| Topic: | Re:Re:Re:Re:Re:Re:ethics |
| Posted by: | Jon Edwards |
| Date/Time: | 22/10/2003 16:59:15 |
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Hi all I've been thinking about the "metaphor is content" issue that's been mentioned a couple of times. Here's a few thoughts for discussion - 1. Metaphor is only content if the client wants it to be. At either the conscious or unsconscious level, the client has the choice to decide that the metaphor is irrelevant and ignore it. It's easier for the client to reject a metaphor (by not understanding it) than it is to reject direct content (which might risk jeopardising their relationship with the therapist). 2. Metaphor becomes the content the client makes of it. The client derives their own meaning from an artful metaphor, and may make different meanings at the conscious and unconscious levels. Two people could derive two entirely different meanings from the same story. One person could make different meanings from the same metaphor at different times. 3. Metaphor becomes content when the teller goes on to explain the meaning after telling the metaphor (something I'm still learning not to do!). 4. Metaphor is a "context for discovery" (see JG's comments elsewhere about how he structures trainings). The client has to do some thinking/processing to make meaning from the metaphor, so the meaning "belongs" to him/her much more than if he/she was just told the content directly. Hope that makes sense! Cheers, Jon |