fect,” Story18), and learning how to be successful (“The Secrets of Success,” Story 70). There may be
stories in events as simple as a bird flying into your window (“Come Up Laughing,” Story 6), a story
told by a friend (on which “What You Give Is What You Get,” Story 17, is based), or something that
happens as you commute to work (“A Gesture That Changed a Whole Suburb,” Story 27). One of
my peer reviewers commented in a discussion on the manuscript for this book, “It reminded me that
a story does not have to hold some profoundly wise message. It can be profound in its simplicity.”
The previous categories from which metaphors can be built are not intended to be mutually ex-
clusive, nor are they the only ways to build metaphors. They just happen to be a framework that is
convenient for me to think in when structuring therapeutic tales. I offer them for you to use if they
seem helpful or as a suggested means for you to build your own sources of metaphor ideas.
GUIDELINES FOR USING PERSONAL LIFE STORIESA question that is occasionally asked in training workshops on metaphor therapy is, “Is self-disclosure
in storytelling a good thing?” In thinking about and answering this question, it seems to me that the
therapeutic relationshiphas two elements. First, the relationship(the noun that defines what happens or
exists between therapist and client) is, perhaps, one of the primary factors contributing to successful
therapeutic outcome (Miller, Duncan, & Hubble, 1997), and communicating about shared personal
experiences is one way we have of relating meaningfully. This is evidenced in Chelf, Deschler, Hill-
man, and Durazo-Arvizu’s study (2000) of cancer patients, which showed that 85% of subjects who
attended a therapeutic storytelling workshop reported gaining hope from hearing the personal life
experiences of others who had faced, and coped with, the same illness.
Second, that relationship is therapeutic(the adjective that describes it), existing for the benefit of
STORY IDEASWhere Do I Get the Ideas for Healing Stories? 253
EXERCISE 15.10 METAPHORS BUILT ON
EVERYDAY EXPERIENCES
If telling stories from your experiences or observations of children:
■ Be mindful of the child’s desired goal. This is the direction in which your story should
clearly be heading.
■ Seek an experience that describes the attainment of that outcome. It may help to ask
yourself, “When did I obtain a similar goal?” or “When did I see someone else
achieving that goal?”
■ Have your story develop the resources, learning, and discovery necessary for the goal
attainment. Ask yourself, “What abilities or means did I, or the person I observed,
need to reach that goal?”
■ Define the metaphoric problem, asking, “What experience did I, or that other per-
son, encounter that paralleled the problems of my child client?”
■ Tell the story in your own words, describing the problem, the resources, and the out-
come.