Metaphor in Hong Kong psychotherapy talk - description, comparison, and application

Metaphor is the description of one thing in terms of another. Some linguists and psychologists (Gibbs, 2008; Lakoff, 1993) claim that we describe X in terms of Y because we also think and reason about X in terms of Y. Metaphors might therefore be useful in psychotherapy, a mental health activity where thoughts and feelings are discussed and analyzed. There is considerable research in the psychotherapy literature on the forms, functions, and effects of metaphor use by therapists and patients. However, from a discourse analytic perspective, contextual characteristics and theoretical nuances which can enrich the description and application of metaphors in psychotherapy have been critically overlooked, especially in under-researched settings such as Hong Kong.This project examines metaphors in Hong Kong psychotherapy talk (HKPT) in three progressive phases of ‘description’, ‘comparison’, and ‘application’. It draws upon, integrates, and further develops a series of related studies on metaphor in psychotherapy (Tay, 2010, 2011a, 2011b, 2011c, 2012, 2013, 2014b, 2014c, 2014d). Phase 1 describes metaphors in HKPT with independent but complementary methodologies of rich contextual analysis (Tay, 2013) and log-linear analysis (Agresti, 2002), where qualitative study of metaphor characteristics is followed by quantitative study of interaction patterns among metaphor-defining contextual variables. Besides providing a comprehensive and contextually grounded description, the underexplored potential of log-linear analysis for metaphor research is also developed. Phase 2 compares Phase 1 findings with my previous work on US psychotherapy metaphors, which adopted a similar conceptual and methodological approach. Besides contributing to cross-cultural metaphor scholarship (Kövecses, 2005), the consolidation of findings from HKPT and US psychotherapy provides an important basis for Phase 3. Phase 3, the application phase, interrogates two specific metaphor-based therapy techniques: the 7-step interview protocol (Kopp & Craw, 1998) and 6-step model (Sims, 2003), which exemplify the tendency in the psychotherapy literature to overlook the contextual and theoretical nuances of metaphors. The findings of Phases 1 and 2, which were precisely concerned with explicating these contextual and theoretical nuances, are thus expected to point towards implications and recommendations for refining or enhancing these techniques. Throughout the three phases, periodic discussions will be held with a practicing psychotherapist to ensure the therapeutic relevance and applicability of the analyses. Overall findings will be shared with other psychotherapists to raise awareness of their potential applications. In sum, the project promises significant theoretical and methodological contributions to metaphor scholarship, and the translation of theory into practical application through cross-disciplinary dialogue.