Metaphor in Practice

Niklas Törneke, MD, is a psychiatrist and has worked as a senior psychiatrist in the department of general psychiatry in his hometown Kalmar (in the southeast of Sweden) from 1991 until he started private practice 1998. He earned license as a psychotherapist in 1996 and was originally trained as a cognitive therapist. Since 1998 he has worked mainly with acceptance and commitment therapy, both in his own practice and as a teacher and clinical supervisor. His clinical experience ranges from psychiatric disorders such as schizophrenia to common anxiety and mood disorders with high prevalence in the general population.

"This is a comprehensive and compelling read on how to make metaphors work in therapy. It is a light and interesting book that highlights the power and potential complexity of metaphor when harnessed appropriately by the therapist. It covers the scientific underpinnings of how metaphors work, and explains the best way to create a therapeutic context that will enable metaphors to do what they do best: create psychological flexibility in the way in which we relate to ourselves. The work is scholarly and timely, but it is also alive with interesting transcript segments and relevant clinical metaphors. The book is neither dumbed down nor hard to read. In fact, it was pleasurable and interesting, and takes the reader on a journey that will positively change the way therapists use metaphor in their clinical practice." —Yvonne Barnes-Holmes, PhD, associate professor in behavior analysis at Ghent University