TPC Journal V7, Issue 2 - FULL ISSUE

The Professional Counselor | Volume 7, Issue 2 147 current situation, Kopp and Craw’s model has the client imagine changes in the metaphor that support counseling goals, whereas Sims’ model directs the client to connect the metaphor with past experiences and future goals. Both models describe the use of basic counseling skills to address client metaphors and are easily incorporated into counseling work. An important takeaway regarding client metaphors is that metaphors have significance for the client and are appropriate for exploration in counseling (Tay, 2012; Wickman et al., 1999). Another approach for working with metaphors in counseling practice was described by Tay (2012), who identified two types of metaphor processing in counseling that can be selectively used based on the purpose of the metaphor exploration. The first type is correspondence processing . Correspondence processing requires exploring the entailments of metaphors. The term entailments refers to a layering and transfer of meaning in the relationship between the symbols in the metaphor. The entailments are the associations and properties of the domains in the metaphor that are not specifically used in the metaphor (Lakoff & Johnson, 1980). For instance, she is on fire might be used to indicate that she is energetically accomplishing a lot, but could also have entailments of meaning related to fire being culturally associated with destruction and being difficult to control. Correspondence processing describes the cognitive combining of properties between target and source domains as a conceptual mapping that equates the entailments of both domains to facilitate thinking about and using the metaphor in a variety of forms. An exploration of the entailments of those metaphors is often necessary for correspondence mapping and is accomplished by expanding upon the metaphor. To expand on the metaphor, additional descriptions of content related to the metaphor are generated. For example, if the metaphor, love is a journey , is used for correspondence processing, then the expansion might include asking the client for descriptions of journeys that may elicit information such as: there are rough roads in the journey , there are fellow travelers and sometimes it is necessary to find shelter . These descriptions could map back to love to indicate that, respectively, relationships can be emotionally difficult, two people come together when in love, and breaks from relationships are sometimes necessary. The second type of cognitive processing is class inclusion . Class inclusion refers to a linking of the target and source domain through the core conceptual properties of the domains without expanding the metaphor to understand entailments (Tay, 2012). For instance, in the metaphor example used above, love is a journey , a class inclusion processing would involve asking the client what is important about a journey. Those responses might include needing time to get to a destination and the acceptance of risk in moving toward the destination , and then those responses would be applied to love. This would indicate that love requires an acceptance of risk and a willingness to put in the time in order to achieve love. In this process, the linking of each entailment of the source domain to the target domain is not necessary; instead, broader concepts that connect the domains are the focus. Counseling use of these approaches is based on client and therapeutic needs. For complex concepts that need to be better understood, metaphors may be shaped in a manner consistent with correspondence and processed as such, whereas for communicating core messages and principles, class inclusion may be preferable (Tay, 2012). These two approaches are both important for metaphor- based interventions because they provide two directions for exploration—understanding core messages or increasing understandings of the relationships and context surrounding the concept being described in metaphor (Tay, 2012). Exploring client metaphors using counseling skills and guided by the conceptual frameworks described above can increase understanding and awareness in both clients and counselors.