Learning with Metaphor

A few people are surprised to occasionally hear things which might seem unrelated to the issue at hand. In this case the hypnotherapist is often looking to help a client understand or resolve the issue by utilising metaphor.

Why would you use metaphor?

Metaphor is engaging for many reasons, not least of all for the reason that we all love a good story - that much can be shown from the enduring popularity of our libraries and bookstores. Interestingly, storytelling may well be one of the earliest forms of teaching and we still use stories today to educate and entertain both ourselves and our children.

So we can learn from stories?

Most definitely, and no-one was more instrumental in proving that point than Dr. Milton H. Erickson.
Erickson was a truly, ground-breaking psychotherapist who championed hypnosis as a therapeutic tool. Erickson used skillful metaphor or ‘teaching tales’ as an indirect way of helping his clients to see their problems from a different perspective. These tales utilised our love of stories combined with the unconscious mind’s ability to use metaphor to understand our own internal conflict.

How does metaphor work?

Metaphor allows the unconscious mind to see parallels between one situtation or it's resolution and the presenting situation. You are no doubt aware how easy it seems to help solve others problems whilst our own problems can sometimes seem a little less straightforward. Metaphor allows the unconscious mind to look at the problem in an indirect manner by looking elsewhere for the answers it needs.