Verbal and Nonverbal Metaphors With Children in Counselling, Article Review Example

This article is an interesting discussion of the role which metaphor – both verbal and nonverbal – can play during the course of therapy with a client who is a child.  The article begins by mentioning several studies in which children as young as preschoolers or kindergarteners were able to understand basic metaphors, but the article goes on to expand the traditional definition of “metaphor” and to suggest that nonverbal metaphors are also important therapeutically.  Therapies such as play therapy, art therapy, puppet therapy and bibliotherapy are considered to count as nonverbal metaphors, and their value comes from the fact that these modalities allow children to process events that have been emotionally painful or confusing for them, work through their feelings in a nonthreatening way, come up with solutions to resolve those feeling and most of all achieve some degree of control of the situation.

This is a balanced article, as it mentions that these therapies might not be right for all children, especially those who do not understand the concept of metaphor or are not as communicative.  Also, the authors point out that, when using verbal metaphors especially, the same metaphor might not mean the same thing to every child, and use the example of the little girl who though that the “bouncing bubble” represented fear rather than happiness. They also discuss the fact that therapists must be competent in these modalities and not inadvertently use them to pass their own moral views onto the client and also be well-prepared with the props and equipment needed to facilitate these therapies. These are all legitimate points that can come up with this kind of therapy and the authors make sure to address them.

However, overall, it is supportive of these therapies as effective ways to help children manage and work through experiences that have affected them emotionally. It points out, however, that there has not been as much research done on these particular pediatric therapies as is needed.  It goes on to  advocate for further study of these therapies to give therapists the knowledge they need to develop and implement best practices for their young and vulnerable clients.

Therapy can be difficult, and working with very young clients who are still at early stages in their cognitive, emotional and psychosocial development can make the therapy even harder. This article is helpful in that it shows the ways in which both verbal and nonverbal metaphors can help these young clients process difficult or traumatic information in ways that are developmentally appropriate and help them to come to terms with complicated life experiences in healthy ways and learn to process emotions like anger, resentment or fear.  The article is also useful in the concrete examples that it gives for each treatment modality, discussing a specific child and the way that his or her therapy helped him deal with a particular issue.  The children were of a broad age range, from the very young to teenagers and were processing a number of life issues, from a traumatic burn to the divorce of their parents to the sudden death of a sibling. This shows that these therapies can be used across a fairly broad age spectrum (with certain adjustments) and also for children with a diverse set of life circumstances.  Overall, the article was useful as a general outline of the different treatment modalities currently being utilized in pediatric therapy, as well as concrete examples of their application with real-life clients and the ways that these therapies aided children in overcoming emotionally difficult issues and regaining  a sense of empowerment.

References

Chelsey, et. al. (2008). “Verbal and Nonverbal Metaphors with Children in Counselling”. The Journal of Counselling and Development.  (86) 399-412