Using Metaphor in Hypnotherapy: A Simple Exercise to Explore Your Client's Experiences
Metaphor is one of the most interesting and versatile tools we have available to us as hypnotherapists. It allows us to explore experiences indirectly, introduce different perspectives and help clients make connections that might not emerge through more direct conversation.
There are many ways of using metaphor in hypnotherapy. We can tell therapeutic stories, develop metaphors around a client's interests or work with the imagery and language that emerges naturally during a session. But not every client finds metaphor easy to engage with.
Some clients struggle with abstract thinking or find it difficult to imagine something that isn't immediately present. Others might be comfortable talking about their experiences but find it harder to express them through imagery or symbolism. And sometimes it's the therapist who struggles. You might be perfectly comfortable delivering a metaphor you've prepared in advance but find it harder to recognise or develop metaphors spontaneously during a session.
In this article, I want to share one of my favourite exercises for exploring metaphor in hypnotherapy. It's called Story in Objects, and it involves asking clients to choose three ordinary objects to represent different aspects of their experiences.
It's a simple exercise that can lead to some surprisingly interesting conversations. It's particularly useful for clients who find abstract thinking difficult, as well as therapists who want to become more confident recognising and working with metaphor.
Using Metaphor in Hypnotherapy: Where it takes us
Metaphor allows us to explore one experience through another. We use metaphors constantly in everyday language, often without noticing. Someone might describe themselves as carrying a heavy burden, feeling trapped, reaching a crossroads or having lost their way.
They're not describing literal objects or places. They're communicating something about how they experience their situation, and those descriptions can tell us a great deal.
A client who describes feeling trapped may have a very different experience from someone who describes feeling lost, even if both are experiencing similar difficulties. The first might be communicating a sense of restriction, while the second might be describing uncertainty about where to go next.
Of course, we shouldn't assume we know exactly what a metaphor means. Its significance depends on the individual using it. But by becoming more attentive to metaphor, we create opportunities to explore experiences in ways that aren't always possible through direct questioning.
Metaphor can also help clients consider alternative perspectives, recognise resources and explore possibilities that might otherwise be difficult to articulate. And importantly, metaphor doesn't have to be something the therapist introduces. It can be something we discover and develop together with the client.
Story in Objects: A Practical Metaphor Exercise for Hypnotherapy
This is an exercise I use in my FND Hypnotherapy training, although it can be adapted for a wide range of therapeutic situations. I call it Story in Objects.
It's particularly useful for clients who struggle with abstract thinking or find it difficult to describe their experiences in emotional or symbolic language. Rather than asking clients to imagine an elaborate scene or come up with a metaphor on the spot, invite them to find three ordinary objects.
You can do this during a face-to-face session using objects in the room, or during an online session by inviting clients to find items in their own environment.
Ask them to choose:
An object that represents a strength they've drawn upon during difficult times.
An object that represents something that's beginning to change in themselves.
An object that represents a quality, hope or possibility they'd like to carry forward.
The objects don't need to be particularly meaningful or valuable in themselves. Some objects clients have chosen have included a mug, a bottle of hair dye, a dog collar (for a dog, not a priest!) and a keyring.
Invite the client to introduce each object and explain why they've chosen it. What does it represent to them? Does it remind them of a particular experience? What do they notice when they hold it or look at it?
Perhaps a client chooses a small stone to represent strength because it reminds them of somewhere they've spent time outdoors. Another might choose a key to represent something that's changing because they're beginning to recognise that they have more choices than they previously believed.
But we shouldn't impose these interpretations. A stone might represent strength to one client and restriction to another. A key might represent freedom, responsibility or something entirely different. The meaning belongs to the client.
Once they've explored the individual objects, you can invite them to consider how the three objects relate to one another. Do they tell a story about the client's experiences? Is there a connection between the strength they've drawn upon, the change they're beginning to notice and what they'd like to carry forward? And what might the next part of that story involve?
The exercise can help clients recognise strengths and resources that have become overshadowed by their difficulties. It can also broaden the way they understand themselves, particularly when their sense of identity has become closely connected to a diagnosis, symptom or difficult experience.
Why Working With Real Objects Can Be So Useful
One of the advantages of this exercise is that it begins with something concrete. For a client who struggles with abstract thinking, being asked to imagine a symbolic representation of their experiences might feel confusing or overwhelming. But choosing an ordinary object is a much more accessible starting point.
The client can see it, hold it and describe its physical characteristics. From there, we can begin exploring what it represents.
Perhaps they choose a small plant because it reminds them of something they've cared for over time. Perhaps they select a notebook because it represents learning or making sense of their experiences. Or perhaps they choose something that initially seems completely unrelated to the therapeutic work.
There's also no requirement for every client to engage with the exercise in exactly the same way. Some might develop elaborate symbolic connections, while others might make relatively simple associations. The aim isn't to encourage increasingly abstract interpretations. It's to provide another way of exploring experiences that might otherwise be difficult to express.
Developing the Metaphor Through Conversation
Once the client has chosen their objects, we can begin exploring the relationships between them. Rather than immediately interpreting what the objects represent, invite the client to become curious about their choices.
Why this particular object? What does it remind them of? What qualities does it have? Is there something about it that feels particularly relevant to their experience?
As they explore each object, you can begin noticing the language they use. Perhaps a client describes one object as strong but flexible. Another might describe something as worn but still useful. Someone else might talk about an object that's been damaged but repaired.
These descriptions can become metaphors in their own right, and sometimes they provide an opportunity to explore how the client understands themselves. For example, someone who describes an object as worn but still useful might begin recognising qualities in themselves that they haven't been acknowledging.
Bringing the Objects Into Hypnosis
Although Story in Objects can be useful as a conversational exercise, it also provides material that can be incorporated into hypnosis.
Once the client has explored their objects and identified what they represent, you can draw on those meanings during a hypnotic exercise. For example, perhaps a client has chosen a particular object to represent a strength they've relied upon during difficult times.
During hypnosis, you might invite them to imagine holding that object again, noticing its qualities and reconnecting with the experiences they associate with it.
Or perhaps an object represents something they'd like to develop. You could invite them to imagine carrying it into a future situation, noticing what it represents and how that might influence the choices they make.
You might also use the objects to explore the mind-body connection. Invite the client to imagine holding one of their objects and noticing how their body responds to the qualities it represents. Perhaps an object associated with strength brings a sense of steadiness, or something representing possibility creates a feeling of openness or movement.
You can explore where those sensations are experienced in the body, whether they change as the client focuses on different aspects of the object, and what happens when they imagine bringing those qualities into an everyday situation.
This allows us to work with metaphor as something more than a visual or verbal experience. We're inviting clients to notice the relationship between their thoughts, emotions, imagery and bodily sensations, and to explore how those experiences might influence one another.
The important thing is to remain responsive to the individual. You don't need to create an elaborate hypnotic metaphor around the objects. Sometimes simply referring to an image or phrase that emerged during the earlier conversation can be enough to make the hypnosis feel more personally relevant.
And because the imagery has come from the client, you're working with something they've already identified as meaningful.
What This Exercise Can Teach Us as Hypnotherapists
There's another reason I particularly like this exercise. It's useful for developing our own ability to recognise metaphor.
When we begin working with metaphor, it's easy to assume that we need to be especially creative or skilled at storytelling. But some of the most useful metaphors are already present in the client's descriptions of their experiences. The challenge is learning to notice them.
Story in Objects gives us an opportunity to practise listening for symbolic connections without needing to invent anything ourselves. We can notice how clients describe their objects, what meanings they attach to them and how those meanings change as the conversation develops.
We can also begin recognising the difference between a metaphor that feels meaningful to us and one that genuinely resonates with the client. This is an important distinction.
A therapist might see a key and immediately associate it with unlocking possibilities. But the client might have chosen it because it represents responsibility, security or something entirely different.
The more comfortable we become exploring those individual meanings, the more flexible and responsive our use of metaphor becomes.
Becoming More Confident With Using Metaphor in Hypnotherapy
If you're a hypnotherapist who finds metaphor difficult, I'd encourage you to begin by listening rather than creating. Notice the language your clients use, pay attention to the images and comparisons that emerge naturally, and become curious about what those descriptions mean to the individual.
You can also try the three-object exercise with a colleague or use it yourself to explore something you're currently working towards. You might be surprised by the connections that emerge from such a simple activity.
As you become more comfortable recognising and exploring metaphor, you'll probably find that you rely less on pre-written stories and become more confident responding to what happens naturally during a session. And that's an important part of developing as a hypnotherapist.
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