ABSTRACT
Just as with the spoken or written word, metaphorical language explores the unconscious mechanisms that drive our interpersonal relationships, gives shape and form to our personal identities, and integrates the natural language patterns of the client. In this way, a client’s personal metaphor offers the mental health professional a deeper level of understanding while granting access to unconscious fantasies. This chapter offers an overview of how a personal metaphor engages our emotions and often typifies the very essence of our character; how auditory, kinesthetic, and visual sensory preferences impact our experiences; and examples of how to incorporate metaphorical meaning into group, individual, and family therapy regardless of the clinician’s theoretical modality. As such, topics explored focus on how to incorporate art media and metaphorical communication, the metaphors which can be found within a client’s everyday language, how sensory preferences impact not only our interactions but our experiences, and how to integrate metaphor into the mental health professional’s therapeutic practice for individual, group, and family sessions.
