made mistakes and who was capable of learning from experience, willing to offer a gesture of kind-
ness to somebody else who had been upset, and willing to take responsibility for her own actions.
What might seem an imaginative tale to the first-time listener or reader, the story actually
evolved out of a real-life experience of taking my grandson to the skate park. It happened while hav-
ing the time to contemplate an idea and expand on that idea. It evolved around the thought of be-
ing able to communicate a therapeutically valid outcome to the listener with impact and humor. The
tale is told in Story 66, “Taking Responsibility.”
METAPHORS BUILT ON THERAPEUTIC STRATEGIESOne thing that therapists can be very thankful for is that our discipline is blessed with many strategic
tools. For therapists who are willing to explore the literature, seek training in different modalities,
and expand their knowledge, there will never be a lack of useful interventions. With some 400 dif-
ferent types of therapy and dozens of different interventions within each school of thought, the
question for the informed therapist is, “Which of the tools in my kit will be most helpful for this
particular child?” The next question is likely to be, “How do I most effectively communicate that
intervention or strategy to this particular child?”
Two of the stories that I have developed to illustrate this communication of strategies through
metaphor are Chapter 12’s opening metaphors about managing pain, major illness, and the anxieties
associated with medical treatment. The strategies behind Story 81, “Blowing Away Pain,” are based
on the use of Ericksonian hypnosis approaches with pediatric hematology oncology patients ( Jacobs,
Pelier, & Larkin, 1998). They begin by stating:
When children are diagnosed with cancer they are thrust into a world filled with uncertainty.
Pain and treatment separates them from the routine of daily living; the possibility of death looms.244 Creating Your Own Healing Stories for Kids
EXERCISE 15.3 METAPHORS BUILT ON IMAGINATION
■ Select a current client for whom you think a healing story would be helpful or ap-
propriate.
■ Ta ke time to think about creating the metaphor, perhaps even jotting your thoughts
down on paper.
■ What sort of character is likely to match your client? What are his or her characteris-
tics, qualities, and resources that can parallel those of your child client?
■ In developing the story line, take into account how you can do the following:
■ Describe the crisis or challenge
■ Develop the necessary resources
■ Facilitate the relevant processes of learning and discovery
■ Provide an appropriate resolution
■ Find out the key elements of the story that are going to satisfy the previous points
■ Tell it to the child, carefully observing the child during the telling.