How to Use Useful Metaphors in Life Coaching

A metaphor is the expression of the understanding of one concept by relating it to another similar concept. Metaphors have been used in therapy and life coaching for many years. Metaphors play an important part in some therapeutic techniques. Using metaphors allows the life coach to be able to explain a situation in terms that the client will relate to and understand. Metaphors are particularly useful when a client seems stuck in a negative cycle. There are some useful metaphors to use in life coaching.

Instructions

• 1

  Listen to your client. Find out what experiences your client has had. A metaphor will only work if it is something to which your client can relate.

• 2

  Ask the client to describe her problem as a metaphor. Use the same metaphor that the client chose during life coaching sessions.

• 3

  Make a list of metaphors that you are comfortable using to describe different conditions you see in life coaching. You may use a heavy backpack to describe anger or getting caught in a tidal wave for grief. Use the metaphors during life coaching sessions to help your clients see their issues in a new way.

• 4

  Use guided imagery in a life coaching session to provoke a detailed metaphor in a client. Ask the client to visualize his feet stuck in mud, or have him imagine that he is floating out at sea. Continue the metaphor until the feet become unstuck or the client is able to rescue himself in some way.

• 5

  Create a metaphorical narrative. A life coach can share a story with a client, using metaphors, to describe how she perceives the situation. The story should also have a resolution to the conflict.

• 6

  Use symbols as metaphors. Have your client release a balloon as a symbol of anger, or have him throw a rock in a river to release depression. The possibilities are endless, and the results are often positive.