Metaphoric Therapy: Exploring the Pervasiveness of Metaphor and Its Use in Therapy

Although often taken as just a literary device or an aid in communicating ideas, metaphor can be seen to play a central and inescapable role in how we constitute reality. While metaphor pervades our meanings and interactions, we often lose sight of the metaphoric nature of our constructs. This paper focuses particularly on some of the practical therapeutic options which are opened by a greater awareness of metaphor. These options include not only using metaphors in therapy with our clients, but also providing therapy for our clients' metaphors.