This is interesting, thought Raelene. She now used the same loving words in a gentle, loving
voice. Again Crystal emerged, tail wagging, tongue lolling, and rested her head on Raelene’s lap.
Now, Raelene was a good scientist. She continued to experiment with different things, making
her speech fast as though she sounded excited or slow like she was sad, loud like she was angry or soft
as if it was soothing. Crystal responded to the sound of her voice, or how she said something, rather
than the actual words, or what she said. As I said, Raelene was smart. She began to wonder if this was
how she was responding to her stepmother. Was she recoiling from the screaming, like Crystal, and
not hearing the actual words her stepmother was saying? If so, no wonder she was always getting into
trouble.
After that Raelene began to experiment when her stepmother was screaming. It wasn’t always
easy and she had to frequently remind herself: Listen to the words rather than the screaming; hear
what she is saying rather than howshe is saying it. In that way she could hear what was asked of her
and do what was necessary to avoid getting into trouble so much. She wasn’t so sure if she was imag-
ining it, but she even thought her stepmother was screaming a little bit less.
Raelene was surprised to find herself thinking she could be a little thankful to her stepmother,
as well as to Crystal, for teaching her about how important it was to match whatwe say with howwe
say it. I personally think a lot of the credit was due to Raelene, because she was the one who noticed
Crystal’s response and set up the experiment to test it out. She had learned that if she spoke loving
words in a loving voice Crystal would always be there with her head on Raelene’s lap, her tail wag-
ging and a guarantee of loyal friendship.
138 Healing Stories, Teaching Stories
EXERCISE 8.1
Learning to manage emotions effectively is a core ingredient in one’s quality of life. Jot down
in your notebook any metaphor ideas that you observe in your casework or day-to-day life.
They may be about effective means of managing anxiety, depression, or anger. They may be
about building positive emotions, or learning how to appreciate humor. Build your stories
around the three core therapeutic characteristics listed at the beginning of each story in this
part.
■ What is the problem your idea addresses? How does it parallel the problem or prob-
lems of your child client?
■ What resources, skills, abilities, or means does the child need to reach a resolution?
■ How can your story conclude with appropriate, healthy, and mature management of
emotions?