Mr. Lankton,

Are there any videos or even audio tapes that you would recommend regarding how to set up a metaphor? By set up I mean how to introduce it and how to follow up after telling the story. If a therapist is discussing an attitudinal issue such as a male client not understanding why his wife becomes afraid when he yells (he feels he is just trying to resolve the issue) and then the therapist begins to tell a story about a man who offers a woman tourist his seat on the subway but she thinks he is trying to mug her, will the client bring negative associations about intimidation with him while examining the metaphor? I will try to be more clear: if I am discussing anger with my client and then begin to tell a story about a woman who constantly gets angry and the ramifications, will this client access new associations or simply see it from his normal framework? In the first example, does the therapist need to be more abstract and talk about a large tree that looks like it is providing shade to the other trees so they can grow but really is in danger of toppling over and crushing the other trees because it has gotten so big? Also, how do you deal with the issue of the client constantly wanting to know the meaning of the preceding story? I realize that one could explain that each person has the opportunity to learn something different from the story. However, in my experience that explanation does not always suffice for a client. They might wonder, "why are you wasting my time with a story that you do not even have a reason to tell" or something less hostile like "why did you tell me that story? If you provide an explanation, does it dilute the meaning of the story? Do you sometimes tell a story out of context? For instance, telling a story about a issue that you have not previously discussed in therapy so that the client has to complete a deep internal search to find the meaning of the story? If so, do you tell the person why you told them the story or allow it to remain a mystery? How do you maintain rapport with the clients under these circumstances?

By the way, what is the Ericksonian position on using the one way mirror? Do you ever use it in trainings? I seem to remember someone saying that Erickson did not see most of you conduct hypnosis sessions. Do you find it to be a useful tool to help therapists on a real time basis learn to conduct therapy? Do you provide supervision by watching real client sessions via videotape?

John