Of Mice and Metaphors

Written in contradictory literary styles and claiming to be analyzed in part using scientific methods, this book is both annoying and intriguing. The title appears to promise much, but the author, a child psychoanalyst, sticks narrowly to the application of his technique to his own field. As a mum and a psychology graduate I was struck by the relevance of using a child's fictional narrative to enhance a parent's understanding when communication is inadequate. There are always times when a very young child is distressed for no obvious reason, or a teenager is unreachable. This method of eliciting the child's imagined narrative, analyzing it in order to retell it addressing some of the underlying fears, beliefs and feelings, offers much to anyone who seeks to understand and support children. Unfortunately, this possibility is not canvassed in the book. Perhaps the author believes that such an analysis cannot be done without professional training.

It is this antagonism between the imaginative and the schooled, the scientific and the literary, the distant professional and the empathetic healer that permeates all the writing. I waited for the vignettes of the children's stories, and the thoughtful, imaginative responses to them. Here, obviously, was someone with the gift of gaining the trust of, and engaging damaged, hurt and often isolated children. But then, abruptly, the style changes as the commentary/analysis starts. Flat statements lacking explanation are made in sometimes incomprehensible psychoanalytic jargon

The writer always makes the assumption that the reader will easily follow his analysis of the story. This is completely unjustified and very annoying for it leaves you wondering how most of his important conclusions are reached.

The same is true of the morals that are usually drawn from the narrative. If the child does this himself, the connection is quite clear. Should the therapist amplify it or draw the moral himself the result can be mystifying. However, given these limitations, this is a fascinating series of excursion into the worlds of children in therapy.

Jerrold R. Brandell emphasizes that therapeutic storytelling is but one string to the bow of the effective child analysis. Others, 'doll play, puppetry, therapeutic games, modeling, mud and clay, painting and drawing, and other "play" techniques are used either alone or in conjunction with elicited narratives…' (p.2)

At the heart of the theory of children's narrative storytelling is the belief that the child's story abounds in metaphor in much the same way as adult dreams do.(p.3) Thus they are an unobtrusive entrance into the child's unconscious. The writer as therapist warns of the consequences of unconsciously eliciting a story that is contaminated by the therapist's assumptions. He also tells of some ingenious ways of handling the shy, uncooperative or anxious child: play a T.V. talk show and allow the child to be both interviewer and interviewee; start the dialogue with a squiggle that is a largish abstract line and the child becomes absorbed in giving it meaning; agree just once to begin the story on the understanding that the next one will be made up alone.

It is the dynamic relationship between psychoanalyst and child that is crucial to their progress. In the beginning this association is a fragile thing, and the therapist must tread softly. A respect for the child's privacy, and an unwavering non-judgmental acceptance of will quickly establish a rapport.

Chapter 5 - The Unfolding of the Narrative in the Psychotherapy of a Traumatized Ten-Year-Old Boy - is the most absorbing in the book. It details the journey to recovery of this child through the metaphors of his stories, the interpretation of them by the therapist (still at times tantalizingly unclear) and the dynamic relationship between both. Transference is noted, together with its later resolution. It is clear that the therapist sticks meticulously to his own rules of non-judgmental empathy, and revealing to the child only as much of his truth as he (the child) can handle at any one time.

This is a virtuoso display of an art. It is such a pity that the writing in the body of the book does not match this skill in performance. It is not that the author lacks the talent to match the practice with the description, but rather that he seeks to convince the reader of the ascendancy of science.

And there is science, of course there is, in his painstaking research and his study 'Is Storytelling Effective? Using Children's Metaphorical Communications to Assess Therapeutic Progress (Chapter 7, pps. 167-186). Here it is not misplaced.

Brandell's experimental design used a single intensive case study. The major client process variable was outwardly directed hostility (overt anger.) The therapist's influence was also measured. The boy's parents were asked to rate his behavior at the beginning and after the end of treatment as a pretest and posttest measure. The child's psychopathology was clinically measured pre and post therapy. All these ratings were done using accepted instruments for measurement. The final assessment of psychopathology was made by an independent therapist.

The chapter goes on to detail two of John's stories - one early in treatment, the other late - together with Brandell's responses and his interpretation of the metaphors as before. Twenty stories were told in all on a biweekly basis over a period of several months. A wide assortment of other play techniques was used in conjunction with this reciprocal story-telling.

The results show that the storytelling is most definitely effective. Six tables on pages 174-176 encapsulate these elegantly. 'In essence, impressionistic data supplied by John's stories could be confirmed by quantitative means.'(p.186)

Despite the mismatch of language and the lack of any explanation for some of the meanings assigned to certain of the metaphors, this is an engrossing book. It successfully espouses therapeutic storytelling for children and incidentally reveals a fascinating depiction of the art of a child psychoanalyst.

© 2001 Frances Gillespie

Fran Gillespie writes about herself: