REVIEW OF: Metaphors in Mind: Transformation through Symbolic
Modelling
by James Lawley and Penny Tompkins
ISBN 0-9538751-0-5 published by The Developing Company
Press, 2000
Metaphor was once thought to be merely a literary device used by
authors to add interest to their writing. Recently, an Anchor
Point contributor described metaphor as "the primary
nutritional supplement for our imagination" (1). It is that and much more. Since the publication
of George Lakoff and Mark Johnson's Metaphors We Live By
(2) in 1980, metaphor has been increasingly
recognized as a fundamental component of human cognitive processing.
In their more recent book, Philosophy in the Flesh (3), Lakoff and Johnson suggest that much of human
thought and understanding, particularly about abstract concepts, is
metaphorical.
David Gordon (4) and Charles Faulkner (5), among others, have added to the NLP toolbox
with their work on metaphors. Now, with Metaphors in Mind:
Transformation Through Symbolic Modelling, psychotherapists
and NLP trainers James Lawley and Penny Tompkins provide therapists
with a fully-developed Metaphor Model that addresses the
symbolic/metaphoric domain of human experience. Lawley and Tompkins
make a strong argument that this domain must be added to the sensory
and cognitive domains explored in the Meta Model and Milton Model if
therapists are to fully address a client's "subjective experience."
Lawley and Tompkins have spent recent years modeling the work of
David Grove, a New Zealand-born therapist now working in the United
States. Grove recognized that clients often described their problems
in metaphoric terms--"It's like I'm beating my head against a brick
wall." He also noticed that many therapists "continuously shifted the
client's frame of reference by introducing their own models of the
world" (6). For example, a therapist might
respond to the "brick wall" statement with,
"Why are you punishing yourself?" (a
presupposition from the therapist's model);
"How do you feel about that?" (directing the
client to access only the sensory domain); or
"What do you think that means?" (directing the
client to access the cognitive domain).
Each of those questions not only ignores the original metaphor,
but directs the client to comment on his/her experience,
rather than further developing and exploring the metaphor's symbols
(my head, the brick wall) and their relationship
(beating, against).
Grove developed a method called Clean Language (see Watch Your Language!), which
"fully preserved and honored the client's experience." By using only
the client's own words with a set of simple context-free questions,
Grove facilitated clients in exploring and mapping their metaphoric
landscapes. When those landscapes become sufficiently detailed,
change often occurs spontaneously in both the metaphor and the
client's perceptions of the "situation" that the metaphor
represented. Behavioral changes then follow.
Lawley and Tompkins have developed Grove's methods into the
therapeutic model they call Symbolic Modelling. Rather than being
client- or therapist-centered, Symbolic Modelling is
information-centered. The client, therapist, and metaphoric
information comprise a system in which change occurs. The role of the
therapist is to facilitate clients in self-modeling their own
metaphoric landscape.
The authors say that their intent was to create a model that could
be easily learned and applied to a range of contexts in addition to
psychotherapy. In Metaphors in Mind , they have clearly
described just such a model, providing the reader with an eminently
useful balance of theory and practical application.
Organization and Content
Metaphors in Mind is presented in five parts. Part I
introduces theoretical and background knowledge about metaphors,
modeling, and self-organizing systems. Examples of typical metaphors
and symbols are provided. The myriad ways in which symbolic
experience can be expressed through verbal and nonverbal behaviors,
material objects, and imagination are examined. The relationship
between a client's cognitive processes and metaphoric landscape is
explained.
Part II introduces the basic philosophy and methodology of Clean
Language. The nine basic Clean Questions are described, along with
their purpose of helping clients to develop their metaphors and
symbols and to locate them in space and time. When one first
encounters Clean Questions, the syntax seems a bit awkward and the
questions themselves almost too general. Lawley and Tompkins clearly
explain the rationale behind the syntax. The effectiveness of the
questions comes in their ability to send clients on a search of their
own perceptions rather than pulling them out to comment on their
experience.
Part III consists of a stage-by-stage description of the
Five-Stage Therapeutic Process. Extensive client transcripts are used
to illustrate and explain how the process unfolds.
Part IV describes a number of applications of Symbolic Modelling
outside of individual psychotherapy. Examples from the domains of
education, health, spirituality, physical therapy, business, and
organizations are given.
Finally, Part V offers the reader richly annotated transcripts of
the authors' work with three different clients. These are not only
fascinating reading, but the step-by-step explanations assist the
reader in fully understanding how the process evolves and change
takes place.
A New Way of Thinking
Symbolic Modelling, according to Lawley and Tompkins is "a new way
of thinking about change." The therapist presupposes that change can
occur spontaneously once clients have explored and developed their
metaphor landscape to a sufficient degree. The system has learned
from itself. The therapist's role then becomes one of facilitation in
that development, rather than understanding or interpreting the
client's processes. "Facilitators need to operate from a state of
'not knowing'." Why? Because the metaphors and symbols that emerge
are often illogical, fuzzy, and unpredictable. They frequently defy
the laws of nature and the rules of causal relationships. They make
sense to the client because of the inherent logic of the metaphoric
landscape in which they are embedded. While the therapist may create
his own model of that landscape as it is described, he cannot assume
that he "understands" it. The authors therefore advise therapists
that,
"Your purpose is not to analyze or interpret the
client's experience. It is not even to understand it. Rather it is to
offer them the opportunity to become aware of their symbolic
perceptions with minimal 'contamination' by your metaphors." (p. 27)
and
"There is no need for you to make something happen or to solve
anything; rather your aim is to encourage the appropriate conditions
in which change is the specified response. These conditions will
exist within the inherent logic of the Metaphor Landscape." (p. 47)
Steve Andreas has described the three "frames" from which
effective therapists must work. One of those frames is "A LOT of
humility about how little they know, and how complex human beings
are" (7). As described in Metaphors in
Mind, Symbolic Modelling admirably adopts that frame while
producing a remarkably effective therapeutic process. Having both
seen and experienced the process in action, I can testify that it is
a unique and endlessly surprising experience for both client and
therapist. Of greater importance, it is a powerful new tool for
change. Metaphors in Mind makes a significant
contribution to both the understanding of human thought processes and
the range of therapeutic models available to the "helping
professions."
Footnotes:
1. Diol, Surinder (2001). Imagining a New Reality. Anchor
Point. Vol. 15, No. 1, p. 15.
2. Lakoff, George and Mark Johnson (1980) Metaphors We Live
By. Chicago and London: University of Chicago Press.
3. Lakoff, George and Mark Johnson (1999) Philosophy in the
Flesh. New York: Basic Books.
4. Gordon, David (1978). Therapeutic Metaphors. Meta
Publications, Cupertino, CA.
5. Faulkner, Charles (1991) Metaphors of Identity. Genesis
II. Longmont, CO
6. Grove, David (1998) The Philosophy and Pronciples of Clean Language. A talk given at a
Clean Language Research Day in London, 13 November 1998.
7. Andreas, Steve (2000) NLP Practitioners Doing Therapy?!
Anchor Point. Vol. 14, No. 6, p. 26.
© 2001 Judith Lloyd Yero and Anchor Point
