1. Mastering the Metaphor
ACBS World Conference X
Colleen Ehrnstrom, Ph.D.
Ann Arbor VA Health Care System
University of Michigan Department of Psychiatry
Recognize Colleen as co-contributor to everything I’m presenting.
Get through to model within 20 minutes…

2. Learn where metaphors fit into the infrastructure of the ACT model
Understand the basic science of metaphors
Know and apply the guidelines for using metaphors in therapy
Watch therapists use metaphors in the therapeutic context
Practice using some ACT metaphors in the therapeutic context
AUDIO AND VIDEO HAS BEEN REMOVED FROM THIS WORKSHOP FOR EASY DOWNLOAD.
Metaphors in ACT are often misused and misunderstood (e.g., “bag of tricks”)

3. Metaphor: Picture is worth a 1000 words (embedded in
We utter about one metaphor for every 10 to 25 words, or about six metaphors a minute (Geary, 2011).
Metaphors are represented in this presentation in both written and visual form.
Metaphor: Picture is worth a
1000 words (embedded in
computer metaphor)
Strength is in its ubiquity

4. Metaphor is widely applied to other linguistic classifications (e. g
Metaphor is widely applied to other linguistic classifications (e.g., similies, puns) as well as to analogies, allegories, idioms, anecdotes and any figurative stories that have multiple interpretative meanings.
Metaphor: Sometimes a cigar is
just a cigar.

5. Metaphor = a transfer of symbol
“Cats are dictators.”
Cat = topic
Dictator = vehicle Transferable = Shared ground
What is your inference?

6. The brain treats literal and metaphor as the same; this “neural
A study on learning reported that the use of metaphors and other strategies can “increase retention by as much as 40%” (Earl, 1995).
The brain treats literal and metaphor
as the same; this “neural
confusion” gives metaphors
enormous power (Sapolsky, 2010).
Metaphor: I could eat a horse
Consider an animal (including a human) that has started eating some rotten, fetid, disgusting food. As a result, neurons in an area of the brain called the insula will activate. Gustatory disgust. Smell the same awful food, and the insula activates as well. Think about what might count as a disgusting food (say, taking a bite out of a struggling cockroach). Same thing.

7. Metaphors in Clinical Practice
Thematic stories suggesting solutions to a client’s problem
Essential and effective part of ACT
Optimal in situations where description is unavailable or overwhelming
The goal is behavioral change
Metaphor: Keep your
eye on the prize.

8. If someone hurts you, turn the other cheek
Shower people with love and compassion
Fighting anxiety is like struggling in quicksand
Trying to get rid of depression
is like trying to dig your way
out of a hole
Provides a greater level of detail and texture, Very commonplace, almost to the point of replacing literal language

9. 1. Evoke a rich range of verbal and sensory associations
2. Open up opportunity to shift perspectives
3. Provide alternative
possibilities of action
Metaphor: The lightbulb went on

10. How do metaphors work? Build on knowledge that is already in place
Create choice
Create opportunity for behavioral change
Example: You pick up an ACT book w/CD.....

11. Mechanistic versus Contextual
Science of ACT Metaphors
Mechanistic versus Contextual
Metaphor: Bank of a stream– Where does the bank end and the water begin?

12. Science of ACT Metaphors
Functional Contextualism – given the context, what is the function?
Metaphor: Google maps v floorplan – do you want to drive there or live there?

13. Suffering is related to language
Science of ACT Metaphors
Suffering is related to language
Metaphor: Your words slice through
me like knives

14. RFT is the science behind ACT
Science of ACT Metaphors
RFT is the science behind ACT
Metaphor: Driving a car without knowing the mechanics of it

15. Pliance (“plys”) – compliance with verbal rules that are socially
supported.
Plys are typically our first introduction to rules.
Examples:
Eat 5 servings of fruits and vegetables to stay healthy
Wear a coat – it is cold outside
Metaphor: Go the extra mile
mediated by social
contingencies.In other words, plys are rules we comply with because of the social consequences of compliance or noncomplianceAs environmental contingencies are not contacted, it is possible that no experiences will ever come to contradict the rule. In addition, pliance continues even if the environment changes, regardless of its effectiveness in the new context.

16. Plys are more prevalent because they do not require direct experience.
Challenge here is that without direct experience, the rules run the risk of becoming rigid and inflexible.
Metaphor: The Brain is taking a short cut

17. 1. We often don’t get feedback from the environment (remember, it is a verbal rule)
Metaphor: Lotto: you can’t win if you don’t play

18. 2. Even when we get feedback, we have a hard time making room for it (aka memory monitoring).
Confirmation bias
Over-magnification
Assimilation versus
accommodation
Metaphor: Changing her mind is as unlikely as a dog singing opera

19. What are your plys about doing ACT in the therapy room??

20. behavior based on rules that are reinforced by natural consequences
Tracking (“tracks”) –
behavior based on rules
that are reinforced by
natural consequences
in the environment.
Examples:
See plys
Tricky: Is putting the coat on ply or track?
Distinction is functional, not formal.
In other words, a track defines a non-arbitrary relation.

21. Learning by thinking versus
learning by living
This allows for flexibility, contact with the present moment, and behavioral choice in the direction of values.
Metaphor: Follow your heart

22. Like the hexaflex, actually lots of integration and interaction here

23. that is, adjusting behavior in accordance with natural consequences.
Metaphors provide for the opportunity to develop the capacity for tracking,
that is, adjusting behavior in accordance with natural consequences.
Let’s try it……

24. “…you link a network of connections with another network…..”
“Metaphoric language transfers functions from one experiential field to another” (Torneke, 2010).
“…you link a network of connections with another network…..”
A study on learning reported that the use of metaphors and other strategies can “increase retention by as much as 40%” (Earl, 1995).

25. Which swiftly opens up new possibilities both internal (‘thinking in a different way’) and external (‘acting differently than usual’)”(Torneke, 2010).
A study on learning reported that the use of metaphors and other strategies can “increase retention by as much as 40%” (Earl, 1995).

26. Compatible with insight-oriented and dynamic theories (projective technique)
Assumed to enhance therapeutic insight by expanding clients’ awareness of situation and of alternative life choices
Metaphor: Zoom lens
to wide angle lens
Practice the three parts

27. The client can extract his or her own meaning from the metaphor
Metaphors allow the listener to generate his or her own conclusions about the story presented
The client can extract his or her own meaning from the metaphor
Insight precedes behavioral change, even in the absence of verbal comprehension
Opening us new perspectives

28. Allow for psychological flexibility to be actually happening in the room at that moment for both parties
Metaphor: Psychological Flexibility

29. Model tracking in the room
Go with all interpretations, never fight, convince, or contest; instead-- dig deeper
Therapist needs to be
willing to stay with function
and process and resist urge
to go in or after content
Metaphor: Two Mountains

30. 1. The metaphor needs to match as closely as possible with the situation faced by the client.
Use the ACT protocols to find metaphors that match diagnostic groups.
Metaphor: Quicksand

31. 2. The metaphor needs to be something the person truly understands.
Metaphor: Chessboard

32. 3. A metaphor aims to modify behavior; it needs to have the intention of providing alternative behaviors.
“Topic” = inflexible,
rigid behaviors
that interfere w/
committed action
Metaphor: Tug of War

33. 4. Metaphors need to be memorable, so they can be portable and reusable. Plan on referencing them over time.
Metaphor: Passengers on the Bus

34. 5. Consider picking a few favorites and becoming very comfortable with them, rather than trying to master them all.

35. Metaphors:
encourages clients to seek clues that apply to their current experience
Extract potential new perspectives that lead them to see the consequences of their actions
focus on the here and now
Observe what is happening in the natural environment, rather than relying on thoughts about what is happening

36. “The use of metaphor increases the proportion of client behavior that is under the control of tracks. Thus, the functional value of behavior is directly targeted.” (Hayes, Strosahl, & Wilson, 199)
AKA: Behavioral Change, psychological flexibility, workability

37. Brooks, D. (2011). April 12. Poetry for Everyday Life. New York Times
Brooks, D. (2011). April 12. Poetry for Everyday Life. New York Times. Retrieved from
Earle, R (1995). Teacher imagery and Metaphors: Windows to teaching and learning. Educational Technology, July / August, 1995, p
Geary, J. (2011). I Is an Other: The Secret Life of Metaphor and How It Shapes the Way We See the World. NY, NY: Harper Publications.
Hayes, S. C. (2004). Acceptance and Commitment Therapy, Relational Frame Theory, and the third wave of behavior therapy. Behavior Therapy, 35,
Hayes, S. C., & Smith, S. (2005). Get out of your mind and into your life: The new acceptance & commitment therapy. Oakland, CA: New Harbinger.
Hayes, S.C., Strosahl, K.D., & Wilson, K.G. (1999). Acceptance and Commitment Therapy: An experiential approach to behavioral change. New York: Guildford Press.

38. Luoma, J. B. , Hayes, S. C. , & Walser, R. D. (2007). Learning ACT
Luoma, J. B., Hayes, S. C., & Walser, R. D. (2007). Learning ACT. An Acceptance and Commitment Therapy skills-training manual for therapists. Oakland, CA: New Harbinger.
McCurry, S. & Haye, S.C. (1992). Clinical and experimental perspectives on metaphorical talk. Clinical Psychology Review, 12,
Monestes, J.L. & Villatte, M. (2008). Metaphors in ACT Understanding how they work, Using them, creating your own. ACT Digest, Special Issue no. 2.
Sapolsky, R. (2010), November 14. This is your brain on metaphors. New York Times. Retrieved from
Stewart, I., & Barnes-Holmes, D. (2001). Understanding metaphor: A relational frame perspective. The Behavior Analyst, 24,
Törneke, N. (2010). Learning RFT: An introduction to relational frame theory and its clinical applications. Oakland, CA: New Harbinger Publications, Inc