central to genuine therapeutic work. Therapy and coaching exist to empower—to nurture self-trust and help clients reconnect with their inner wisdom. Manipulative sales tactics, even when subtle, erode this empowerment, fostering dependence rather than growth.

Martin Buber’s “I-Thou” philosophy feels especially pertinent here. The therapeutic relationship thrives in an “I-Thou” framework, where practitioner and client meet as equals, recognising each other as whole beings. Commercialised interactions, by contrast, risk reducing clients to “It”—objects to be managed and converted, rather than individuals to be respected and served.

The Commodification of Care

The coaching industry, in particular, has become a marketplace of promises. With no formal regulation, anyone can adopt the title of “coach.” While many operate with integrity, competitive pressures drive others to prioritise profit over service.

Workshops and masterminds now market strategies for “scaling” practices using sales funnels, scarcity tactics, and intensive programme enrolment techniques. Some even advocate for the use of therapeutic techniques to “soften” clients, making them more amenable to purchase.

This commodification of care transforms relational work into a transaction. Clients become consumers, and practitioners are reframed as service providers. The act of care, once sacred, is reduced to another commodity in the marketplace.

This transformation carries existential consequences. Care, stripped of its deeper meaning, loses its capacity to connect individuals to something greater than themselves. The therapeutic space, once a sanctuary for growth, risks becoming another corner of the marketplace, governed not by human need but by market logic.

Ethical Considerations

The professional landscape for therapists and coaches is undergoing significant shifts. With the rapid evolution of these fields, practitioners are increasingly navigating complex ethical considerations while striving to uphold the integrity of their work. In an unregulated and highly competitive market, where coaching is accessible to anyone and therapy continues to evolve in scope, the potential for blurred boundaries between ethical care and profit-driven strategies has become a pressing issue.

The adoption of business strategies is not inherently problematic. Growth and sustainability are important for any professional endeavour. However, there is a line between strategies that enhance service and those that risk undermining the ethical foundations of practice. When techniques designed to support and empower clients are instead used to persuade and convert them, the integrity of the work can come into question.

Navigating these pressures requires a reflective approach. Ethical marketing practices, transparency, and respect for client autonomy are essential to maintaining the trust that forms the foundation of therapeutic and coaching relationships. Clarity in professional intentions not only strengthens individual practice but also safeguards the collective reputation of the field.

Restoring the Sacred

Coaching and therapy hold the potential to mend not just individuals but the broader fabric of society. These professions, at their best, honour trust, care, and the sacredness of human connection.

Yet, these practices stand at a crossroads. The encroachment of commercial interests threatens to erode their foundations, reducing care to mere transaction. However, this moment also presents an opportunity for renewal—a chance to re-centre values that place integrity and connection at the heart of these professions.

The relational work of therapy and coaching is not about profit or metrics but about transformation. It offers a sanctuary where trust can flourish, where human dignity is preserved, and where the sacredness of care is protected from commodification.