Therapeutic Metaphors: Helping Others Through the Looking Glass

by David A. Gordon

There is music in metaphors, in the chords of individual perception played upon the patterns of human experience. "Therapeutic metaphors" (stories intended to address a specific personal need) provide a depth of association and potential for insight that is often not available through more direct approaches. Metaphors do this by creating a shared language between therapist and client (or between co-workers, or between friends), a shared world within which communication about a problem and how to resolve it becomes easier and more impactful. Furthermore, once created, that metaphorical world can become one in which the person discovers his or her own resolution to the problem. Like other expressions of art, a metaphor derives its ability to affect and influence us because of its underlying structure. The masterful storyteller thinks in ways that naturally create the parallels, connections, and discoveries that become utterly compelling to the listener. "Therapeutic Helping Others Through the Looking Glass" provides you with that structure, an explicit and practical format for creating impactful stories for change.

Genres: Psychology

314 pages, Kindle Edition

First published June 1, 1978

Reviews

[Tg · Rating 5 out of 5]

What a fantastic embedded treasure trove.
I found this book from another Fantastic book by Dr. Sidney Rosen.
"And my voice will go with you " , I am currently just sampling the book,
and I must say it is spectacular so far,
I particularly like the sections on Anchors, and Hypnosis.
I have just scratched the surface

[Roni Matar · Rating 4 out of 5]

A cool read for NLPers who want to learn more about the intricacies of metaphors and how to usr different NLP aspects to create change.

Non NLPers will find it complicated..

[Fernando Pablo · Rating 5 out of 5]

A must-read for NLPers as it highlights the principles of Methafors amid the representational systems, the Satie personalities and the various submodalities.
It must be considered before reading it that it was written as a reference/teaching book.
Very highlighting.

[Genna · Rating 2 out of 5]

I picked this up at an estate sale, mainly because I was bewildered by the title and by the complete lack of any sort of blurb on the back that might give me a notion of what the heck it was about. Even the table of contents, if viewed with absolutely no preconceptions, is hilariously vague.

Obviously I was not this book's intended audience, but I read it anyway and found bits of it to be intriguing but, on the whole, not for me.