StudentShare
Contact Us
Sign In / Sign Up for FREE
Search
Go to advanced search...
Free

The Use of Metaphor - Article Example

Cite this document
Summary
The therapist must help the client move past these patterns because they often create road blocks that stop the client from moving forward. Milton Erikson…
Download full paper File format: .doc, available for editing
GRAB THE BEST PAPER92.1% of users find it useful
The Use of Metaphor
Read Text Preview

Extract of sample "The Use of Metaphor"

The Use of Metaphor in Psychology Introduction When a client enters the therapeutic process they are inundated with emotions and thought patterns that are often negative. The therapist must help the client move past these patterns because they often create road blocks that stop the client from moving forward. Milton Erikson saw that clients could move past their patterns by getting past their conscious minds. Erikson knew that the conscious mind held onto patterns that were difficult to break (Gordon par. 10). The therapist’s job was to move them through these patterns.

In order do to this, the therapist had to help the client move past their conscious mind. Erikson introduced the concept of metaphors, many of which were physical actions that clients could take outside the counseling session.2 Erickson and Physical Metaphors Erikson used physical metaphors as an away to move past the unconscious mind. The way this would work was to give the client a physical task to complete outside the therapy session that was geared toward helping the client learn something more about themselves.

Usually, the client would return to the next counseling session after doing the task and the client would have “profound learning that was unique for them” (Bill Baker 1). Physical metaphors were used because they allowed the client to bypass their conscious mind by making it concentrate on the task instead of the learning that would take place. In this way, the conscious mind would be occupied and resistance to the learning about oneself would not occur. At the same time, the client’s unconscious mind would be able to form new patterns of though so the individual could come to the next counseling sessions with new insights about their problems (Baker 2).

The physical metaphor also provides an opportunity for clients to “learn by doing” in order to learn from their experience. 3 Erikson and Use of Stories Erikson also used stories to bypass the unconscious mind. He found that stories could inspire a person do something with their life. In order to do this, they would have to understand that what happened in the story could also happen to them which could mean that they would “affect deep and lasting change” (Baker 14) without the individual actively working toward it.

There are several reasons that metaphors from stories are useful. David Puchol Esparza states that these stories can provide a key towards helping the individual understand how they show up in the world, they can cause something to be remembered, they can provide many levels of information and they can help people bring about the new patterns of thoughts, behaviors and feelings (2). Also, people enjoy stories that help them understand how someone else has done something. They decide that if someone in similar circumstances were able to battle the situation, that they also can do the same.

4 Erikson and Hypnosis Stephen Lankston states that Erikson moved from being the authority figure for the individual to a position where he co-created with the client. He was able to offer “ideas and suggestions” to an individual once they were in a trance state (4). He felt that he offered “ambiguity for the client” (4) so the client was able to move through their problems to something more concrete they could do. In conclusion, Erikson was able to use metaphor to help clients move past issues to something more concrete in their understanding.

The metaphors were physical, used as stories or eventually done through hypnosis. They were seen as effective for the clients that used them which created more responsible clients.Works CitedBaker, Bill. “The Power of Physical Metaphors”. Eriksonian Info. 2004. Web. < http://ericksonian.info/PowerofPhysicalMetaphors_p3.html> Gordon, David. “Therapeutic Metaphor.” 2008. Web. 2 December 2011. < http://www.therapeuticmetaphors.com/> Lankton, Stephen. “Erikson’s Contribution to Therapy: Epistemology – Not Technology. 2000. Web.

29 November 2011. < http://lankton.com/epist.htm#E> Puchol Esparza, David. “Therapeutic Metaphors & Clinical Hypnosis” HypnoGenesis. 2001. 29 November 2011. < http://www.hypnos.co.uk/hypnomag/esparza.html>

Read More
Cite this document
  • APA
  • MLA
  • CHICAGO
(“The Use of Metaphor Article Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words”, n.d.)
Retrieved from https://studentshare.org/psychology/1585237-the-use-of-metaphor
(The Use of Metaphor Article Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 Words)
https://studentshare.org/psychology/1585237-the-use-of-metaphor.
“The Use of Metaphor Article Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 Words”, n.d. https://studentshare.org/psychology/1585237-the-use-of-metaphor.
  • Cited: 0 times

CHECK THESE SAMPLES OF The Use of Metaphor

Use of metaphor in poetry

In the line "Close of day" the writer expresses The Use of Metaphor to indicate the final moments of ones life.... The Use of Metaphor is also elaborated in the lines, "Solemn church", "scatter the congregation", "schools where he scholar is studying", "the bridegroom quiet-no happiness must he has now with his bride" all describes how the doom will affect every one in the society.... 299025 College: use of metaphor in poetry Dylan Thomas' 'do not go gentle into that good night' is apoem that was dedicated to his father, who was by that time growing weak and failing with the old age....
2 Pages (500 words) Book Report/Review

Language Crossing by B. Rampton

The researcher states that Rampton defines the term as the use of the language of a certain group or ethnicity but generally belongs to another group.... According to Cutler, Rampton's book describes how groups of multiracial adolescents in a British working-class community mix their use of Creole, Panjabi, and Asian English.... It is uni-directional because speakers go along with the momentum of the second voice, though it generally retains an element of otherness which makes the appropriation conditional and introduces some reservation into the speakers' use of it....
6 Pages (1500 words) Assignment

The Use of Metaphor in Paradise Lost

The use of the mind to depict the concept of the Garden of Eden and fall is created by the use of PARADISE LOST Literature connection The Use of Metaphor in paradise lost is excellent with the use of Epic simileparticularly evident in the whole poem.... The use of the mind to depict the concept of the Garden of Eden and fall is created by The Use of Metaphor making the poem interesting.... odern connectionIn modern language, literary use is occasional, with the main approach being on The Use of Metaphor....
2 Pages (500 words) Essay

Analysis of Emily Dickinsons Im Nobody Who Are You

Emily… The poem incorporates The Use of Metaphor and simile to bring a given meaning and/or set of points to the reader's attention.... The poem incorporates The Use of Metaphor and simile to bring a given meaning and/or set of points to the reader's attention....
2 Pages (500 words) Essay

Commentary for IB Literature Facebook sonnet

The poem, “The Face Book Sonnet,” written by Sherman Alexie and published in May 2011issue of Mockingbird Magazine, narrates the disdainful and bitter saga of a lonely soul that laments about the losses in life brought about by the obsessive passion for internet and social… The anonymous narrator, whose gender or age the author does not reveal, contemplates on the habits of modern humans which prevent them from enjoying the natural things in life that the protagonist of the poem cherishes....
5 Pages (1250 words) Essay

Short Takes by Elizabeth Penfield

This shows The Use of Metaphor.... The Use of Metaphor is also evident when the novelist writes, “You are as white as a milk worm” (Hopper, 176).... This review "Short Takes" by Elizabeth Penfield" dwells on the literature writing.... According to the text, the story points out the major facets of human decision-making while on a journey....
1 Pages (250 words) Book Report/Review

The concept of science fiction in cinema

This essay focuses on the concept of science fiction is an exciting idea because of its capacity to mimic reality.... The genre features attract many fans of horror movies because of the sophisticated technology applied in the presentation of the movie.... hellip; The most convincing ideas from the course reading are the seven conventions of the forking-path tales....
4 Pages (1000 words) Essay

A Teaching Metaphor - the Use of Metaphors in Classroom

At this age, kids have not developed there cognitive mind, therefore The Use of Metaphor must be selective.... The Use of Metaphor in the classroom depends highly on the following factors; culture, experience of the teacher, and gender.... However, The Use of Metaphor has been encouraged in the classroom since it has more than the mentioned advantages.... … The paper "A Teaching Metaphor - the use of Metaphors in Classroom" is an outstanding example of an essay on education....
6 Pages (1500 words) Assignment
sponsored ads
We use cookies to create the best experience for you. Keep on browsing if you are OK with that, or find out how to manage cookies.
Contact Us