Examine psychological support for using metaphor in language to facilitate change.
"Concepts that emerge from people's consistent and repeated use of metaphors end up constituting how and what they live by in the most fundamental ways" (Gass, Gillis, and Russell 2012).
Reading through this chapter about practicing adventure therapy and the importance and significance of the use of metaphors through therapy really opened my eyes to the complexity of human interactions and language. As I was reading about metaphors and what they are I came across this blog that defined them as "something that describes the use of a body of knowledge about on concept to understand or comment on a second concept. Metaphors are especially powerful when used to help understand a concept that is unfamiliar or unapproachable." It is sometimes hard define what a metaphor is without using a metaphor to illustrate it.
Using metaphors is a powerful practice because metaphors provide shortcuts to concepts "sometimes a single word can call to a mind a broad and complicated topic. some concepts, ideas, and phenomena are unanalyzable or un-qualifiable in our experience - what is the meaning if life? - and can only be approached through metaphor."(http://philosophe.com/design/metaphors/). To connect this to therapy and how it relates, it would be helpful to be able to come up with a metaphor for a certain therapeutic experience that a client had in relation to a prior life experience and bring them together with the use of a metaphor. This would allow the client to see the connection and hopefully the metaphor would act as the facilitator of change.
I came across an article from the Journal of Counseling and Development that titled: Applying the notion of metaphor types to enhance counseling protocols. This article began with yet another way of defining a metaphor: "the phenomenon whereby we talk, and potentially, think about something in terms of something else." The article went on to say something really big about metaphors and how they are so useful when it comes to therapy. Apart from helping the client to recall important therapeutic moments, building a relationship between the client and the therapist, and allowing the client to openly discuss and talk about their painful memories or struggles indirectly, "the primary value of a metaphor lies in its potential to reveal and alter client's maladjustive conceptualizations with regard to key target domains such as life, love, and family." (Tay, 2012). I would think that if these metaphors are able to change how clients feel and think about different parts of their lives and their experiences they would be able to then change their behavior in those areas of their lives. These metaphors become a powerful tool for altering experiences in ways that promote adaptation and positive self-regard.
Citations
Gass, M. A., Gillis, H.L., Russell, K. C. (2012). Adventure therapy: Theory, research, and practice. New York, Routledge/Taylor & Francis Group.
Philosophe. Metaphors & schemas in design. Retrieved from: http://philosophe.com/design/metaphors/
Tay, D. (2012). Applying the notion of metaphor types to enhance counseling protocols. Journal of Counseling & Development, 90(2), 142-149.
I have never really thought about what you said… that metaphors provide shortcuts to concepts. That is such a simple way to put it and so clear and understandable. We use metaphors and analogies all of the time whether or not we realize it to our friends, family, teachers, classmates, etc. They are great ways to explain things that need an explanation with something other than a plain explanation such as what the dictionary would provide us with. In all of the articles I came across, I also read that metaphors are so important and very effective for therapy. There are so many books out there about this topic as well, I was so interested in the topic that I almost bought one of them. Therapists need to be able to understand when clients are speaking in metaphors because something they do not want to say bluntly that they are depressed or feel worthless so they may say I feel hopeless or like everything is falling apart around me or I just feel tired all of the time…They say things that have a different meaning and are expecting the “wizard” aka the therapist to know what they are implying.
ReplyDeleteI agree completely at the importance metaphors play on getting through to others. Another important aspect about metaphors that I have come across is how much easier they stick to your memory. Once hearing it, connections are made and the individual feels as if they have solved the puzzle all on their own. This leads to the individual easily remembering the metaphor which in return allows for the individual to use this metaphor in their everyday lives. A simple phrase can ignite all that knowledge and understanding in a very simple manner.
ReplyDeleteHey Leslie!! Great job on your blog. The statement "you can't describe a metaphor without using a metaphor" was awesome. I also agree with what you stated about metaphors being used all around us. It's also interesting how metaphors strengthen the bond between a client and the therapist. Could one reason be because metaphors are used to describe a feeling and once the metaphor is used, it seems to be broken down to its simplest form in a way that anyone could picture that analogy? I think it's a possibility. Great job Leslie, see you in class...
ReplyDeleteThe information in the last paragraph you put together really says it all in my opinion. The description of all the ways in which metaphors can be useful in therapy makes clear the multiple ways in which metaphors can benefit various aspects of therapy. I believe I do agree with you statement toward the end; it makes since that if metaphor utilization can help change feeling and thoughts it would ultimately change client behavior. In considering this, it seems to me that the client's feelings and thoughts would have to be changed before the client would change his/her actions. Just seems like the natural progression to me.
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