Coaching By Image
Transform Your Life with Photography Coaching: Gain Clarity, Confidence, and Creative Insight
Seeing Within: A Method of Image-Based Self-Inquiry
I use photography and image analysis as a unique gateway into the inner world of my clients. By engaging with personal or symbolic images, we access layers of meaning often beyond words, allowing patterns, emotional landscapes, and hidden narratives to emerge.
This visual approach activates both reflection and intuition, fostering insight, integration, and transformation. Whether through photos taken by the client or carefully chosen imagery, the process invites a deeper conversation with the self. Building on this method, I also propose a variety of workshops and experiences that explore these visual tools in group settings, offering participants a shared space for discovery, creativity, and personal growth.
Experience:
Transform Your Mind Through Your Lens
Discover a powerful coaching method that uses your own smartphone photography to clarify your inner world and spark real change. Over a 2‑hour guided experience whether in the heart of Paris or online you will:
Define a personal challenge
Create a visual “mindscape” outdoors or virtually
Decode your images to reveal hidden beliefs
Walk away with clear insights and actionable steps
Ideal for expats, creatives, career shifters, or anyone seeking clarity and deeper self‑connection.
How it works
Pre-session consultation (issue identification)
Outdoor photoshoot in Paris or online
Image review & guided interpretation
Insight and action plan
Who should attend and why
Expats, creatives, leaders feeling stuck
Professionals undergoing change (e.g., career pivot, work-life balance, relationship issues)
Pricing
Sessions begin at €300 for individuals, €500 for couples for a 2-hour session
Number of participants: 1 (2 if a couple)
Languages spoken: English, French, Russian
Experience:
Make your family album speak
A family photo album is a curated record of one’s family history. Bring your family photo album and I’ll accompany you on a journey down memory lane to discover, witness, and hopefully re-experience in a new way, some of your family most remarkable events which, according to you, shaped your identity.
Session duration: 1 hour 30 minutes
Number of participants: 1 (2 if a couple)
Languages spoken: English, French, Russian
Testimonials
Iris
“Yury is a master coach and exceptional at distilling insights from our brief encounter and the images I took.”
Beate
“Yury is a first-class published photographer who has wonderful listening skills, and in whose warm presence I felt comfortable exploring my inner self in a most unusual, original, and eye-opening way.”
Martha
“Yury is a true visionary who is thoughtful with incredible intuition to interpret and even guide you through the subjects you photograph.”
Yury Li-Toroptsov
Yury Li-Toroptsov
Certified Professional Coach | Artist | Jungian analyst-in-training
I am a certified and EMCC-accredited professional coach living and working in France for 20+ years, offering innovative, tailor-made coaching interventions for both institutional clients and individuals around the world.
My clients: multicultural, ambitious, creative, and often navigating multiple worlds come to coaching not just to solve problems, but to reconnect with their authentic selves and create meaningful impact. Many are expats, leaders, or professionals who dare to be different yet sometimes feel the strain of disconnection from their core identity.
I hold an Advanced Certificate in Coaching, Leadership & Change from ESSEC Business School, one of France’s leading institutions. I’ve partnered with a wide range of clients from CAC 40 companies and global luxury brands to small local businesses supporting their leadership, innovation, and talent development.
In parallel, I am a professional visual artist. Creativity and imagination are central to my work not as decoration, but as essential drivers of transformation. My coaching practice is grounded in a unique synthesis of systemic thinking (Palo Alto approach), Jungian psychology, and the applied arts. This allows me to address complexity with depth and subtlety, helping individuals and teams unlock insight, shift perspective, and spark change.
My training
Now Jungian analyst-in-training, CG Jung Institute Zurich, Küsnacht, Switzerland
2024 Certificate of Fundamentals of Analytical Psychology, CG Jung Institute Zurich, Küsnacht, Switzerland
2021 Advanced certificate in Coaching, Leadership & Change, ESSEC Business School, Paris, France. Thesis: "Coaching by image, a tool for transforming managerial practices in the era of hybrid work".
2000 MS in Non-Profit Management, New School for Social Research, NY, USA
1997 Diploma in English Philology, Far Eastern Federal University, Vladivostok, Russia
Professional organizations
I am an accredited member of the European Mentoring and Coaching Council (EMCC Global) at Practitioner level. I abide by its code of ethics.
I am bound by professional secrecy.
My coaching practice benefits from regular supervision.
Languages spoken
English, French, Russian
