Metaphor
therapy
Have you ever found yourself going round and round
in circles, banging your head against a brick wall, felt the world
on your shoulders or butterflies in your stomach? Each of these
metaphors holds a huge amount of information about the condition
it describes. The process of metaphorical modelling facilitates
people to uncover their own unique metaphors for their own unique
experiences. It utilises our natural tendency to describe complex,
abstract or conceptual issues in terms of more familiar things.
Through developing and understanding their metaphors people often
find that they develop deep understandings of themselves and the
world around them. Simply paying attention to different aspects
of the metaphor allows new information and insights to emerge. This
often leads to spontaneous changes in the metaphor and, simultaneously,
the client's experience of the 'real' world.
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Metaphor therapy has developed out of the
ground breaking work of New Zealand therapist David Grove.
David's methodology was initially modelled and formalised
by James Lawley and Penny Tompkins. I have been taught directly
by David, James and Penny. |
| James Lawley, David Grove, Penny Tompkins |
Direct engagement spiritual re-integration
This approach is, in my opinion, on the cutting
edge of therapy today. It's speed and gentle power has to be experienced
to be believed.
By combining Grovean metaphor therapy with insights
drawn from a process called RAPSI (developed by Eileen Watkins-Seymour)
I recognise the metaphors you identify as a fragments or 'parts'
of you. These parts have personalities with locations, size and
shape, behaviours, values, identity and purpose. 'Problem' parts
are often born in traumatic events - maintained by fear in order
to protect from similar events in the future. At the centre of each
part is a positive intention and the concentrated energy of light
and love.
Once identified it is usually possible to engage
with the metaphors directly, understand their core purpose and positive
intention. For example, if someone felt 'trapped in a box' I may
talk directly to the box and discover that it is protecting the
person inside and that they were the ones who gave it that job to
do many years ago. Once the benefits of integration are fully understood
by the box and the person then re-integratation can occur and the
energy that was being used to maintain 6 sides of enclosure is,
once again, available for movement through life.
Using this approach it is possible to achieve
a full integration of mind, heart and soul. Have you ever heard
someone say something like: 'I am protecting me from myself'? Literal
interpretation of this language indicates the existance of 3 fundamental
parts: 'I' (consciousness or observer part), 'me' (probably soul
or higher self part) and 'myself' (probably heart, reactions, instinct
or unconscious mind part). The separation of these entities restricts
the functioning of the whole. By gaining direct communication with
these entities it is possible to facilitate full integration and
hitherto uncomprehendable levels of prescence.
Clean language
Working with client's symbols requires that the
facilitator does not 'pollute' the client's model with their own
assumptions and ideas. In order to do this the facilitator directs
the client's attention with a style of questioning known as 'clean'
language. The basic clean language questions are:
- And what kind of ... ?
- And is there anything else about ...
?
- And whereabouts is ... ?
- And that's like what?
- And is there a relationship between
... and ... ?
- And when ..., what happens to ... ?
- And where could ... come from?
- And what happens just before ... ?
- And then what happens?
- And what would ... like to have happen?
- And what needs to happen for ... ?
- And can ... ?
The skillful application of these simple questions
can result in the most exquisite metaphors and change experiences.
For an example of these questions in action click
here.
Clean space
Whenever we see something, we see it somewhere;
whenever we hear a sound, it's coming from somewhere; and whenever
we touch something, we feel it somewhere. Likewise, whenever we
create an image in our mind, we see it somewhere; whenever we hear
a sound internally, we hear it coming from somewhere; and whenever
we feel a feeling inside, we feel it somewhere. Neuroscientists
tell us there are no actual images, sounds or feelings in the brain,
but subjectively it seems like there are. In other words, these
things exist in a mindspace - a stage in the theatre of our mind
where the play of consciousness is enacted.
The clean space technique helps a client to separate
out the elements of the issue they wish to explore and assign each
of them a physical location within the room - a physicalisation
of the direct engagement process described earlier in 'full integration'.
By moving to it's location the client is able to access an embodied
'knowing' of that element and it's relationship with the other elements
of the issue. It is a bit like stepping into another person's shoes
and seeing things through their eyes. The process is itterative
and deep understandings and underlying patterns emerge as the client
moves from element to element, finding locations for new elements
as they arise.
Clean space is simple, involving, fun and extremely
powerful. For a more in-depth description of the theory and practice
click here.
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