Working with Metaphor in Narrative Therapy

Abstract

Very few approaches allow the client generated metaphor to be the central theme of therapy without prescriptive and interpretative intervention from the therapist. This paper explores the development of client generated metaphors from the narrative therapy perspective. The temptation to follow therapist directed metaphors is discussed. The process of externalization as the development of a client-generated metaphor is considered. We discuss the use of metaphor in generating solutions that consider a continuum of options which reflects the complexity and depth of many clients' ‘problem-saturated’ stories.

Key Words:

• Metaphor
• narrative therapy
• externalization