Using Therapeutic Metaphor to Provide a Holding Environment: The Inner Edge of Possibility

The basic thesis of this paper is that effective use of therapeutic metaphor can provide a holding environment within which the client can both address and recontextualize clinical issues. The use of therapeutic metaphor can serve to bolster the empathic connection between therapist and client, providing the client with a new feeling of being understood, in part through a new use of language. Therapeutic metaphor is also particularly well-suited to promoting dialectical understanding and analysis of everyday problems in living. The inner edge of possibility is a construct that illustrates the link between the clinical efficacy and structure of therapeutic metaphor.