Book Review - Therapeutic Metaphors

Therapeutic Metaphors: Helping Others Through the Looking Glass

By David Gordon

Book Review

Therapeutic Metaphors,” by David Gordon, is an in-depth instruction on how to construct and utilize metaphors in the therapeutic setting. The book utilizes metaphors to teach metaphor creation, and is full of other examples of metaphors and how they can be used.

I found this to be an excellent resource for not only creating metaphors, but a good review of some of the fundamental aspects of NLP.

Gordon begins by discussing how metaphors cause the listener to “go inside” to find out what the metaphor means to them. The act of “going inside” causes the listener to utilize resources and experiences in potentially new and different ways, making new connections, seeing the world differently.

Gordon then goes on to discuss the steps necessary to build a useful metaphor, discussing the requirements for well-formedness, isomorphism between the story of the metaphor and the clients situation, the desired outcome, and how to connect the metaphor. Reframing and certain aspects of the “Meta-Model” are also included. He ends this section with a discussion of embedded commands and analogic marking.

In Part III, Gordon teaches the Satir Categories, these being physiological body postures that have been determined to evoke similar responses in many people. For example, the Blamer is one who points their finger, and when people are confronted with the Blamer, they shrink back. Utilizing the Blamer physiology, while telling a metaphor can cause an unconscious reaction in your client (desired or not). Alternatively, while observing clients the therapist can gain deeper understanding of their unconscious beliefs by noting which Satire category physiology they are utilizing along with predicates, tone of voice, etc.

Part IV is a review of Representation Systems and how to use them in developing metaphors.

Part V is about Sub-modalities and how to use them to intensify the metaphor. Sub-modalities are the finer aspects of the five senses – in the Visual realm a few of the sub-modalities are color vs. black and white, size, moving or still, location (in your field of view).

Part VI is a discussion of how best to present your metaphor – covertly or overtly, as a fair tale or an anecdote, a quote, or other methods. He also discusses the hypnotic aspects of telling anecdotes and stories.

Part VII concludes two metaphors that have been strung throughout the book.

The book also includes a Bibliography, for further reading, an Appendix on Sub-modalities, and a Reference List

This review (c) 2007 Dan DeLuca and World Tree, Inc