Therapeutic Metaphors: Helping Others Through the Looking Glass

There is music in metaphors, in the chords of individual perception played upon the patterns of human experience. Therapeutic metaphors (stories intended to address a specific personal need) provide a depth of association and potential for insight that is often not available through more direct approaches. Metaphors do this by creating a shared language between therapist and client (or between co-workers, or between friends), a shared world within which communication about a problem and how to resolve it becomes easier and more impactful. Furthermore, once created, that metaphorical world can become one in which the person discovers his or her own resolution to the problem. Like other expressions of art, a metaphor derives its ability to affect and influence us because of its underlying structure. The masterful storyteller thinks in ways that naturally create the parallels, connections, and discoveries that become utterly compelling to the listener. Therapeutic Metaphors: Helping Others Through the Looking Glass provides you with that structure, an explicit and practical format for creating impactful stories for change.