Therapeutic Metaphors for Children and the Child Within is best for those working with children and adolescents who are interested in counselling, play therapy and seeking alternatives in counselling settings.
Mills and Crowley draw upon the teachings from the late psychiatrist Dr Milton H. Erikson (1901–1980), who specialised in hypnosis, family therapy, solution-focused brief therapy and neuro-linguistic programming.
The main concept of this book is the use of symbolic language of metaphor and storytelling in counselling. It is well regarded in both eastern and western cultures and documented by Kopp (Reference Kopp1971) that the ‘use of metaphor is a primary vehicle for teaching’ (p. 6).
The book is broken into four main parts. Parts I and II (Chapters 1–6) walk through the elements of metaphor and how to create stories with the client. It is apparent that Parts I and II are practically the same book that was released originally in 1986, as the case studies presented have dated pop culture references (e.g., of the recent release of E.T. the Extra Terrestrial).
A lot of research has taken place in the past 30 years; it would have been in the author's best interest to include and acknowledge some of the advances of science (especially in neuroscience) and other counselling techniques and interventions that can also help explain and illustrate the functional use of metaphors (and vice versa). This could have been achieved, as some of the case studies presented used metaphor in such a way that parallels could be drawn to address CBT concepts in creative and illustrative ways and not just constrained to the methods we are familiar with from typical psychological training.
Part III (Chapters 7–8) of this text is where the applications of metaphor are demonstrated in a much more succinct manner and illustrate the potential effectiveness for children and adolescents. In these chapters, metaphor extends out into other elements of creativity, including art, board-games and favoured cartoon characters, to help the client draw (metaphorically and literally) solutions and consider resources to their assigned concerns. This is a highlight of the text that may inspire the practitioner to utilise other methods in counselling.
Part IV (Chapters 9–10) demonstrates how elements of storytelling (StoryPlay therapy) and art therapy have been used in more recent times in response to traumatic events, including the Hurricane Iniki disaster in 1992 and September 11, 2001. It would have been ideal to see more of this area explored and discussed, especially in the area of trauma research in a post-September 11 world.
This book will be of interest to some Educational and Developmental psychologists, especially those working with children and adolescents, who are seeking alternative and creative methods, as there is no ‘one size fits all’ approach to counselling. It is worth visiting this text and ‘allow ourselves to “enter the child within”’ (p. 20) as a means to help children and adolescents.
