as it was described in the story? These are the sorts of questions the therapist, teacher, parent, or care-
giver might want to help the child explore in the context of his or her own metaphor.
Having children create such personal healing stories can be a powerful tool in educating and
building preventative skills, generally as well as in therapy. It can be a win-win task, being successful
if children find solutions in their own stories, and being a metaphor in which the therapist can join
the child to help shape an outcome if a solution is not immediately found by the child.
METAPHORS BUILT ON HUMOR“In teaching, in therapy, you are careful to bring in humor, because patients bring in enough grief,”
said Milton Erickson in the context of adult therapy (Zeig, 1980, p. 71). I consider the same applies
equally for child and adolescent therapy. Some children go through some pretty rotten experiences
that they do not deserve. Humor can help lighten the load and reframe the experience. It is engag-
ing in that it readily captures a listener’s attention. It is intriguing in that it has the ability to hold at-
tention. It is impactful in that it can deliver a potent message enjoyably. Add to this the fact that hu-
mor aids the retention of learning and you have a powerful therapeutic medium. To check this out,
ask yourself: Of the 100 stories you have read so far, which are the ones that have stayed in the fore
of your mind? Where do the humorous ones rate on that list?
The previously quoted statement by Berg and Steiner is worth repeating here. They say, “When
you have fun with children, they will learn that they are fun to be around, which will contribute to
their sense of well-being as unique individuals” (2003, pp. 13–14).
Having discussed humor as metaphor in Chapter 3 and looked at its impact on making
metaphors memorable in the previous chapter, here I will focus on some of the types of humor that
can be used in metaphor. First, a humorous tale can be a comedy of errors: If something can go
wrong, it will. Story 16, “The Importance of Accepting Compliments,” is an example in which the
snake, failing to accept a compliment, sets off a series of disasters that ends up in court. It delivers a
powerful and perhaps unexpected message that usually evokes a laugh from the listener. The comedy
of errors that makes up Story 66, “Taking Responsibility,” offers humor throughout the story rather
than in just the punch line.
Second are tales I think of as “yucky” stories, based on the schoolyard subjects at which kids
screw up their noses—and laugh about anyway. They are often anally oriented subjects like Ms.
Greenfingers’ bucket of zoo poo stew that ends up over Mr. Grumblebum’s head in Story 66, or a
STORY IDEASWhere Do I Get the Ideas for Healing Stories? 249
EXERCISE 15.6 METAPHORS BUILT ON A CHILD’S OWN STORY
■ Ask kids to tell you stories, whether in your consulting room, a classroom, or at home.
■ Jot down those that are useful, particularly those that are outcome oriented.
■ Retell the story to another child who is experiencing a similar problem.
■ Ask that child to also create his or her own healing, problem-solving story, either
orally or in writing.