ABSTRACT
I have developed two metaphors that I use often in therapy. The first helps my work with single parents; most frequently, single mothers. The single mother role is incredibly overburdened. So often, when a single mom truly cares about her children, she gives up too much of herself. Her energies focus almost entirely on work (extra hours, often, to secure barely enough financial support for her family), household, and children. If I try to tell her she needs to do something for herself, she is disdainful: there is no time for herself, I simply do not understand her situation.
