The use of metaphors in gestalt therapy

Abstract

In this article I first discuss the concept of metaphor with the help of different theoretical views, and present my own understanding of metaphor within the framework of gestalt therapy. I (metaphorically) understand metaphor as a ‘bridge’: a bridge between the referential framework of a client and the referential framework of a psychotherapist, and a bridge between figure (what is conscious, explicit) and ground (what is unconscious, implicit). I illustrate my understanding of different possibilities of the psychotherapeutic use of metaphors with examples from my clinical practice while comparing it with the views of the authors from other psychotherapeutic modalities.