Using Metaphor in Acceptance and Commitment Therapy

You will have access to the recording  for 6 months

In almost all models of psychotherapy, metaphor is considered an important aspect of communication. This is especially true in ACT, where skillfully delivered metaphors are at the center of treatment. If you are familiar with ACT you have no doubt heard about the bus metaphor or the metaphor about digging in a hole. But what do we know, from a science perspective, about how metaphors work? And are there any guidelines we can use in everyday clinical work, based on a scientific understanding of metaphor?

This workshop will provide psychotherapists with a scientific update as to current understanding of the function of metaphor in language generally and how to apply that knowledge in everyday clinical work. It will connect understanding of metaphor use with basic principles of change in psychotherapy, derived primarily from relational frame theory (RFT).

In this webinar you will learn:

• How metaphors function as a fundamental building block of human language
• How metaphor use can be analyzed with the help of relational frame theory
• How to apply basic behavioral principles in working with metaphor in therapy
• How to use metaphors in doing a functional analysis
• How to use metaphor as a central tool for defusion
• How to use metaphor as a central tool for supporting valued action

About Your Presenter

Niklas Törneke is a Swedish psychiatrist and psychotherapist, originally trained in cognitive therapy. Since 1998 he has been working with ACT and is continuously training and supervising ACT both in his home country and internationally. He belongs to the original group of peer reviewed ACT trainers. He is the author of “The ABCs of human behavior” (with Jonas Ramnerö),  “Learning RFT” and “Metaphor in Practice”.