title: The use of metaphors in the service of the therapeutic alliance and therapeutic communication.
abstract: The use of metaphor as a conceptual and clinical tool in the treatment situation can enhance the therapeutic alliance and strengthen the effectiveness of therapeutic communication. The evolution of a special metaphoric system of communication in the course of the treatment situation enhances the positive alliance between patient and therapist. In a way analogous to the poetic use of metaphor, the therapeutic use of appropriate metaphors can be a powerful tool because a metaphor is a symbol that represents a condensation of multiple impulses, conflicts, fantasies, and affects. Case material will be presented to illustrate the use of metaphoric communication in the clinical situation.
authors.affiliation: New York Presbyterian Hospital, NY, USA. jstinemd@optonline.net
authors.forename: John J
authors.initials: JJ
authors.lastname: Stine
mesh_terms: D000786:Anger / Q000502:physiology; D001007:Anxiety / Q000523:psychology / Q000628:therapy; D002648:Child; D003142:Communication; D003674:Defense Mechanisms; D003866:Depressive Disorder / Q000523:psychology / Q000628:therapy; D005201:Fantasy; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D019365:Metaphor; D008875:Middle Aged; D010554:Personality Disorders / Q000628:therapy; D011369:Professional-Patient Relations; D011573:Psychoanalytic Interpretation; D011575:Psychoanalytic Therapy / Q000379:methods*; D012792:Shyness; D014167:Transference, Psychology