Healing Metaphors

Magic is the art and science of changing consciousness at will.

Soaring with Seagulls

[Tranformed Seagull Silhouette] In a class on the treatment of anxiety disorders, the teacher played a nasty trick on us. She had us list our life goals. Next we wrote one sentence summarizing our goals. Her final instruction: sing your summary to the rest of the class. Experiencing a fair amount of anxiety, we worked with partners, helping them overcome their fear before singing.

Alas! Her grade school music teacher had frequently mocked my partner, Nancy, for her "ugly" voice. He told her class, "Everybody sing except Nancy, she sings off key." She confided that she hadn't sung a note since sixth grade, not even humming a tune.

I had only a few minutes to prepare Nancy. I wanted to use some bird imagery and wondered if that might be OK. She had no problems with birds. I led her into trance and a quick visualization of birds flying freely, singing their songs naturally, never worrying about their audience.

All too soon we had to sing. Nancy stood up and sang out her goals with a little quaver in her voice. During the class debriefing, Nancy told how she had visualized seagulls and allowed herself to voice a raucous squawk by seeing herself as a gull.

Several important points stand out when I consider this use of a healing metaphor:

Empowerment: The general public considers hypnosis to be one person controlling another. In this model the subject acts as an automaton, carrying out the hypnotist's instructions. The healing metaphor approach works differently. Rather than programming our clients, we offer them alternative experiences from which they derive new meanings and interpretations for their life situations. We empower the clients to change themselves.
Client Trust: Few clients will become vulnerable unless they trust you. Without trust they may never accept your imagery. Once trust exists, your metaphors will find a place in the client. Nancy and I had known each other for a while and had experience inducing each other into hypnotic states--she trusted me.
Client Safety: Healing metaphors bypass normal ego defenses and allow the client to process directly at a subconscious level. Breaching these defenses can endanger some clients. Before attempting trance work with a client ask yourself: Is it safe to use hypnosis with this person? How dissociative are they? How likely is spontaneous regression? How is their reality testing? Is it safe to bypass their ego defenses? Taking a client with a weak ego structure into trance invites difficulty and requires special care. Nancy seemed emotionally stable, even when anxious. In the past she had given no danger signals. Although she faced a painful memory, it did not threaten her.
Client Input: A metaphor which seems useful to the therapist can present problems for the client. Discussing metaphors ahead of time with your clients can help. You learn if the metaphors prompt strong emotional reactions or unpleasant associations. Had Nancy feared birds, my metaphor would not have helped! Discussing the situation with her beforehand allowed me to choose a metaphor which avoided her childhood situation. Unaware, I could easily have chosen a terrible metaphor for Nancy:

"Imagine yourself a carefree schoolgirl, singing your favorite tune . . ."
Sensory Modalities: From previous work I knew Nancy both sees and hears her trance environment intensely. I only used visual and auditory elements in our brief trance. Before starting hypnosis, I find it useful to have a client close his eyes, take a few deep breaths, then imagine his favorite place. I walk him through each of his senses (including intuition) and ask him to describe for me what he notices. After I bring him back, I ask which sensations he found the strongest. I cue those senses during the trance session. Besides informing me, this approach also relaxes my client and naturally prepares for trance.
Unexpected Effects: Metaphors are a gift to empower the client. I had originally envisioned that the metaphor of carefree singing birds in flight, would help Nancy feel free to sing. Instead, she gave herself permission to have an ugly voice. My clients often surprise me with their creative interpretations of my stories and images. This tells me that they have taken my material and made it their own.
(This article appeared in an issue of the Long Beach/South Bay CAMFT newsletter)

visits

[ Home ] [ Up ]

Disclaimer: This page represents the personal expression of John Elder, and may not represent the opinions, practices, or policies of any other individual or organization linked to or from this site.