Strategies for using metaphor in psychological treatment

In most models of psychotherapy metaphor is considered an important aspect of communication. At the same time there is a need for a rationale to tell the clinician with what purpose and how to use metaphor for the benefit of the client. The present article suggests such principles, specifically based on a behavioral approach to human language, relational frame theory (RFT). This approach has co-developed with a specific model of psychotherapy: acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT) and the conclusions in this article are very much in line with that model. Overlap between RFT and a recent linguistic theory of metaphor, the dynamic approach, is also discussed.