Title: METAPHORS
1METAPHORS
- Their Utility in Therapy
- By Robert M. Tansley
2Robert M. Tansley
- Father of Four
- Happily Married
- Therapist in Private Practice
- Masters Degree in Social Work from the University
of Toronto 1987 - Undergraduate Degree in Social Work 1982
- Internship with Jay Haley Cloe Madanes
3Assumptions for Today
- You agree that we are in the change business
this is about therapy - People come to us because they have thoughts,
feelings, behaviours, relationships that they are
unhappy with, or someone else is unhappy with and
they desire change - Typically they have done everything in their own
power to bring about that change before they come
to us and the change they desire has not yet
happened
4CONTEXT
- We are key in the change equation (stop blaming
the clients) - We play an active role in change (MI or
Motivational Interviewing - CBT or Cognitive
Behavioural Therapy)
5WHAT WE BRING TO THE DANCE
- We bring ourselves self use of self
- We bring our skills engagement skills,
interviewing skills, assessment skills, verbal
skills, intervention skills - We bring theory problem theory and solution
theory ok probably more problem than solution
6WHAT WE BRING TO THE DANCE
- We also bring bias, blind spots, faulty
assumptions and our own baggage
7TOOLS
- One of our key tools in therapy is language
(the other key tool is relationship) - If we want to influence someone we need to be
good at language
8TOOLS
- Speaking
- Articulating
- Meanings
- Definitions
- we use them to join, to show we understand, to
gain influence, to cause reflection, to set a
stage for someone to make another choice, a new
behaviour
9LANGUAGE
- This is a two way street we are listening, we
are processing, we are rearranging but we are
also preparing to speak to intervene - Everything we do is an intervention to the
client EVERYTHING
10LANGUAGE
- Once I open my mouth I am guiding a
conversation, choosing what needs attention
influencing intervening - Narrative Therapy Therapeutic Conversations
11LANGUAGE
- Embedded in our language the English language
are metaphors todays presentation focuses on
these metaphors their power their utility
their beauty .
12METAPHORS
- As a way to engage a client, to show that you
understand their story to gain a position of
influence to begin to alter both thinking and
behaviour . We use metaphors
13What is a Metaphor?
- Metaphors are comparisons that show how two
things that are not alike in most ways are
similar in one important way. Metaphors are a way
to describe something.
14Two Types of Metaphors
- 1. The Metaphors our clients give us.
- 2. The Metaphors we use, collect, for therapeutic
use.
15Why Metaphors?
- The English language is pretty linear.
- It lacks depth - texture
- Metaphors create meaning
- Metaphors enhance description
16Common Metaphors
- The whole nine yards
- this is a war reference not football
- For the Birds
- before cars, horses, birds ate the oats from
the poop means its horse crap - Fit to be tied
- a reference to a straight jacket !!
- Feather in your cap
- 1800s tradition to count how many people you
killed in battle
17Common Metaphors
- I paid an arm and a leg
- Keep your shirt on
- Kick the bucket
- He spilled the beans
- Fit as a Fiddle
- He really hit the roof
- Hes pulling your leg
- Do these ring a bell
18Common Metaphors
- I am in a rut a quicky
- whats the difference between a rut and a
grave? - A loose cannon
- maritime war reference, loose cannons on a
deck, sank ships - Its time to face the music
- from British, court marshal execution
19Common Metaphors
- The Grass is Always Greener on the other side of
the fence - I like to stew about my problems
20Addiction Metaphors
- Wasted
- Falling off the Wagon water was delivered by
wagon on the wagon means I am drinking only
water, not alcohol - High
- Slaying the Dragon
- Battling the Demon
21Metaphors are Gifts
- When we listen to clients, they give us gifts.
- Metaphors are gifts, often hidden, embedded in
common language, phrases. (I heard a client say
recently I am being used as an escape goat). - Metaphors are gateways to a clients soul.
- They are entry points to connect, to understand,
to create change.
22The Theory of Metaphors
- Using Metaphors create momentum for change judo
- Metaphors are not random !!!
- They are part of our cognition
- Dare we say, unconscious
- They exist in layers, like an onion
23 Case Example
- Male 25
- Married employed at an investment bank
- No children
- Living with his in-laws
- Moved from Toronto, sold their home and put
60,000 in the bank - They were shopping for their dream home
- Ready to sign a contract with a builder he tells
his wife he lost the 60,000 gambling, borrowed a
further 20,000 and lost that
24Case Example
- As part of his story he says,
- my life is a dead end.
- What does this mean in this context?
25Example Layers - Onions
- A dead end
- It seems innocuous, benign, maybe even irrelevant
this is the first layer - However lets consider the dead end
26What do you notice about the Dead End?
27The Dead End Another Layer
- Dead Ends are relatively arbitrary
- You dont fall off the face of the earth at a
dead end like the old joke, I am from
Brantford, its not the end of the earth, but you
can see it from there . - It really means that the constructed road has
come to an end - Its quite easy to move past a dead end
28THERAPY
- What have we done we have taken the initial
meaning, presented by the client its over, I
cant go on, and begun to soften that meaning
up we have used their term, their language
their rhythm with the world and massaged it
not accepted the meaning begun to create hope,
options peeled the onion
29The Utility of the Dead End
- Send a client to find a dead end old school
Strategic Therapy - Discuss the alternative meaning of dead end old
school Structural Family Therapy (reframing) - And yes to all the mental health folk in the
crowd here is depression, suicidal thoughts
etc. etc. - dont be scared we can change this
30Where is the Therapy?
- CBT change the way someone thinks and you
change their behaviour - Therapy is about possibilities, about getting
people unstuck - Therapy is about finding faulty thinking and
changing the thought sequences
31Another Example
- Couple
- Early 30s
- 2 young children
- Arguing a great deal
- Cycle of intense arguing then reconciliation
- In telling their story they say, We need more
balance in our life. Its all too extreme.
32Where is the Metaphor?
- Do you own a balance? drugs
- Can you bring in a balance?
- Can you make a balance?
- What is in the balance that makes the extreme?
- What needs to be in the other side of the balance
to make it balance?
33SOLUTION
- I asked the couple to put their balance in an
obvious place in their home. - If there were an issue to discuss, either one
could put a penny on one side of the balance - Each was to check the balance daily
- If it was unbalanced they were to ask the other
why - This changed the sequence of suppressing feelings
until they exploded
34SOLUTION
- This changed to tone in the house
- It brought in a playfulness
- It created an early warning system
- It allowed issues to be addressed at an earlier,
less volatile stage
35This is a Balance
36 You get the Idea
- If we are to influence people, their thinking,
their behaviour, their healing - We need tools
- Language in therapy is one of our most important
tools - We need to get good at it
- The Metaphors clients give us are a gateway a
way in a way to connect in their language,
their rhythm their own words
37The Second Type of Metaphor The Canned Metaphor
- I collect metaphors
- They are embedded in stories
- They have a utility to create meaning,
understanding change - Jay Haley said that all therapy is hypnosis, its
about levels of trance telling a story creates
trance
38The Monkey Trap
The Case of the Orderly
39The Orderly
- 37 years of age
- Separated father of an 8 year old daughter
- Worked at the hospital for 10 years
- Sent by his employer for Anger Management
because of incidents at work
40The Confusion
- Job description says you must help control all
unruly patients - The Clint Eastwood of it all
41Rewarded Behaviour is Repeated Behaviour
- Doctors loved me, complimented me
- Two nurses disagreed, wrote to HR to complain
42The Intervention The Theory
- Problems are embedded in sequences Jay Haley
- The sequences are both behavioural and cognitive
- Interrupting these sequences - change the
sequence change the outcome change the
behaviour
43Do You Know How to Catch a Monkey? The
Intervention
- Creates a brain scan
- Interrupts sequence of cognition
- Creates a focus, a level of trance
- This is a skill
44The Coconut
- In order to catch a monkey its quite simple
- You take a coconut
- Cut the top off so its shaped like a sphere
- Put some rice or banana in the coconut
- Tie the coconut to a tree
- And wait
45The Coconut
- A monkey will come along
- Stick their hand in the coconut
- Grab what is in there
- And now they are trapped
46The Coconut
- Here is the trap
- The monkey, convinced what they are holding on to
is important - They will not let go
- They are trapped
47The Coconut
- You can now untie the coconut and lead the monkey
away - Now the connection the comparison the metaphor
48The Coconut
- This is what people are like
- They are holding onto things they believe are
important, thoughts, feelings, beliefs,
behaviours, relationships ... - But they are trapped, being lead away to a place
they may not want to go
49The Coconut
- Places like, unemployment, jail, divorce court,
victimization, crack houses (MI)
50Whats In Your Coconut?
- Where does this walk around wait for the guy to
say something then jump him come from? - I live by a rule If you are man enough to
mouth off, you better be man enough to back it
up
51Rules
- I dont live by that rule
- Where did you get the rule?
52Fathers
- Growing up poor
- Bullies to bikers
53Letting Go Grocery Shopping
- I did it with tears
- It aint safe in the vegetables
- I have a confession to make
- The client teaches me
54Confessions
- I have been making monkey traps .
55Replacement Behaviours
- How do you get your hand out of a coconut?
- Change is a two step process ....
- There is what is being let go of ... A rule, a
belief, a behaviour ... - And there is what is being grabbed onto ... New
rules, new beliefs, new behaviours
56Good Endings
- Practice makes perfect
- Sparring with safety
- Success is the attainment of goals with favour
57The Vase Metaphor
- VICTIMIZATION
- And
- RELATIONSHIPS
- And
- SELF ESTEEM
58VICTIMIZATION
- Many people struggling with addictions have been
victimized many times - Child abuse, sexual abuse, adult children of
alcoholics, neglect, domestic violence, rape,
abandonment, emotional abuse, placements in
multiple foster homes, etc. - Victimization is about being in a situation or
position of powerlessness
59VICTIMIZATION
- We often hear metaphors from clients like
- My life is shattered
- I feel broken
- Im a mess
60VICTIMIZATION
- When I hear one of these references I think about
using the metaphor of the VASE
61VICTIMIZATION
- A vase is designed to hold water
- Water that is pure, transparent, healthy
- Good parenting and strong life experiences fill
the vase up, abundantly, over flowing we will
get to self esteem
62VICTIMIZATION
- Some life experiences no matter how full the vase
is, crack the vase - And things begin to leak out
- Things like good judgement, confidence, self
esteem leak out
63VICTIMIZATION
- We have all met these people they have heard
messages like youre worthless, useless,
stupid, you will never amount to anything, you
are a waste of my time, I wish I never had
children, I wish you were dead or there has
been physical abuse, sexual abuse or neglect
acts of ommission and commission CRACK
64VICTIMIZATION
- They are leaking and vulnerable to feeling empty
- These are the people that leave your office
looking better, but by the next day, what has
been said or done, has leaked out of them - And sometimes when people feel empty they fill
themselves up with things that are not good for
them, substance, drugs,
65VICTIMIZATION
- What do we do ?
- How would you repair the vase ?
- Putting glue on the outside will not hold
- Putting glue on the inside will not hold
66VICTIMIZATION
- The only repair that is going to hold is to
finish the crack . So you can pull the vase
apart - Then on the edge surfaces you put epoxy glue
67EPOXY GLUE
- Two tubes
- One Safety
- The other - Identity
68HEALING
- When we combine safety and identity healing
occurs - Living a safe life
- A strong positive identity this must be built
69SAFE LIFE
- Victims live very risky lives, they go to risky
places, they hang out with risky people, they are
involved in risky behaviours
70IDENTITY
- WHO AM I AND WHO AM I NOT
- This is a shield
71THE VASE RELATIONSHIPS
- When relationships begin they are like a vase
of pure water, transparent, healthy, clean - We are in love, pouring good things into the vase
to over flowing
72RELATIONSHIPS
- Eventually some dirt gets thrown in
- But because we are committed, pouring in good
water, it may get cloudy but it soon becomes
clear - This is self filtering
73RELATIONSHIPS
- However, sometimes, something really bad happens,
and a big chunk of dirt gets thrown in - It sinks to the bottom and sits there,
distracting us from anything good - We focus on the chunk of dirt, stop pouring in
good water
74RELATIONSHIPS
- Soon, all we can see is the dirt, our good water
is evaporating - Our tendency is to pound on the chunk of dirt .
- Then we brake the vase and it holds nothing
75RELATIONSHIPS
- When a big chunk of dirt is dumped in our vase,
we must do something really difficult, continue
to pour in good water - It is the only thing that will soften up the
chunk of dirt .
76SELF ESTEEM
- Self Esteem is something that is built
- It is built through praise compliments and
encouragement
77SELF ESTEEM
- I am raising a child
- I am offering, praise, compliments,
encouragement, affection - I am filling the vase up, over flowing, building
self esteem, confidence - Then someone nasty, hurtful comes along and calls
my child a name that puts some dirt in my vase
- The child comes home and we discuss the insult
I can put more good water in and make it clean
again
78SELF ESTEEM
- If the child has no good, pure water in their
vase there is nothing to absorb the insult
there is no resiliency no bounce no shield
there has not been sufficient praise,
compliments, encouragement, affection - Now when something is thrown in the vase, there
is no capacity for absorption, no resiliency,
everything hits, sticks and hurts
79SELF ESTEEM
- Self esteem is built first, from the outside in
- Children initially cannot build their own self
esteem - We build it for them through praise compliments
and encouragement
80SELF ESTEEM
- As a child grows they begin to build their own
self esteem - They can do something and say, I feel good about
that.
81 82LONELINESS
- Addicts can be incredibly lonely people
- They have few real close friends
- They are often estranged from their family of
origin - They are often distant in their own families,
fearing intimacy with everyone angry at them
- Therapeutically its only a matter of time
before this comes up as an issue, loneliness
83Loneliness a quick metaphor
- So they are in your office somewhat lucid and
they say, I feel so lonely. - This INTERVENTION is a body blow a quick
metaphor to connect with a client and soften them
up to prepare them for other possibilities we
dont go from unhealthy to healthy in one step
its a process we rarely hit a home run
straight up (how many metaphors are in this
little rant?)
84LONELINESS - METAPHOR
- Loneliness is the hunger for a relationship
- and when we are starving we will eat anything
- This statement alone usually gets a head nodding
you have permission now to intervene people
get that statement I am connecting loneliness
with hunger as a comparison
85LONELINESS
- So we carry on with the metaphor
- usually when we do this, we eat something that is
not good for us This is often true in
relationships we know the person we are with is
not good for us, or the people we hang out with
are not good for us but we continue because it
fills us up - We are looking for head nodding
86LONELINESS
- How many times has it happened to you when you
get up at night, you are hungry and you go to the
fridge - Its got food in it but you cant see anything
that is good for you - Its right there an apple or yogurt but somehow
they disappear as options - So you take out something you know is not good
for you and you eat it just to fill yourself up
to feel full
87LONELINESS
- You are now eating something that is not good for
you and rationalizing Ill work out tomorrow
It wont kill me not today anyway - These are the rationalizations of an addict
Ill just do one 40 thats all and then they
wake up in a Crack House a week later . Their
family cant find them, they have not been to
work, they have Hep C or worse
88POSSIBILITIES
- Now you are in very rich fertile ground you
have taken loneliness and used it to propel you
to some fairly fundamental issues in the area of
addictions choices, rationalizations, risky
behaviours, the logic model, the sequence of
thoughts you have connected with the client,
developed some influence by showing you
understand
89THE JUDO OF THERAPY
- IF IF you have observed the client nodding in
agreement through all this they get it you
have an opportunity to intervene this person is
in Insoos words, a customer or in the Stages of
Change, an Action Stage you have created a yes
set. - So here I go, I say something like Loneliness
is such a common problem, its like that old
Beatles song, all the lonely people where do
they all come from
90THE JUDO OF THERAPY
- I continue, I have used that story countless
times and inevitably someone says, Rob, where
are the good refrigerators in life. Everyone I
know does drugs, there is no escaping it - I disagree This involves faulty thinking, false
rationalizations NOT EVERYONE DOES DRUGS AND
YES YOU CAN ESCAPE IT if I am instructing
someone on where to go and how to find new
friends here is what I recommend
91THE JUDO OF THERAPY
- Go somewhere for another reason not to meet
people for another reason knowing that the
reason alone is good for you just being there
will be good for you and then you are with
other people, there for a good reason not there
for a relationship this list is endless it
can also be cost free .
92THE JUDO OF THERAPY
- Once you are there, doing that thing that is good
for you look around who else is there there
is no pressure no one is there to meet people,
to meet you they are there for the same reason
you are to do that good thing this means they
share that thing with you the interest in it,
the value of it you have something in common
93THE JUDO OF THERAPY
- there is no pressure no hidden agenda no
one is trying to take you home or get you to a
crack house you are there because being there
is good for you now you can begin a
conversation with someone the content is built
in its that thing that has you there its a
neutral, no pressure beginning point now if
your radar goes off, move away if you feel good
keep talking
94THE JUDO OF THERAPY
- This is how healthy relationship begin, over
time, quietly, with screening so you have been
to this thing several times and you have talked
with several people and someone strikes you as
someone you could be friends with you take the
relationship to another place do you have time
for a coffee when this is over?
95THE JUDO OF THERAPY
- OK so where are those places, those refrigerators
full of good food - They are everywhere volunteer to coach soccer,
join a Lions Club, take an interest course at
College or elsewhere, volunteer for the Board at
the Food Bank, join a hiking club, take up stain
glass window making, join a gym, volunteer to
tutor at a school, read to the elderly
96THE JUDO OF THERAPY
- We start with someone stuck their thinking,
their behaviour we engage them we soften them
up . We get them nodding, interested, invested
we get momentum then we flip them to something
healthy new ideas new possibilities Therapy
is as much about what we are letting go of as it
is what we are grabbing on to we need
replacement behaviours, thoughts
97TRUST
98TRUST
- This is a fundamental issue, not only to therapy
but to life - developmental psychology stuff
- DTA dont trust anyone a common value among
people struggling with addictions
99TRUST
- Addicts are often people that have experienced an
incredible amount of betrayal - it shatters ones ability and/or desire to trust
- they are often victims of child abuse, sexual
abuse, domestic violence, crime
100TRUST
- Trust comes up in every therapeutic relationship
either directly or indirectly - When it does we need a way to address it
- I use the metaphor of a house
101TRUST
- It is almost cliché but I will say Trust is
something you build - I am looking to create that brain scan, that
sequence interruption - This typically gets me a head nod agreement
Insoos Yes Set !
102TRUST
- I will then push this belief further and say It
is naïve to grant trust, but people often do
they trust people until they are screwed over but
then it is too late - To further punctuate my point I will say,
trust is the fulfillment of commitment.
103TRUST
- I have a rule dont trust untrustworthy people
- At this point I usually have my permission to
proceed head nodding, active listening if I
dont I dont proceed
104TRUST
- note to self dont waste good interventions on
people that are not ready to benefit from them
105TRUST
- Building TRUST is like building a house
- We start with a foundation
- In this case our foundation is made out of cinder
blocks, bricks - One brick is one commitment ..
- Early in a relationship, the brick is something
simple like I will call you on Saturday
106TRUST
- This seems small, insignificant, but it is a
commitment - Trust is the fulfillment of commitment
- So someone commits to call you on Saturday that
puts the brick down in our foundation - Fulfilling the commitment is the mortar or cement
that goes around the brick so I can add or lay
another brick down beside it
107TRUST
- So lets say they call on Saturday and they make
another commitment I will meet you tomorrow at
1100 and we will have coffee at Starbucks
another brick 1100 comes and they are there
more mortar at this point we do not have a
foundation they are two for two but more needs
to happen a lot more
108TRUST
- The average foundation has 14,000 bricks in it
and over time when you are with someone you see
their ability to make and fulfill commitments
not only with you but, work, their family, their
friends when enough time has passed and 14,000
commitments have been made and fulfilled you can
say this is a trustworthy person
109TRUST
- When you look at the foundation and you can see,
it is a foundation you are ready to build
bigger commitments until now the commitments
have been relatively small, measurable things - Lets try a bedroom commitment I will be
sexually faithful to you - Lets try a family room commitment We will
raise children together - Lets try a living room commitment I will love
you forever
110TRUST
- Often today we see people making bedroom, living
room, family room commitments without a
foundation - We cant be surprised when it collapses because
there is no solid foundation - DONT TRUST UNTRUSTWORTHY PEOPLE
111TRUST
- When your foundation is solid, you are a
trustworthy person, a person of integrity, a
person of your word you get some slack - In a family with children it takes 6 to 12
commitments a day to keep it moving forward
Ill get milk, Ill stop and get a movie, Ill
pick up pizza, dry cleaning or the children
112TRUST
- If I come home and say I forgot the pizza I
can repair that pretty quickly I go back out
and get the pizza - But If I come home and say I forgot to be
faithful today thats a different message - Which is why the foundation is so important
113TRUST
- The foundation commitments are pretty
measureable, visible either I have the pizza or
I dont - It is far more difficult to measure, fidelity or
love so I rely on the foundation to know the
other commitments are safe
114TRUST
- How often, in therapy, have you seen a couple say
We are almost embarrassed to tell you what we
fight about. They are such small petty things.
But the theme that ties them all together is
trust It is a lot easier to fight about the
toothpaste or the garbage than to say, I dont
trust you .
115LEAVING HOME EAGLES
116Children come into the world completely dependent
117Its our job to raise them to be independent
self reliant
118Leaving home is often described as being like the
birthing process intermittently painful,
sometimes bloody but in the end they are out
119Eagles know how to raise their young they mate
for life and build their nests in very high
places to keep their young safe from predators
their nests are huge, made of sticks so to make
them comfortable they line them with feathers.
120- A baby eagles first experience of independence
is witnessing it seeing their parents leave the
nest this creates their first drive or desire
to leave home
121- A baby eagles next motivation to leave home is
overcrowding as they grow there is less and
less room in the nest
122- The overcrowded nest sends eagles up the side of
the nest to the top edge at this point they can
stretch their wings but they are not ready to
fly
123- Now there are two motivations to leave home
independence looks really attractive and this
place aint big enough for all of us anymore
124- Now that the babies are strong enough to climb to
the edge of the nest they are almost ready to
fly but the parent eagles perform a ritual
they sit above the nest and wait for the babies
to jump or fall
125- Once the baby eagle jumps or falls from the nest,
one of the parents will follow them down
remember their nests are high so they have time
they give the baby time to fly but after about
half way they fly past the baby and catch them
on their back to return them to the nest safe
they will not allow their young to fall on their
face !!!
126- That attempt at independence they get for free
but now that the baby eagles seem ready for
independence the adult eagles perform a ritual
they remove all the feather linings from the
nest because the nest is made of large sticks
it is now very uncomfortable it is prickly
this creates the third and final motivation for
the young to leave home
127- Now all the ingredients or motivations to
independence are in place - Independence must be seen, witnessed
- Overcrowding forces us to seek independence
- At each stage of our childrens growth we must
supervise their attempts at independence so they
dont fall on their face - In the final stages the nest must be made to be
prickly
128- If we dont make our young adult childrens lives
prickly they will grow up to be pricks
129(No Transcript)
130Healing The Wound Metaphor
- At the core of Victimization is Betrayal
- Being betrayed is like being cut with a knife
- If we dont seek medical attention, when we are
betrayed the wound bleeds and gets infected - Now even if we stop the bleeding, ourselves, we
still have an infection - That infection in emotional terms is RESENTMENT
131VICTIMIZATION
132The Rule of Threes for Resentment
- Rule 1 Resentment Prevents Intimacy
- Rule 2 Resentment Creates Dependency
- Rule 3 Resentment is like Acid in a Bottle
It eats you from the inside out
133Healing cont
- The goal of healing is a scar you remember but
there is no pain - Repairing an infected wound takes both
antibiotics and reopening the wound to clean it
out - Then the wound needs stitching creating a new
story with who is responsible - Then we can heal, create a scar we remember how
we got it but it doesnt hurt us any more
134Love vs. Pyrite
135Getting in Your Car
136Gardening Pruning
137The Wheel Barrow Rut