of fighting, sports heroes of competition and success, and angels and devils of good and evil. An un-
derstanding of this can benefit the therapist’s choice of a story hero, or appreciate the choice of hero
selected by a child.
“We can identify these figures,” says Linden, “by learning what the child’s favorite storybook,
TV, and movie characters are, or by watching to see what the child chooses for a dress up costume”
(2003a, p. 246).
METAPHORS BUILT ON IMAGINATIONI often find that when trainees first begin to work with metaphor therapy, one of the most common
concerns is “I don’t have the imagination.” So here is some good news: You don’t have to be an imag-
inative person to use metaphor therapy. A few artistic, creative people seem to be endowed with this
skill, whereas for most of us it comes with patience, persistence and practice. If you have the simple
principles for developing a healing story, then it becomes easier to build the characters and story line.
While these simple principles will be discussed further in the next chapter, here I would like to illus-
trate how an “imaginative” healing story can be constructed.
Grandfathers who own a car are popular when a grandson wants to get to the skate park but a
definite embarrassment to have hanging around. As a result, I found myself sitting in my car parked
under a shady tree a goodly distance away while my grandson and his friends demonstrated their
tricks, tried out new stunts, and did heaps of their own hanging around. Absent-mindedly, I began
to wonder what would happen if someone unintentionally stepped on one of the skateboards left at
the top of a ramp. What could be the consequences? What chain of events might follow that could
illustrate how important it was to take responsibility for things such as leaving your skateboard at the
top of a ramp? Who might step on a skateboard anyway? Perhaps someone so distracted, maybe by
anger, that he did not notice the skateboard. As I thought about describing an irritable, angry person
with little empathy for the mistake of a child, the name Grumblebum seemed to fit. It described the
character, it was a bit irreverent, and it joined with schoolyard humor, as does Ms. Greenfingers’ zoo
poo stew (which ends up over Mr. Grumblebum’s head).
While Grumblebum represents anger and its consequences, it seemed appropriate to have a char-
acter that guided the listener in a more responsible direction. Janey became this character: a girl who
STORY IDEASWhere Do I Get the Ideas for Healing Stories? 243
EXERCISE 15.2 METAPHORS BUILT ON HEROES
■ Listen for or inquire about the heroes in the life of your child client.
■ Study those hero figures.
■ Make a mental or written note of the strengths, qualities, or characteristics of that
hero.
■ Ask yourself what the hero does that may be helpful for your client to be doing.
■ Build the hero’s characteristics and problem-solving skills into the story designed to
match the desired outcome for the child.