Friday, 3 April 2015

Making Progress up "Mountains"

The metaphor of travelling through life challenges as being like climbing a mountain is common. When clients have likened their life to being like climbing a mountain, but say they are currently feeling like they have fallen back to the bottom, I have encouraged them to use this metaphor in another way.


Progress made is never lost

We draw the mountain and then I include some caves along its edge and suggest that, instead of falling, they might see themselves as having crawled into one of these caves. We then dialogue about the cave and how deeply they have crawled inside it, and that even if they can no longer see over the edge and view the progress they have already made, this does not take this progress away.

The need to take breaks from efforts

We discuss how rests are needed on the way up mountains because climbing them is hard work, and then dialogue more about the cave:
  • how long they might need to stay there
  • accepting that it is OK to be in the cave
  • what it is like to be in the cave
  • what things can help them obtain rest
  • how they might know when they are ready to climb again

The most challenging section of the climb is usually near the top

In many of my bush walks up mountains I have discovered that the terrain near the top is often the most challenging -- hauling myself up over boulders whilst clinging to a chain (or sometimes no chain), scrambling up a shute, tripping over rocks and/or puffing from the increased steepness of the incline. I have also used up a lot of my energy by this time and have to really push myself to reach the summit. So it is with life journeys up "mountains" -- with clients I  acknowledge that it takes all of our effort to keep going when we are already exhausted, but so close to the end (with no more resting caves in sight), and focus on providing extra encouragement.


The usefulness of metaphors

In his chapter on "Metaphor Theory for Counselling Professionals" Dennis Tay says that metaphors can be useful for:
  • accessing and symbolising emotions
  • providing new frames of reference
  • fostering empathy and therapeutic alliance

He also suggests that metaphors are more powerful if they have been articulated by the client rather than chosen by us. Thus I have only dialogued using the mountain metaphor when the clients themselves have come up with the analogy. However this is not to say that metaphors cannot be suggested to clients.

A good source for metaphors

May metaphors are outlined on this link:


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