Symbol, Story, and Ceremony: Using Metaphor in Individual and Family Therapy [Hardcover]

Gene Combs (Author), Jill Freedman (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 0393700925 | ISBN-13: 978-0393700923 | Publication Date: January 1990 | Edition: 1st

Describes the psychotherapeutic use of metaphor in its three basic forms: symbol, story and ritual. Case studies are used to illustrate metaphorical strategies for facilitating new patterns of thought. Exercises are also offered to help therapists develop confidence in thinking metaphorically.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 279 pages
• Publisher: W. W. Norton & Company; 1st edition (January 1990)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0393700925
• ISBN-13: 978-0393700923
• Product Dimensions: 9.5 x 6.4 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.5 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,550,412 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

8 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A decent overview of using metaphors in therapy, December 18, 2004

By 

Laura De Giorgio "hypnotherapist" (Canada) - See all my reviews
(TOP 1000 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Symbol, Story, and Ceremony: Using Metaphor in Individual and Family Therapy (Hardcover)

The book provides an overview of using metaphors through symbols, stories and ceremonies (rituals) in therapy. It is based on ideas and principles suggested by Bateson and Erickson. At times the book suggests that just about everything is a metaphor (Bateson's viewpoint), as opposite to a chair being just a chair - the only merit of this observation is that we assign meanings to objects and experiences in our lives and thus to a lesser or greater extent they are colored by our perception. The book also emphasizes Erickson's utilization principle, namely that the therapist should attempt to use client's metaphors to help the client solve the problem.
The authors then guide you through methods and techniques of selecting appropriate symbols, constructing metaphoric stories and ceremonies. There are other books that go in greater depth on creatic metaphoric stories and which for that purpose may be more useful than this one.