the character fit or need to be changed? Is the story too close for comfort, or too removed to be rel-
evant?
- Be Flexible
Because stories permit and nurture creativity, because they allow for adaptability, there is no right or
wrong way to tell a story, just as there is no right or wrong way to play music. Once you have ac-
quired the basic skills of an instrument, you can play classical, jazz, rock, rap, or folk, following a score
note-by-note or improvising your own composition. When you play a tune, there are different ways
to do so, some more effective and some that are less effective. Consequently, I have called the topics
of this chapter “guidelines” rather than rules. For every child your story is likely to be different and
the style in which you tell it is also likely to be different, because no one child, circumstance, prob-
lem, or outcome is exactly the same as another. At first this may seem a formidable challenge, not just
to the process of using metaphors but to any process of therapy, but as you think of the story as con-
stantly evolving for you and your young clients, flexibility grows easier.
I have sought to provide examples of building flexibility into stories in some of the examples
in Part Two through the use of questions that engage the listener and guide the direction of the story.
Story 73, “Collaborative Problem-Solving,” is based on a case in which I told one child (I shall call
him Darren) of another child (true story) with a similar problem of insomnia. Through the story,
Darren was engaged in helping the other child find a solution. As we discussed what might and
might not be useful for this other boy, Darren would go home, test them out himself, and come
back to discuss what we could discard from the story and what might be worth offering. He made
it clear when he thought something would not work or whether the other boy was not ready to
take that step yet. The story—and its outcome—was developed collaboratively, adapting and
changing as Darren learned the skills for sleeping more comfortably in his own room. Research af-
firms that metaphors developed with the client have the greatest efficacy (Martin, Cummings, &
Hallberg, 1992), and this is explored more in the sections on Child-Generated Metaphors and Col-
laborative Tales in Chapter 3.
The flexibility of stories is relieving news for the both the novice and the experienced metaphor
therapist. A perfect healing story does not have to be there in your mind instantly and completely just
when you may need it. It can evolve over a period of time, can be thought about between therapy
sessions, and can be developed in conjunction with your client.... And children generally have an
24 Effective Storytelling for Kids and Teens
EXERCISE 2.9
■ Children will tell you—verbally or nonverbally—how your story is being received.
■ Watch their behavior, posture, level of attention, eye contact, fidgeting, muscle tone,
and rate of respiration.
■ How attentive are they? What feedback does this give you about the content of the
story and the way you are telling it?