METAPHORS IN MIND

Transformation through Symbolic Modelling

James Lawley
and
Penny Tompkins

The Developing Company Press

www.cleanlanguage.co.uk

First eBook edition 2013

ISBN 978-0-9538751-3-9

Copyright © James Lawley & Penny Tompkins, 2000 & 2013

The authors assert the moral right to be identified as the authors of this work. All rights reserved.

Available in paperback ISBN 978-09538751-08

First paper edition 2000

Metaphors in Mind has been translated into Italian as:

Mente e Metafore (ISBN 8-8815001-2-4)

Metaphors in Mind has been translated into French as:

Des métaphores dans la tête (ISBN 2-10-050099-6) available from:
InterEditions-Dunod, Paris www.intereditions.com
 Foreword by David Grove
An eighteenth century botanist planted a willow sapling in a barrel after first weighing both the sapling
and the soil. After the sapling had grown for five years, he weighed the tree and discovered that it had
increased in mass by 195 pounds. Upon weighing the soil he was surprised to find that it had decreased
in weight by only 13 ounces. The question is, where did a 195 pound tree come from if not from the
soil?
The only answer is, out of thin air!
And it is by delving into thin air itself that we discover an explanation for this mystery. During the light
of day a tree absorbs carbon dioxide through its leaves. Then at night, during the dark phase of
photosynthesis, the carbon dioxide molecule is separated into one carbon atom and two oxygen atoms.
The tree releases the oxygen atoms back into the air and forms the carbon atoms into a six carbon
simple sugar ring which is a building block for cellulose. The hidden beauty in this system is the
deconstruction, release and recombination of basic elements from one structure to another. The mass
and structure of the tree is the result of this mysterious process.
Just like building blocks of a carbon atom that have been recombined to form more complex
compounds, Penny Tompkins and James Lawley have synthesized elements from a variety of sources
such as Neuro-Linguistic Programming, Clean Language and systems thinking – and added both mass
and structure. Although my original work was in a therapeutic context, their synthesis has made it
available to others who have taken it into the fields of business, education, health and social services. I
have tremendous admiration for the innovative work they have developed.
My first encounter with Penny and James appeared to materialize out of thin air. Penny’s tenacious
‘won’t take no for an answer’ style and James’ inquiring, penetrating questions formed my initial
introduction to them. My life continues to be enriched by our ongoing interactions. ‘Developing’ is a
word that I strongly associate with both of them. Not only is it the name of their company, but it also
describes what I have come to recognize as a constant theme which they apply to themselves as well as
the clients with whom they work.
I congratulate Penny and James on completing this valuable book. The immense degree of dedication
and devotion that they steadfastly maintained during the course of this project has resulted in a richly
stimulating text that gently escorts the reader on a captivating journey. Be prepared for this book to
launch you on a personal journey of change and development. The parade of thought provoking
concepts, stories and challenges contained within will provide a reliable travelling companion to
accompany you along the way.
David J. Grove
4 July, 2000
 Acknowledgments
This book is dedicated to
DAVID GROVE (1950 – 2008)
who paid due diligence to his craft.

Our thanks to Lynne Preston for pinning us down to start writing at 7:00am on 1st August, 1997 and
her continued faith ever since.
Our early drafts benefited from the supportive comments of: Tom Allport, Clive Bach, Gilly Barton,
Dee Berridge, Roger Butler, Judi Buttner, Bob Janes, Gina Sanders, Graham Smith, Hugh Smith,
Sheila Stacey, Wendy Sullivan, Caitlin Walker and Thomas Zelenz.
Thanks also to Ann Kritzinger for steadying our nerves about the publishing process, Ruth ‘the proof’
Shadwell, Judy Strafford for her artistic talent and Chris Tidy for graphic design advice.
Particular mention is due to Richard Stacey who reviewed the entire manuscript with his characteristic
clarity and precision.
An extra special thanks to Philip Harland who read every word, twice, and whose skilful feedback
contributed to us learning the art and craft of writing. His gentle challenges prompted us to reconsider
and refine our descriptions and his encouragement kept us going when it seemed like the project would
never end.
Norman Vaughton, a great teacher and raconteur, helped fill the gaps in our knowledge of David
Grove’s early work. And conversations with Steve Briggs stimulated our ideas and broadened our view
of David’s approach. We are also grateful to Brian van der Horst for introducing us to the ideas of Ken
Wilber at just the right time.
We also appreciate Charles Faulkner, whose own work in metaphor has significantly influenced our
thinking, not least during our long chats in various Hampstead and Highgate cafes. As Charles says,
“We’re walking down different sides of the same street.” And what an exciting street it is.
Acknowledgement also to Cei Davies who has made such a valuable contribution in supporting David
Grove and helping make his work available to the public.
We continue to learn from our students and from members of the London Clean Language Practice and
Research Groups. We thank them for helping us sharpen our skills and test our ideas.
And lastly, we are grateful to our clients whose courage has inspired every page, and who continually
remind us to expect the unexpected and to trust the wisdom in the system.
 Introduction
“James, I know you’ll ask a hundred questions about this workshop, and I don’t think I’ll be able to
answer a single one. But I do know this guy David Grove is doing something special. I’ve just had one
of the most profound experiences of my life. Why don’t you postpone your holiday and come and see
him? Maybe together we can figure out what he’s doing.” Unbeknown to Penny, this telephone
conversation was to decide the direction of our lives for the next five years.

David J. Grove, M.S.

David Grove is a New Zealander whose unique psychotherapeutic approach, experience and style make
him one of today’s most skilful and innovative therapists.
In the 1980s he developed clinical methods for resolving clients’ traumatic memories, especially those
related to child abuse, rape and incest. He realised many clients naturally described their symptoms in
metaphor, and found that when he enquired about these using their exact words, their perception of the
trauma began to change. This led him to create Clean Language, a way of asking questions of clients’
metaphors which neither contaminate nor distort them.
Initially David Grove specialised in ‘healing the wounded child within’. These days his interests have
widened to include nonverbal behaviour, perceptual space and intergenerational healing. He is
constantly developing new ideas and creative methods which continue to fascinate and inspire us.

Our contribution
To “figure out” what David Grove was doing we used a process called modelling. This involved
observing him work with clients (including ourselves) and spending hour after hour poring over
recordings and transcripts. We looked for patterns in the relationship between what he was doing and
the way clients responded that contributed to the changes they experienced. We combined these
patterns into a generalised model which was tested and fine tuned – cycling through observation,
pattern detection, model construction, testing and revising many times.
While our model is based on David Grove’s work and incorporates many of his ideas, he has a different
way of describing his approach. Our model was derived more from our observation of him in action
than from his explanation of what he does. It was also shaped by our desire for others to learn the
process easily and for it to apply to a range of contexts in addition to psychotherapy.
As well as employing many of David Grove’s ideas, we have also drawn upon cognitive linguistics,
self-organising systems theory and Neuro-Linguistic Programming (NLP). The result is a process called
Symbolic Modelling.

Symbolic Modelling in a nutshell

Symbolic Modelling is a method for facilitating individuals to become familiar with the symbolic
domain of their experience so that they discover new ways of perceiving themselves and their world. It
uses Clean Language to facilitate them to attend to their metaphoric expressions so that they create a
model of their symbolic mind-body perceptions. This model exists as a living, breathing, four-
dimensional world within and around them.
When clients explore this world and its inherent logic, their metaphors and way of being are honoured.
During the therapeutic process their metaphors begin to evolve. As this happens their everyday
thinking, feeling and behaviour correspondingly change as well.
Some clients benefit just from having their metaphors developed with a few clean questions. For some
the process leads to a reorganisation of their existing symbolic perceptions, while for others nothing
short of a transformation of their entire landscape of metaphors will suffice. As a result clients report
that they are more self-aware, more at peace with themselves, have a more defined sense of their place
in the world and are more able to enrich the lives of others.

What you will learn from this book

What do you do as a therapist, teacher, doctor or manager when your client, student, patient or
colleague says “It’s like I’m hitting my head against a brick wall” or “I’m so wound up I can’t see
straight” or “Things keep getting on top of me”?
Do you ignore the metaphorical nature of their communication? Do you unwittingly introduce your
own metaphors (“Why do you continue punishing yourself?” “I can tell you’re stressed.” “How does
that make you feel?”)? Or do you take their metaphors as an accurate description of their way of being
in the world and ask questions within the logic of the information – without introducing any metaphors
of your own (“And is there anything else about that brick wall?” “And what kind of wound up is that?”
“And whereabouts on top of you?”).
This book describes how to do the latter.
When using Symbolic Modelling you give your clients, students, patients or colleagues an opportunity
to discover how their symbolic perceptions are organised, what needs to happen for these to change,
and how they can develop as a result. In order to do this proficiently, you need to be able to:
• Attend to client-generated verbal and nonverbal metaphors
• Communicate via Clean Language
• Facilitate clients to self-model
• Be guided by the logic inherent in their symbolic expressions.
Our primary focus in this book is psychotherapy. And while we describe a complete process that can be
used in its own right, many therapists and counsellors have found ways to combine Symbolic
Modelling with their preferred approach. In addition, in Chapter 10 we describe how Symbolic
Modelling is being used in education, health and business.

Structure of the book

We have arranged the book in five parts. Part I provides theoretical and background knowledge about
metaphor, modelling and self-organising systems. Part II introduces the basic questions, philosophy and
methodology of Clean Language. Part III contains a stage-by-stage description of the Five-Stage
Therapeutic Process, with extensive client transcripts to illustrate and explain how the process unfolds.
In Part IV we describe a number of applications of Symbolic Modelling outside the field of individual
psychotherapy. Finally, Part V contains annotated transcripts of our work with three clients.

How to use this book

We have designed the book to be used iteratively. This means that you will benefit from revisiting each
chapter with the accumulated knowledge gained from reading later chapters, and from having put into
practice what you have learned. In this way the book is like a travel guide. It gives useful information
about the places you are about to visit, what to look out for, and if you reread it after you return, it will
mean so much more.
You do not have to begin this book at the beginning. Depending on your preferred learning style there
are various entry points. You can start with Part I if you like general concepts and theory first. If you
prefer to learn by doing, the information in Part II will enable you to start practising immediately. If
you want to find out how you can apply the model in a variety of contexts, go to Part IV. And if you
learn best by first seeing an example of the entire process, start with Part V.

And finally
Like learning to play the piano, no amount of theory or observation can substitute for the actual
experience of your fingers moving over the keyboard. Our main purpose in writing this book is to
encourage you to use Symbolic Modelling because only then will you discover how much your clients
can benefit from this approach.
And it is not only your clients who will benefit. As a result of using Symbolic Modelling we have
developed acute listening and observation skills, an improved ability to retain and recall information
and an increased capacity to think systemically and at multiple levels.
Also, being facilitated to model our metaphors and patterns has been an indispensable part of learning
to facilitate others to model theirs – not to mention the gift of our own personal development.
Yet perhaps the most unexpected benefit of regularly facilitating Symbolic Modelling has been learning
to become comfortable with ‘not knowing’, to be in the moment with whatever is happening, and to
trust the wisdom in the system.
 Chapter 1 Metaphors We Live By
Metaphor is perhaps one of man’s most fruitful potentialities. Its efficacy verges on magic, and it
seems a tool for creation which God left inside His creatures when He made them.
Jose Ortega y Gasset

Imagine you are standing behind Michelangelo. He is standing in front of a large block of marble,
hammer and chisel in hand. He knows there is a sculpture in the stone, yet has no idea what the final
creation will look like. How do you support Michelangelo to transform the marble into a work of art
and in the process transform himself?
On the surface this book is about a new approach to psychotherapy called Symbolic Modelling. But
really it is about a new way of thinking about the process of change – of artfully facilitating the
Michelangelo’s who are your clients to transform themselves.
In Symbolic Modelling a client’s metaphors are the raw material, the marble, out of which their
creation emerges. Your role is to facilitate them to use their metaphors and symbols for self-discovery
and self-development. Before learning the skills required to do this, some background information will
be useful. Therefore this chapter covers:
The Symbolic Domain of Experience
Metaphor and Symbol Defined
How the Symbolic Domain is Expressed
Metaphor and Cognition

The Symbolic Domain of Experience

Assume the following statements refer to the same experience. Take a moment to say them out loud,
and notice your internal response.
1. When she looks me in the eye, and speaks in that high-pitched tone of voice, my whole head starts to
throb.
2. I’m angry because of her attitude.
3. It’s like I’m the dynamite and she’s got the detonator.
The first statement describes an experience using language related to the senses, to what is seen, heard
and felt. The second uses abstract concepts to label the experience. The third is metaphoric and
symbolic.
Most people report a subtly different response when saying and considering each one. This is because
each represents a different type of language with its own vocabulary and internal logic, and each
involves different ways of understanding, thinking, reasoning, and perceiving. We refer to these three
domains of experience as sensory, conceptual and symbolic.

SENSORY
People know about the environment, the material world, and the behaviour of others and themselves
through seeing, hearing, touching, smelling, tasting, and by their emotions and inner-body feelings of
orientation, movement, balance and position. People also see pictures, hear sounds and feel feelings in
their imagination when they remember a past event or imagine a future event.
CONCEPTUAL
All categories, comparisons, beliefs and judgments are constructs of the human mind. They only exist
as abstract ideas. While everyone has experienced being part of a group of related people, no one has
ever touched the concept ‘family’. Concepts are a different order of reality from the sensory-material
world. Concepts are labels for complex gestalts of experience.1

SYMBOLIC
A number of philosophers, linguists and cognitive scientists claim that much, if not most, everyday
language and thinking is neither sensory nor conceptual, but is actually metaphoric.2 Metaphors allow
people to express and give a form to complex feelings, behaviours, situations and abstract concepts.
Most metaphors make use of the sensory-material world to describe, comprehend and reason about the
conceptual and abstract. For us ‘symbolic’ means more than the dictionary definition of ‘relating to a
symbol’, it also involves connecting with a pattern that has personal significance.

Distinguishing between domains

To further clarify the distinctions between these three domains we describe a well-known object, the
American Flag, with sensory, conceptual and symbolic language:
Describing something in sensory terms requires a specific example and words that directly relate
to what we see, hear or feel. In this case it is made of red, white and blue pieces of cloth, which
together are displayed as a rectangle four feet long by two feet high. The upper left-hand corner
has 50 white five-pointed star-shaped pieces sewn onto a dark blue background. The rest of the
rectangle comprises six red and seven white alternating stripes sewn horizontally. The left-hand
side is connected to a wire on top of a pole where it moves in response to variations in direction
and intensity of the wind.
The conceptual label is, simply ‘the American flag’, called The Star Spangled Banner.
The symbolic description of ‘Old Glory’ will vary from person to person. One American may
pledge allegiance to it and say it symbolises “the land of the free and the home of the brave.” To
another it might symbolise “the police force of the world.” If we were to pursue the matter
further each person would likely tell stories and give examples from their personal history in an
attempt to capture the significance of the symbol for them, and in the telling would probably
discover a deep personal connection to this cultural icon.
These three types of description – sensory, conceptual and symbolic – represent distinct yet interrelated
ways of perceiving the world.
The world of solid objects and sensory input is fundamentally different from the world of ideas and
abstract notions, which in turn is different from the world of symbol and metaphor. Each domain has its
own vocabulary, its own logic and brings forth its own perceptions. Nevertheless, people effortlessly
switch back and forth between them and sometimes enjoy all three simultaneously.
To access and work within each domain, a process tailored to the characteristics of that domain is
needed. Most research into how people perceive the world, and most approaches for helping them
create new and more enriching perceptions, have been sensory a conceptually based. Symbolic
Modelling is a process for working with symbolic and metaphoric perceptions directly.

Metaphor and Symbol Defined

In this section we define metaphor and symbol, and discuss the concept of isomorphism before
considering why metaphors have such magical properties.
We have entitled this chapter ‘Metaphors We Live By’ as a tribute to George Lakoff and Mark
Johnson’s innovative and mind-expanding book. They say:
The essence of metaphor is understanding and experiencing one kind of thing in terms of
another.3
We like this definition for a number of reasons. First, it recognises that metaphor is about capturing the
essential nature of an experience. For instance when a client of ours described his situation as, “It’s like
I’m a goldfish in a deoxygenated pond having to come up for air,” his sense of futility and impending
doom was instantly apparent. Second, the definition acknowledges that metaphor is an active process
which is at the very heart of understanding ourselves, others and the world around us. Third, it allows
metaphor to be more than verbal expression. Metaphors are also expressed nonverbally, by objects and
as imaginative representations. Thus whatever a person says, sees, hears, feels, does or imagines has the
potential to be an autogenic, self-generated metaphor.

Metaphors themselves are comprised of a number of interrelating components which we call symbols.4
So a metaphor is a whole and a symbol is a part of that whole. For instance, “I feel like my back is
being pinned against a wall” refers to three symbols (I, my back, and a wall), with a fourth (whatever or
whoever is doing the pinning) being implied.
Carl Jung noted that there is always something more to a symbol than meets the eye, and no matter how
much a symbol (or metaphor) is described, its full meaning remains elusive:
What we call a symbol is a term, a name, or even a picture that may be familiar in daily life, yet
that possesses specific connotations in addition to its conventional and obvious meaning. It
implies something vague, unknown or hidden from us.5
Although we may not be able to fully explain a symbol’s “unknown or hidden” meaning, we can still
know it is significant for us. And the more its symbolism is explored, the more its significance emerges.
While symbols such as a national flag or religious icons have a shared cultural meaning, they may also
contain a unique personal significance. It is this personal connection which brings the cultural meaning
to life.
In Symbolic Modelling we are only interested in the personal nature of symbols and metaphors. This
idiosyncratic symbolism connects a person to their history, their spiritual nature, their sense of destiny
and to the “unknown or hidden” aspects of their life. Metaphors and symbols have the potency to carry
information from the mundane to the extraordinary, and for some, to the sacred.6

Isomorphism
Metaphors correspond in a special way to the original experience they are describing – through
isomorphism. In other words, the form of a metaphor is different from the original experience, but it has
a similar organisation. This means that the attributes of its symbols, the relationships between symbols
and the logic of the whole matches the organisation of what is being described. While there will be
some correspondence of tangible components, the key role of metaphor is to capture the essence, the
intangible, the relationships and the patterns. Isomorphism is the “pattern which connects” two different
kinds of things.7 When a person comprehends a metaphor, it is their intrinsic ability to recognise and
utilise isomorphism that allows them to infer the organisation of the original experience from the
metaphor.
The following examples are based on George Lakoff’s detailed analysis of the source of common
metaphors for anger:
Hot fluid:
I’ve reached boiling point.
He blew his top.
Fire:
Those are inflammatory remarks.
He’s been smouldering for days.
Insanity:
He went crazy with anger.
Stop or I’ll go berserk.
An opponent:
She fought back her anger.
I was seized by anger.
A dangerous animal:
He had a ferocious temper.
She unleashed her anger.
Trespassing:
You’re beginning to get to me.
You’ve stepped over the line.
A burden:
Get it off your chest.
Losing my temper was a relief.
Although these metaphors refer to the same class of experience conceptually labelled ‘anger’, each
addresses a subtly different quality of this highly complex emotion. George Lakoff has found about
three hundred phrases related to anger which display a remarkable degree of experiential coherence.
Thus:
We can see why someone who is doing a slow burn hasn’t hit the ceiling yet, why someone
whose anger is bottled up is not breathing fire, why someone who is consumed by anger
probably can’t see straight, and why adding fuel to the fire might just cause the person you’re
talking to to have kittens.8
While concepts can be used to define anger (a feeling of great annoyance or antagonism), they cannot
capture the particulars of a person’s experience. Sensory terms can describe anger, but for all their
accuracy and detail, much of the quality of the experience will be lost.

The magic of metaphor

Having facilitated hundreds of clients to explore their metaphors, we know that metaphor can heal,
transform and enrich lives. Why is this? Why does metaphor’s efficacy verge on magic? Why is
metaphor such a universal tool for description, comprehension and explanation? How is it that
metaphor produces such novel perspectives?
Andrew Ortony points out three remarkable properties of metaphors: inexpressibility, vividness and
compactness.9 Put simply, because metaphors embody “something vague, unknown or hidden,” they
give form to the inexpressible. Because they make use of everyday concrete things to illustrate
intangible, complex and relational aspects of life, they are vivid and memorable. And because of
isomorphism, only the essence of an experience needs to be captured; the rest can be reconstructed
from inferential knowledge. In short, metaphors carry a great deal of information in a compact and
memorable package.
There is a fourth vital property of metaphor and it is the one which most impacts people’s lives. A
metaphor describes one experience in terms of another, and in so doing it specifies and constrains ways
of thinking about the original experience. This influences the meaning and importance of the
experience, the way it fits with other experiences, and actions taken as a result. Lakoff and Johnson
state:
In all aspects of life … we define our reality in terms of metaphors and then proceed to act on the
basis of the metaphors. We draw inferences, set goals, make commitments, and execute plans, all
on the basis of how we in part structure our experience, consciously and unconsciously, by
means of metaphor.10
Metaphors embody and define the intangible and abstract, but this process limits and constrains
perceptions and actions to those which make sense within the logic of the metaphor. Metaphors are
therefore both descriptive and prescriptive. In this way they can be a tool for creativity or a self-
imposed prison.11 Symbolic Modelling is designed to unlock creativity and open prison doors. It does
so by working directly with the symbolic domain.

How the Symbolic Domain is Expressed

Consider the types of metaphor expressed in the following:
It’s like dancing with a tiger [arms raised, torso swaying]. [Picks up pillow and holds it as if it is
a partner.] I can see it all now, the room, the chandelier, hear the music, feel my heart pounding
as we swirl between other couples on the dance floor – I’m on the edge of life and death.
This example and Figure 1.1 show how metaphors can be classified into four groups: Verbal,
Nonverbal, Material and Imaginative. This section describes each category, how information can be
translated between categories, and how the totality of a client’s metaphors and symbolic expressions
combine to form a metaphor landscape.
 FIGURE 1.1 Ways to express the symbolic domain

Verbal metaphor
We refer to words and phrases which are obviously or conventionally metaphoric as overt verbal
metaphors. This distinguishes them from the less obvious verbal metaphors embedded in everyday
speech. There is nothing absolute about this distinction; it entirely depends on the speaker or listener’s
awareness of the metaphorical nature of language. Although embedded metaphors are not usually
recognised as metaphorical, they are an essential and universal feature of language.

OVERT VERBAL METAPHOR

Conventionally, metaphors are those everyday sayings and phrases used to spice up language. Here is a
selection from our clients:
I’ve got my head in the clouds.
I’m carrying the whole world on my shoulders.
I’ve got a knot in my stomach.
I’m banging my head against a brick wall.
These expressions are obviously metaphoric. Our clients know there is not an actual cloud surrounding
them, that they have not turned into Atlas, and that there is no real knot or brick wall. Instead an inbuilt
mechanism registers the figurative nature of these expressions and accepts them as symbolising an
experience rather than being the experience itself. They know that everyday things and behaviours –
clouds, carrying, shoulders, knots, banging and walls – are being used to represent other experiences:
absent-mindedness, excessive responsibility, an unwanted feeling, and a lack of progress.
Overt metaphors evoke rich images and a felt sense of what is being described. They can vividly
express a single idea or a lifetime of experience. Although some linguists dismiss them as ‘merely
figurative’, we accept them as a highly accurate description of experience. Because of their graphic and
embodied nature, overt metaphors convey the essence of what is being said better than dozens of
sensory or conceptual words ever could.

EMBEDDED VERBAL METAPHOR

When everyday language is examined in detail it becomes apparent that metaphor is far more common
than first realised. In fact it is ‘hard’ to ‘put together’ an ‘everyday’ sentence which does not ‘contain’ a
‘hidden’ or ‘embedded’ metaphor:
My mind has just gone blank.
There’s a gap in my knowledge.
I’m feeling down today.
I’m going round in circles.
These sentences are not obviously metaphoric until ‘blank’, ‘gap’, ‘down’ and ‘going round in circles’
are examined more closely. We call these and similar expressions embedded metaphors since their
metaphoric nature is disguised in ordinariness and familiarity. Once you recognise embedded
metaphors you will notice them everywhere:
The things, events and behaviours presupposed in these sentences have no physical reality and are
entirely metaphoric. Nevertheless we accept them as if they are true and tend to forget they are
describing what the experience is like.
Embedded metaphors are especially important because they often indicate how the speaker is ‘mentally
doing’ the abstract experience they are describing. For example, changing the embedded metaphor in
the following sentences has a noticeable effect on the type of experience we assume the speaker is
describing:
I’m thinking about what you said.
I’m thinking over what you said.
I’m thinking around what you said.
I’m thinking beyond what you said.
I’m thinking past what you said.
I’m thinking outside of what you said.
I’m thinking through what you said.
I’m thinking on what you said.12
Mark Johnson’s The Body in the Mind gives a wealth of evidence for the embodied nature of embedded
metaphors.13 He shows that the majority of embedded metaphors are based on that which is most
familiar: the human body, the environment it inhabits and how the two interact. Steven Pinker in How
the Mind Works notes that:
Location in space is one of the two fundamental metaphors in language, used for thousands of
meanings. The other is force, agency, and causation. … Many cognitive scientists (including me)
have concluded from their research on language that a handful of concepts about places, paths,
motions, agency, and causation underlie the literal or figurative meanings of tens of thousands of
words and constructions, not only in English but in every other language that has been studied.14
He goes on to say “Space and force don’t act like figures of speech intended to convey new insights;
they seem closer to the medium of thought itself.”
During Symbolic Modelling you need to pay particularly close attention to your client’s metaphors
because these specify how they are mentally doing and embodying what they are describing. And more
important, as the client becomes aware of their own embedded metaphors, they can recognise how
these limit or empower them.

Nonverbal metaphor
While metaphor is generally thought of as a linguistic device, nonverbal behaviour – body expressions
(postures and movements of the body and eyes) and nonverbal sounds (grunts, coughs, hems and haws)
– can also be metaphoric. They are metaphoric in that they can be used to understand and experience
one kind of thing in terms of another.

BODY EXPRESSIONS
David Grove noticed that many of his clients’ gestures, looks, facial expressions, postures and body
movements were encoded with, and were containers for, idiosyncratic symbolic information. These
nonverbal metaphors ranged from the subtlest glance, twitch of a finger or change in breathing to
enacting an entire symbolic event.
When clients pay attention to their body expressions, a just-outside-of-awareness symbolic world is
revealed. For example, one client discovered that their hands-out-in-front-grabbing movement
symbolised “holding on when I really need to let go”; another with hunched posture found this
expressed “feeling like the whole world is on my shoulders”; while the client who sat motionless,
leaning forward and staring down was surprised to find that the angle of their gaze represented “looking
over the edge into a bottomless pit.”

NONVERBAL SOUNDS
David Grove also noticed that nonverbal sounds such as throat clears, sighs, clicks, blows, giggles,
‘Ah’, ‘Oh’, ‘Mmm’, ‘Umm’ or humming tunes, may be encoded with symbolic meaning. For example
a client who regularly cleared their throat before speaking found it symbolised “being unable to speak
my truth”; another’s nervous giggle whenever they were complimented “prevented the pride that comes
before a fall.”
In Symbolic Modelling when working with body expression and nonverbal sounds your aim is twofold:
for the client to recognise and preserve the idiosyncratic, symbolic significance of their nonverbal
behaviour; and, if appropriate, for the client, and only the client, to encapsulate the experience in an
equivalent verbal metaphor.

Material metaphors
The mind has a remarkable capacity for seeing, hearing and feeling symbolism in a material object or
the environment. As Aniela Jaffe´ notes, any object can be imbued with personal symbolism:
The history of symbolism shows that everything can assume symbolic significance: natural
objects (like stones, plants, animals, men, mountains and valleys, sun and moon, wind, water and
fire), or man-made things (like houses, boats, or cars), or even abstract forms (like numbers or
the triangle, the square, and the circle). In fact, the whole cosmos is a potential symbol.15
In our consulting room, shadows, wallpaper and carpet patterns, curtains, ornaments, pictures, book
titles, mirrors, furniture and door handles have caught a client’s attention and activated a symbolic
response. We have lost count of the number of times a client has remarked that the shape, size, colour
or layout of something in our consulting room, or their clothes and jewellery, ‘coincidentally’ matches
a symbol in their imagination.
Given the choice, clients attempt to position themselves so that there is maximum alignment between
the configuration of their inner symbolic world and the layout of the physical environment. This may
mean sitting where they can see out of a window, being near a door or having us on their left or their
right. For this reason we follow David Grove’s practice of asking clients to choose where they would
like to sit and then to position us. Their preferences invariably turn out to have symbolic significance.
Imaginative symbolic representations
In addition to material, nonverbal and verbal symbolic expression there is another, imaginative, which
occurs in the private world of thoughts and feelings. The ‘seeing’ of objects and events in the mind’s
eye, the ‘hearing’ of sounds and internal dialogue, and the ‘feeling’ of emotions and other sensations,
together create a personalised virtual reality.
John Grinder and Richard Bandler were among the first to apply the correlations between language,
behaviour and imaginative representations to psychotherapy.16 David Grove extended this to symbolic
representations such as: seeing an image of ‘a pot of gold at the end of a rainbow’ or ‘shadows on the
wall of a cave’ or ‘my life’s path in front of me’; and hearing the ‘perfect pitch of a bell at the bottom
of the sea’ or ‘a silent scream’ or a witch saying ‘if I say black’s white, it’s white’; and feeling the
sensation of ‘a knot in my stomach’ or ‘hands around my throat’ or ‘the warmth of an everlasting sun
on my back’.
To have a conscious imaginative representation requires an imagined ‘object of perception’ to be
located somewhere in a “mind-space” that Julian Jaynes says is the “first and most primitive aspect of
consciousness.”17 For instance, think of a cat:
Where do you ‘see’ it? In front of you? To one side or the other? Above or below eye-level?
What is your emotional response to this cat? Where are you experiencing the sensation of that
feeling? If you have an inner dialogue about the value of owning a cat, where do the words
appear to come from? Does each side of the dialogue originate from the same or a different
place? Do they seem to be spoken from inside or outside your head?
According to Daniel Dennett, there is no physiological seat of consciousness, no theatre in the brain
where the cat lives – although it sure seems that way.18 Because of this, when clients notice what is in
their imaginative mind-space they have very real responses. Changes to imaginative representations
have been correlated with changes in heart rate, galvanic skin response, blood pressure, and a host of
other chemical and neurophysiological effects.19
During Symbolic Modelling we regard a client’s imaginative realm as existing in a perceptual space
that is as real as any physical environment. This space can exist inside and outside their body or in an
entirely imaginary environment happening somewhere and somewhen else. By recognising and
honouring their experience exactly as they describe it, clients can be facilitated to discover the
metaphors they live by.

Translating metaphors
Because the four categories of symbolic expression are interrelated it is possible to translate a metaphor
from one form to another. In Symbolic Modelling there are two common forms of translation:
verbalising and physicalising (see Figure 1.2).
 FIGURE 1.2 Two common ways of translating metaphors

VERBALISING
Much of the Symbolic Modelling process involves facilitating the client to verbalise the symbolism
they ascribe to their imaginative representations, their nonverbal behaviour and to the material objects
that draw their attention.

PHYSICALISING
The other common type of translation involves the client physicalising their spoken and imaginative
metaphors, that is, intentionally creating a physical symbolic representation. This could be drawing,
painting, sculpting, poetry, prose and making music. Or they could use their body to mime, act or dance
their metaphor. Physicalising a metaphor often enables clients to depict things they cannot say, and to
encapsulate and convey the overall wholeness of an experience in a single material representation.
Carl Jung discovered that externalising his inner symbolic world produced lifelong learnings:
Gradually, through my scientific work, I was able to put my fantasies and the contents of the
unconscious on a solid footing. Words and paper, however, did not seem real enough to me;
something more was needed. I had to achieve a kind of representation in stone of my innermost
thoughts and of the knowledge I had acquired. Or, to put it another way, I had to make a
confession of faith in stone. That was the beginning of the “Tower,” the house which I built for
myself at Bollingen.
From the beginning I felt the Tower as in some way a place of maturation – a maternal womb or
a maternal figure in which I could become what I was, what I am and will be. It gave me a
feeling as if I were being reborn in stone. It is thus a concretisation of the individuation process,
… during the building work, of course, I never considered these matters. I built the house in
sections, always following the concrete needs of the moment. It might also be said that I built it
in a kind of dream. Only afterwards did I see how all of the parts fitted together and that a
meaningful form had resulted: a symbol of psychic wholeness.20
Once he had this realisation, for the next 35 years Jung continued to modify and add to his Tower as a
way of reflecting and physicalising the development of his inner experience.

Metaphor Landscapes
Verbal, nonverbal, material and imaginative metaphors coexist, interrelate and maintain each other.
While sometimes they contradict or conflict, they do so in ways that are consistent and meaningful
within a larger context. This larger context – the sum total of a client’s embodied symbolic perceptions
– is their metaphor landscape.
Once a client pays attention to their symbolic expressions, the content of their metaphor landscape
begins to enter their awareness. When they describe a symbol they implicitly acknowledge its existence
and form. When they look at, gesture to, or orientate their body towards a symbol, they explicitly
reference its location. From the client’s perspective, the space around and within them becomes
inhabited by their symbols. It is in this space that symbolic events take place. The client finds they are
inhabiting a living, breathing symbolic world, and the more they attend to it, the more real and
significant it becomes.
As symbols form and their relationships to each other become clear, the whole landscape becomes
psychoactive: that is, the client has thoughts and feelings in response to the symbols and events, which
in turn generate further activity in the landscape. After a time the landscape becomes a four-
dimensional, multilayered, systemic, symbolic world which with uncanny accuracy represents and
reflects how the client experiences, behaves and responds in ‘real life’.
For example, a client who described his problem as like “looking over the edge into a bottomless pit”
discovered “I’m standing on barren soil with my toes extending just over the edge of a black hole” and
“the more I look into it, the more I have to hold myself back from a strange gravity-like attraction
toward the blackness.” These concurrent images and feelings of attraction and holding back were a
replica of “a long-standing conflict in my life.” While describing this metaphor the client was looking
down, face ashen, body swaying back and forth, embodying the conflict, in the moment, in the room.
The more the client explores the attributes of their symbols, the relationships within their metaphors
and the patterns of their whole metaphor landscape, the more they realise there is a consistent and
coherent logic operating. The symbolic logic of, “I’ve been adrift in an open boat for years but I’m still
anchored to my family,”does not necessarily conform to the laws of science nor to the logic of
philosophy, but it will make perfect sense to the client. The self-reflection, self-understanding and self-
awareness made possible by interacting with their metaphor landscape resonates with a deeper, more
fundamental cognition.

Metaphor and Cognition

In this section we consider why metaphorical expressions are not arbitrary and why they are not
independent of each other. Instead they have a coherent and consistent organisation because there is a
coherent and consistent organisation to cognition.21 Many cognitive scientists now conclude that
people not only talk in metaphor, but also think and reason in metaphor, they make sense of their world
through metaphor, and they act in ways that are consistent with their metaphors. For George Lakoff and
Mark Johnson:
Metaphor is not just a matter of language, that is, of mere words. … On the contrary, human
thought processes are largely metaphorical. This is what we mean when we say that the human
conceptual system is metaphorically structured and defined. Metaphors as linguistic expressions
are possible precisely because they are metaphors in a person’s conceptual system.22
Thus the organisation of a client’s language and behaviour will be isomorphic with the organisation of
their cognitive processes, and both will be grounded in the embodied nature of experience. This is why
changes in a metaphor landscape reflect changes in cognition which in turn generate new thoughts,
feelings and behaviour.
Isomorphism is central to Symbolic Modelling because it makes it possible for the client to construct a
model of the organisation of their cognition from their metaphoric expressions. As neuroscientist Karl
Pribram writes:
Analogical reasoning sets in motion a self-reflective process by which, metaphorically speaking,
brains come to understand themselves.23

Summary
The key points about metaphor and symbolism made in this chapter are:
• Metaphor is pervasive in English and probably every other language.
• Metaphor works by representing one experience (usually more abstract, vague or intangible) in terms
of another experience (usually more concrete, explicit or commonplace) which has a corresponding
(isomorphic) organisation.
• Metaphor enables people to understand, reason about and explain abstract concepts. The primary
sources for these metaphors are the human body, the physical environment and their interaction.
• Metaphor helps people organise complex sets of thoughts, feelings, behaviours and events into a
coherent whole.
• Most metaphors are so pervasive, so familiar and so embedded in thought and body that their
metaphorical nature is usually overlooked.
• Symbols are the identifiable components of a metaphor.
• The sum of a person’s verbal, nonverbal, material and imaginative metaphors comprise a self-
consistent and coherent metaphor landscape.
• A metaphor landscape is part of a more inclusive process, that of cognition, which itself is
fundamentally metaphorical in nature. As a result, metaphors can limit and constrain or be a source
of creativity and development.

Concluding Remarks
The patterns of our metaphoric language, symbolic behaviour and imaginative representations express
the way we make sense of the world. Metaphor and symbolism enable us to give form to those aspects
of life which are the most mystifying; namely, our relationships, our problems and their solutions, our
fears and desires, our illness and health, our poverty and wealth, and the love we give and the love we
receive. Furthermore, metaphors allow us to reflect on and describe our own cognition in a manner that
is isomorphic with that which is being reflected upon. It is through this iterative, systemic and wheels-
within-wheels process that metaphors for who we are, why we are here, how we are a unique part of a
larger whole, and other questions of knowing and being, become amenable to exploration.
 Chapter 2 Models We Create By
If you want to understand mental processes, look at biological evolution.
Gregory Bateson
From birth we create mental models of how the world works. These inform our decisions, guide our
behaviour and enable us to learn and change. Later, in an attempt to understand and explain the
processes by which we give meaning to the world, we also construct models of our models. This gives
us a degree of freedom, a semblance of choice, because it allows us to recognise that our models are
just that – our maps, and not the territory – and are therefore subject to revision, modification and
improvement.24 With this awareness it becomes possible to change the way we construct our models,
thereby opening up new ways of perceiving the world and our place in it.
How people create their models of the world can be revealed by a process called modelling. Although
there are a number of ways to model in the sensory and conceptual domains, this book is about
Symbolic Modelling – a new methodology for working in the symbolic domain.
Metaphor, modelling and Clean Language are the bases of Symbolic Modelling. Metaphor was the
subject of Chapter 1. Clean Language will be described in Chapters 3 and 4. And modelling,
interwoven with a number of ideas from self-organising systems theory, is the subject of this chapter.
This chapter includes a description of:
Modelling
Symbolic Modelling
The organisation of metaphor landscapes
How metaphor landscapes change and evolve
The Five-Stage Therapeutic Process
Principles of Symbolic Modelling
Together these represent a new way of thinking about human cognition, how people change, and how
they do not.

Modelling
Modelling is a process whereby an observer, the modeller, gathers information about the activity of a
system with the aim of constructing a generalised description (a model) of how that system works. The
model can then be used by the modeller and others to inform decisions and actions. The purpose of
modelling is to identify ‘what is’ and how ‘what is’ works – without influencing what is being
modelled. The modeller begins with an open mind, a blank sheet, and a desired outcome to discover the
way a system functions – without attempting to change it.25
Steven Pinker uses an analogy from the world of business to define psychology, but he could just as
easily be describing the modelling process:
Psychology is engineering in reverse. In forward-engineering, one designs a machine to do
something; in reverse-engineering, one figures out what a machine was designed to do. Reverse-
engineering is what the boffins at Sony do when a new product is announced by Panasonic, or
vice versa. They buy one, bring it back to the lab, take a screwdriver to it, and try to figure out
what all the parts are for and how they combine to make the device work.26
Pinker is not saying that people are machines; he is saying the process of making a model of human
language, behaviour and perception can be likened to the process of reverse-engineering.
When ‘the system’ being observed is a person, what usually gets modelled is behaviour that can be seen
or heard (sensory modelling), or thinking processes described through language (conceptual
modelling).27 Figuring out how great tennis players serve is an example of the former, while
identifying their beliefs and strategies for winning is an example of the latter.
We used sensory and conceptual modelling to study David Grove at work, and as a result discovered a
new way of modelling never previously documented – Symbolic Modelling.
While this book focuses on psychotherapy, Symbolic Modelling can also be applied to the more general
endeavour of modelling human cognition and learning (see Chapter 10).

Symbolic Modelling
We define Symbolic Modelling as a process which uses Clean Language to facilitate people’s
discovery of how their metaphors express their way of being in the world – including how that way of
being evolves. It differs from traditional modelling in three ways:
• What is modelled – the organisation of a metaphor landscape
• Who is modelling – both the client and the facilitator
• How self-modelling is facilitated – by using Clean Language.

What is modelled
Metaphor is a fundamental means of making sense of life. When a client identifies and examines the
metaphors they live by they can use the information to construct a model which corresponds to the way
they perceive themselves, others and the larger scheme of things. In other words their metaphors give a
form to what it is like to be them. The result is a symbolic model-of-self, a metaphor landscape of the
way they “bring forth a world.”28
The metaphors used to describe thoughts, feelings, relationships, complex behaviours and abstract
concepts are primarily derived from the workings of the physical world; that is, a world where things
with a characteristic form exist at a location and which, as a result of internal and external events,
change over time. In addition, everyday language and thought rely on (the metaphor of) an observer
separate from what is observed; that is, a separate subject and object. This use of objects, places, events
and observers as a source for metaphor is apparently universal. We therefore presume that metaphors of
form, space, time and perceiver constitute the raw material of symbolic perception from which
metaphor landscapes are constructed.29
In Symbolic Modelling the client is facilitated to develop a metaphor landscape as a means to model the
organisation of their metaphors. But what is ‘an organisation’? According to Fritjof Capra:
The organization of a living system, [Maturana and Varela] explain, is the set of relations
between its components that characterizes the system as belonging to a particular class … The
description of that organization is an abstract description of relationships and does not identify
the components … Maturana and Varela emphasize that the system’s organization is
independent of the properties of its components, so that a given organization can be embodied in
many different manners by many different kinds of components.30
A system’s organisation cannot be modelled directly; it has to be inferred from modelling the pattern of
relationships between components. In Symbolic Modelling, components are the symbols contained in a
client’s metaphoric expressions – verbal, nonverbal, material and imaginative. Together these describe
the client’s in-the-moment embodied symbolic perception, and the sum total of these perceptions make
up their metaphor landscape.
Pinker’s reverse-engineering analogy can illustrate the Symbolic Modelling process if we split the role
of a boffin into two: a client who figures out the design of their own device (the metaphor landscape),
and a facilitator who assists the client by asking Clean Language questions. The facilitator facilitates
the client to recognise the components of the device (the symbols) which comprise the internal
mechanism (the metaphors) and the logic of the design (how the symbols and metaphors are arranged
into patterns). This enables them to infer the manufacturing process (the organisation of their metaphor
landscape).

Who is modelling
During Symbolic Modelling, instead of a dialogue there is a ‘trialogue’ where “a triangulation occurs
between the therapist, the client and the [metaphoric] information.”31 The client models the
organisation of their metaphor landscape while the therapist uses the client’s metaphoric expressions to
construct an equivalent model (Figure 2.1). In other words, your model will be your description of your
perception of your experience of their description of their perception of their experience.

FIGURE 2.1 A trialogue

Both the client and the facilitator model the client’s in-the-moment experience. Central to Symbolic
Modelling is the perspective that every memory, behaviour, description, symptom, explanation,
problem, solution or ‘ah-ha’ is an expression of the way the client brings forth their world, which in
turn is isomorphic with the way their cognition is currently organised. Whether the client is
remembering the past or imagining the future, they are experiencing it in the here and now. From this
viewpoint, all experiences that relive the past or prelive the future are metaphors.
THE CLIENT
As a client describes their experience in metaphor, a symbolic perception manifests in front, around and
within them so that they see, hear, feel and otherwise sense their symbols. At the same time their body
responds, mostly out of awareness, by gesturing, enacting or marking out aspects of the symbolic
perception being described. For example, if the client says “I feel pulled in two directions” they can
become aware of where they feel the two pulls, what kind of pulls they are, and in what directions they
are being pulled. Maybe they also see who or what is doing the pulling and hear their conflicting
demands. After a while, the client realises that they are embodying what they are describing. These
sensations are not emotions; they are feelings, images and sounds which are experienced in a physical
and real way. Of course the client may have emotional responses about feeling pulled in two directions,
and these can be symbolised and incorporated into their metaphor landscape too. In short, it is the
embodiment of their metaphors, their symbolic mind-body knowing, that the client self-models.32
As self-modelling continues an amazing phenomenon occurs – the client begins to generate new
experience. Describing this in metaphor triggers further experience and awareness, and so on, in a
recursive, developmental spiral. When the client has an outcome to change and enough new
experiences, or an experience of sufficient significance occurs, their metaphor landscape evolves. This
results in a corresponding change to their day to day feelings, thoughts and behaviours. In Symbolic
Modelling, therefore, change is a by-product of the modelling process. Over time the client not only
learns how their system functions and how it changes but, because they have learned how to self-
model, they can monitor their own evolution.

THE FACILITATOR
To facilitate a client to model the organisation of their metaphor landscape you will need to create your
own model of their symbolic world. First you take their metaphors and nonverbal behaviours literally
and assume that, within the privacy of their perceptual space, they are doing exactly what they are
describing. If they say “My future is shrouded in mist” while gesturing in front and to their right, you
assume they are pointing out the location of their future and that it is, indeed, shrouded in mist. Second,
you verbally and nonverbally acknowledge the reality of the client’s perceptual space and in so doing
you “bless its characteristics.”33 Third, you invite them to attend to their landscape so that they notice
‘what is’, and thereby learn about themselves.
Because facilitating is a dynamic process you must allow each client response to update the model of
their metaphor landscape you are constructing. This updated model informs your choice of which
question to ask next, and the process repeats. Therefore the formation of your model is a by-product of
the client specifying their metaphor landscape. The relationship between what the client self-models
and what the facilitator models is shown in Figure 2.2.
 FIGURE 2.2 Who is modelling what
Your purpose is not to analyse or interpret the client’s experience. It is not even to understand it. Rather
it is to offer them the opportunity to become aware of their symbolic perceptions with minimal
‘contamination’ by your metaphors.

How self-modelling is facilitated

Given all language influences, how do you play an active part without contaminating the client’s
perceptions? By asking questions that conform to the logic of their metaphors and which invite them to
discover and understand the workings of their symbolic perceptions. To do this you need to pay
exquisite attention to the metaphoric nature of what is being said and done, and then to incorporate this
information into your Clean Language.
It is the ‘cleanness’ of your questions that minimises the imposition of your ‘map’ (metaphors,
assumptions and perceptions) upon the client’s metaphor landscape. In fact, the introduction of your
metaphors will likely distract the client from their symbolic perceptions. It will require them to engage
in extra, unnecessary processing in order to convert or translate your metaphors into a meaningful form.
Not only does this interfere with the self-modelling process, it may also replicate hundreds of past
impositions experienced by the client.
Clean Language is an honouring, affirming and facilitatory language. It acknowledges whatever the
client is describing in a way that allows space and time for their symbolic perceptions to emerge and
take form. This is why Clean Language is ideally suited for modelling autogenic metaphors (both
verbal and nonverbal) and why it is central to the Symbolic Modelling process.

Creative States
The states which clients access during Symbolic Modelling seem to have many characteristics in
common with those involving heightened creativity. For example, Arthur Koestler found that:
The creative act, insofar as it depends on unconscious resources, presupposes a relaxing of
controls and a regression to modes of ideation which are indifferent to the rules of verbal logic,
unperturbed by contradiction, untouched by the dogmas and taboos of so called common sense.
 At the decisive stage of discovery the codes of disciplined reasoning are suspended – as they are
in a dream, the reverie, the manic flight of thought, when the stream of ideation is free to drift,
by its own emotional gravity, as it were, in an apparent ‘lawless’ fashion.34
This statement appears to be describing a journey into landscapes similar to those pioneered by David
Grove. Koestler accurately reflects what happens when a client is fully involved self-modelling their
symbolic perceptions. Clients often report a moment when they realise they have a choice to relax the
controls, or as one client described it, “Take the handbrake off.” Another client spoke for many by
saying:
There was a point when I realised I couldn’t make all the connections back to my real life and
focus on what was happening in my head. I thought, ‘what the hell?’ and just went with it.
Ernest Rossi, in his extensive investigation of The Psychobiology of Mind-Body Healing, describes
such moments as creative breaks:
What we usually experience as our ordinary everyday state of awareness or consciousness is
actually habitual patterns of state-dependent memories, associations, and behaviours. I have
conceptualized “creative moments” in dreams, artistic and scientific creativity, and everyday life
as breaks in these habitual patterns. The new experience that occurs during creative moments is
regarded as “the basic unit of original thought and insight as well as personality change.”35
Symbolic Modelling seems to induce creative breaks in our habitual patterns which result in the
creation of novel ways of thinking, perceiving and being in the world.36
Three frameworks – The Organisation of Metaphor Landscapes, How Metaphor Landscapes Change
and Evolve, and The Five-Stage Therapeutic Process – provide a theoretical basis for the practice of
Symbolic Modelling and these are discussed next.

The Organisation of Metaphor Landscapes

People can be regarded as self-organising systems – and so can their metaphor landscapes:
The organisation common to all living systems is a network of production processes, in which
the function of each component is to participate in the production or transformation of other
components in the network. In this way, the entire network continually ‘makes itself’. It is
produced by its components and in turn produces those components. ‘In a living system,’
[Maturana and Varela] explain, ‘the product of its operation is its own organisation’.37
While each self-organising system is unique, collectively they exhibit common features. We borrow
from Ken Wilber’s description of these features and show how they apply to metaphor landscapes.38
• Self-organising systems are organised into levels. These determine what the system can and cannot
do, its capacity to conserve and to transform itself, and its evolutionary direction. We distinguish
four levels of organisation that comprise metaphor landscapes: symbols; relationships between
symbols; patterns across those relationships; and a pattern of organisation of the entire
configuration of patterns, relationships and symbols (Figure 2.3).39
 FIGURE 2.3 Organisational levels of a metaphor landscape

• Each level of organisation is simultaneously a whole/part – a holon, to use Arthur Koestler’s term.40
Whether a symbol, a relationship or a pattern is perceived as part of a whole, or as a whole
comprising parts, is simply a different way of punctuating experience.
• A self-organising system simultaneously self-preserves and self-adapts. At the same time as it seeks
to preserve its own recognisable pattern, wholeness and identity, it adapts to maintain relationships
with other systems, the environment, and to express its ‘partness’ of something larger. Metaphor
landscapes reflect this balance. Each symbol seeks to maintain both itself as an individual agency
and its communion with other symbols, relationships and patterns.
• Each level exhibits its own emergent properties. These are not properties of any individual component
and they do not exist at other levels. For example, ‘salty’ is not a property of either sodium or
chlorine, both of which are poisonous. Neither is it a property of the compound sodium chloride.
‘Salty’ only emerges from the relationships between salt, taste buds and the nervous system – a
higher level of organisation than its components. The same is true for the symbols, relationships and
patterns of a metaphor landscape.
• Each lower level is nested within a hierarchy of higher levels and each higher level “transcends and
includes” all lower levels.41 In a metaphor landscape a relationship is more than the sum of its
component symbols – it transcends them. But without those symbols the relationship does not exist
– so it must include them. Symbols are necessarily included in a relationship but they do not define
it because a relationship is a different class of information, a different organisational level from
symbols.

Recognising levels of organisation

Becoming familiar with the characteristics of organisational levels of metaphor landscapes means you
will be able to distinguish between them, to shift your attention from one to another and to recognise
how each level influences the landscape as a whole. This in turn will enhance your ability to cleanly
invite clients to switch their attention within and between the four levels (symbols, relationships,
patterns and pattern of organisation).
A description of these levels is followed by an example of how they manifested in a client’s metaphor
landscape.

SYMBOLS
Symbols are the tangible components of a metaphor. They form the content of symbolic perception –
that which can be seen, heard, felt or otherwise sensed directly (whether physically or imaginatively). A
symbol is a ‘something’ that exists ‘somewhere’ and ‘somewhen’.
A symbol’s attributes (its characteristics and properties) give it a particular form, and its location
specifies its position or place within the metaphor landscape. Together these distinguish it from other
symbols and describe its unique identity. If a client says a symbol is “A huge castle door that’s very
thick, very old, very heavy” you can be sure that every one of the door’s attributes – its hugeness,
thickness, oldness and heaviness, and that it is located in a castle – hold significance.
The minimum configuration of a symbolic perception is one perceived symbol and one perceiver of
that symbol. If the client says, “It’s like I’m behind a castle door,” the symbol ‘castle door’ is perceived
by a perceiver called ‘I’ whose point of perception is located ‘behind’ a castle door (and presumably on
the inside). The perceiver can be regarded as a special kind of symbol – one that has attributes which
enable it to perceive other symbols in a particular way and from a particular location. In general,
metaphor landscapes comprise multiple symbols and most involve several perceivers, each with their
own point of perception.42

RELATIONSHIPS
While symbols have a form and a location which can be seen, heard, felt or in some way perceived
directly, relationships do not. When two symbols connect, cooperate, balance, fight, avoid or scare each
other, they are part of a functional or logical relationship. A relationship is an interaction, connection or
correlation ‘between’, ‘across’ or ‘over’ two symbols (or one symbol over two spaces or times).
At a minimum, there will always be a relationship between each symbol and the perceiver of that
symbol. In the above example the perceiver ‘I’ is “trying to open” the castle door. “Trying to open”
specifies the relationship between the two symbols and provides a wealth of presupposed relational
information: the door is closed, ‘I’ has been trying for some time, ‘I’ is still trying, and although ‘I’
wants to open the door, ‘I’ is unable to at the moment.

PATTERNS
Symbols and their relationships to each other do not exist in isolation. They are part of wider contexts
and larger systems consisting of higher level patterns. According to Fritjof Capra, patterns:
Cannot be measured or weighed; they must be mapped. To understand a pattern, we must map a
configuration of relationships. The study of pattern is crucial to the understanding of living
systems because systemic properties … arise from a configuration of ordered relationships.
Systemic properties are properties of a pattern.43
Patterns emerge from a network of relationships. They connect components across multiple spaces,
times and forms. They exist as stable configurations, repeating sequences and recurring motifs.
Once a pattern has been identified the client can embody it in a metaphor or symbolic representation
and thus directly attend to this higher, more inclusive and more significant level of organisation.44
By recognising the patterns which emerge from their metaphors, clients often become aware that their
presenting problem is symbolic of a whole class of problems. For instance, a client came to us with “a
dilemma. I have to decide whether to stay with my partner or leave her.” Through modelling his
symbolic perceptions he recognised that his dilemma was not just about this particular partner, but
about commitment in general. To his surprise he further realised that the metaphorical structure of the
dilemma was the same as for every important decision he had ever made. With this heightened
awareness his perception of the unwanted thoughts, feelings and behaviours previously associated with
the dilemma began to change. Then it was easier for him to decide what to do – to stay with his partner
and work through their difficulties. As often happens, he later discovered that his pattern contained the
ingredients for its own evolution, and rather than getting rid of it, he found he could make use of it
when “choosing the direction I want my life to take.”45

PATTERN OF ORGANISATION
A metaphor landscape is more than its symbols, more than the relationships between those symbols and
more than the patterns of those relationships. It exists as a unit, an entity, an identity, a whole unified
system, a pattern of patterns that specifies and describes the unique nature of the system – a pattern of
organisation. For Fritjof Capra, “The pattern of organisation of any system, living or nonliving, is the
configuration of relationships among the system’s components that determines the system’s essential
characteristics.”46
A client’s pattern of organisation will be so pervasive and so habitual, it is as if without it they would
not be themselves. When a client uses metaphor to express a pattern of organisation, they give form to
who they are.
Consider a person with ‘an addiction’ or ‘a compulsion’ or any other abstract concept which labels a set
of repetitive behaviours about which they have little or no choice. The addiction is not the addictive
substance, it is not even the particular sensations, perceptions, behaviours and beliefs experienced by
the addict. It is the organisation of the relationships between these experiences that ensures the pattern
repeats over and over. While the components specify the form the addiction takes, it is the pattern of
organisation which specifies the near-certain probability that the addictive behaviour will continue.
This is why stopping the addictive behaviour is only a part, albeit a fundamental part, of changing the
addiction. Later, when a fully recovered addict says, “I’m not the person I used to be” they are
describing an organisational truth.

An example of levels
The Jubilee Clip transcript (see Chapter 7 and the appendix) neatly illustrates the four levels of
organisation. The client felt vulnerable and was waiting to be exposed. He symbolised these feelings as
like a screwdriver tightening a jubilee clip around a hose:
SYMBOL
The metaphor consists of three symbols: a screwdriver, a jubilee clip and a hose.
RELATIONSHIP
The relationships between the symbols are: the screwdriver is tightening the jubilee clip, and the
jubilee clip in turn is tightening around the hose.
PATTERN
The pattern which emerges later in the transcript can be summarised as: an ongoing conflict
between wanting to undo the clip and the fear of an unknown risk if the clip is undone. This
 results in a continuation of the tightening and therefore a greater desire to undo the clip, which
increases the fear, which tightens the clip, and so on. The end result is helplessness.
PATTERN OF ORGANISATION
After identifying other relevant metaphors, the client realised he had been repeating the same
pattern of behaviour for more than 30 years. He symbolised this as: “I have to keep on climbing
a mountain that gets higher the more I climb.”
As the organisation of his metaphor landscape transformed, so did his perception of himself, his
situation and his role in life.
It is because self-organising systems are organised into levels that they can be regarded as a whole or a
part, that they can balance self-preservation with adapting to others, that emergent properties can exist,
and that limitations and contradictions can be transcended and included.
We have distinguished symbols, relationships, patterns and patterns of organisation to illustrate how
metaphor landscapes are organised into levels. Although for simplicity we have chosen to highlight
four levels, symbols are themselves made up of components, and patterns of organisation are nested in
larger contexts (as they, like everything else, are simultaneously whole/parts). More important than the
precise number of levels is the way upward, downward and sideways influence is crucial to how self-
organising systems change and evolve.

How Metaphor Landscapes Change and Evolve

Our second framework relates to the way self-organising systems evolve. We describe six
characteristics of systemic change and map these onto the way metaphor landscapes, and thus clients,
change and evolve.

CHANGE IS A DIFFERENCE OF FORM OVER TIME

Gregory Bateson makes clear, “Difference which occurs across time is what we call ‘change’.”47 What
is different is detectable in the form of the system. Even changes to higher-level patterns will be
embodied in changes to lower levels of form – but not necessarily vice versa. When a person moves, all
their cells move with them, but when a cell changes, it rarely changes the person.
This means for a change in a metaphor landscape to be noticed, one or more attributes of a symbol, or
group of symbols, has to be seen, heard, felt or in some other way sensed by the client as different
compared to how they were before. Even changes to organising patterns will be embodied in
differences to the attributes and location of symbols.

CHANGE IS SPECIFIED BY EXISTING ORGANISATION

Although an external stimulus can trigger an internal reconfiguration, it is the system’s existing
organisation that specifies the nature of any change that takes place. Because each new organisation
emerges from the fundamental features of its predecessor, the system maintains a continuity of identity
– despite changing over time. Therefore the current organisation is a product of its entire history of
changes.48
Change requires a context, a metaphor landscape, from which to emerge. And as landscapes can only
change in ways that are congruent with their current form and organisation (doors may open and birds
may fly, but generally not vice versa) it is not the past that keeps clients from changing, but the way
their perceptions are presently organised. Equally, the current organisation will be the source of, and set
the direction for, the client’s next creative development.
LIVING SYSTEMS ALWAYS CHANGE – EVEN IF JUST TO STAY THE SAME
In response to a universe in constant flux, living systems are forever adapting, learning and evolving –
that is, changing in an effort to preserve and maintain their coherence and identity. Homeostatic, self-
perpetuating processes make changes at one level in order to maintain stability at other levels. The
result is a constantly changing state of dynamic stability – ably demonstrated by a tightrope walker.49
The same processes that keep a system from disintegrating and from escalating out of safe bounds, can
also act to inhibit, trap, stick, prevent, constrain, hinder, block or somehow bind development and
transformation. We use bind as a generic term for any self-preserving pattern which the client finds
inappropriate or unhelpful, and which they have been unable to change.50
Often binds are conceptually labelled as a conflict, dilemma, impasse or paradox. When a binding
pattern is represented symbolically its ethereal nature is made tangible and the logic inherent in the
pattern that perpetuates the bind can be attended to directly. Then clients discover that the organisation
of their metaphor landscape prevents the very changes they seek. Or they realise that, within the
existing organisation, their problem is simply unresolvable. Or they become aware that what they are
trying so hard to achieve is actually causing the problem.
In the Jubilee Clip example above, the client is in a binding pattern because he has to climb the
mountain, but the more he climbs the higher the mountain gets. By trying to get to the top he is getting
further away from his goal, which means he has to renew his efforts to climb, and so on. The result is a
stalemate, a game without end. However, recognising the binding nature of the pattern creates
conditions for change.

CHANGE OCCURS WHEN SUITABLE CONDITIONS ARISE

Homeostatic processes tend to prevent significant change, except under threshold conditions. Then the
slightest perturbation can trigger a change – like the straw that breaks the camel’s back, or the speck of
dust that activates a supersaturated solution to transform into a crystal. The primary way the conditions
for change arise is through the client learning how their system is organised, how it maintains the status
quo, and how it currently changes. These conditions arise:
• When symbols, relationships and patterns are separated and distinguished enough that they become
available for a new synthesis.
• When the landscape gets complex enough that a simpler, more inclusive pattern emerges.
• When certain structures, processes or motifs are recognised as inherent, then a new responsiveness
and flexibility becomes possible.
• When symbols and patterns are perceived within larger contexts and outcomes, then perception itself
becomes ready to change.

THERE ARE TWO WAYS SYSTEMS EVOLVE

Systems evolve by translation – their form changes but not in a way that significantly affects higher-
level patterns, or by transformation – a new pattern of organisation emerges and the whole system
changes into a fundamentally new form.
There is an important difference between quantitative translation and qualitative transformation.
Translations ripple ‘horizontally’ within the same level of organisation without transforming the nature
of the system itself. In contrast, transformations percolate or cascade ‘vertically’ through the levels
such that the system’s essential nature evolves. In a desert, no matter how much the size, shape,
composition and number of sand dunes translate, the desert remains a desert. The formation of a range
of mountains, however, will transform the desert into a variety of ecosystems. In short, “Translation
shuffles parts; transformation produces wholes.”51
As a client learns about the organisation of their metaphor landscape, usually they either accept their
existing organisation as is, or a translatory change satisfies them. Changes of this nature account for
most of what people wish to achieve through psychotherapy. In some cases however, neither the status
quo nor a translatory change is acceptable. Then the system needs to find a new way of being. As Ken
Wilber elegantly explains:
With translation, the self is simply given a new way to think or feel about reality. The self is
given a new belief – perhaps holistic instead of atomistic, perhaps forgiveness instead of blame,
perhaps relational instead of analytic. The self then learns to translate its world and its being in
the terms of this new belief or new language or new paradigm, and this new and enchanting
translation acts, at least temporarily, to alleviate or diminish the terror inherent in the heart of the
separate self. But with transformation, the very process of translation itself is challenged,
witnessed, undermined, and eventually dismantled …
And as much as we, as you and I, might wish to transcend mere translation and find authentic
transformation, nonetheless translation itself is an absolutely necessary and crucial function for
the greater part of our lives. Those who cannot translate adequately, with a fair amount of
integrity and accuracy, fall quickly into severe neurosis or even psychosis: the world ceases to
make sense – the boundaries between the self and the world are not transcended but instead
begin to crumble. This is not breakthrough but breakdown; not transcendence but disaster.
But at some point in our maturation process, translation itself, no matter how adequate or
confident, simply ceases to console. No new beliefs, no new paradigm, no new myths, no new
ideas, will staunch the encroaching anguish. Not a new belief for the self, but the transcendence
of the self altogether, is the only path that avails.52
When the system transcends and includes a binding pattern perpetuating the original symptoms, the
current landscape transforms, a different kind of landscape emerges, and life is lived with reorganised
metaphors and perceptions. Because each client’s way of evolving is dependent on, and has to emerge
from, their existing and unique organisation, there can be no universal method of transcending and
including. Paradoxically it is the person-specific limitations and contradictions that both prevent and
enable clients to transform.53

THE EFFECTS OF CHANGE ARE INDETERMINATE

Once a change has happened it will have effects which go on to trigger other changes, some of which
will influence the part of the system that initiated the change. Because self-organising systems have
these “circular (or more complex) chains of determination”54 the full consequences of any change are
not predictable. But because a change is specified by the organisation of the system it is not random: a
change at “the lower [level] sets the possibilities of the higher; the higher sets the probabilities of the
lower.”55
It may not be obvious at first whether a change in a metaphor landscape is a translation or a
transformation. Only later, in comparison with the past and in light of feedback can the client know for
sure. As the ‘butterfly effect’ analogy illustrates, the full significance of any change can only be
assessed retrospectively when the possibilities and probabilities have become actualities.
Transformations can occur very slowly over a long period or in a cataclysmic discontinuity, a defining
moment. Either way, once a threshold is crossed, the system and the person can never be quite the same
again.

The Five-Stage Therapeutic Process

The Five-Stage Therapeutic Process is a framework for facilitating clients to self-model the way their
metaphor landscape is organised and evolves. The stages are introduced below with a full description of
each given in Chapters 5 to 9. Although the five stages are presented sequentially, the process is not a
linear procedure; rather it is an emergent, systemic and iterative way of conducting psychotherapy.
The Penguin Dictionary of Psychology defines psychotherapy as “any technique or procedure that has
palliative or curative effects upon any mental, emotional or behavioural disorder.” By this definition,
psychotherapy is concerned with remedial change. For us, however, it also includes changes of a more
generative and evolutionary nature; changes which broaden and deepen existing qualities, strategies
and resources; changes which strengthen people’s sense of identity, purpose and spirit; and changes
which add new ways of perceiving and knowing.
To use Robert Dilts’ analogy: Remedial change is like pulling weeds; generative change is like planting
new seeds; evolutionary change is like altering the landscape upon which the weeds and the seeds are
growing.56 Although there are a multitude of ways to describe the psychotherapeutic process, most
talking therapies work within a similar framework:
1. The process starts, in a more or less predetermined manner, with an intention by the client to change
in a beneficial way.
2. This introductory phase is followed by a period when information is gathered, assembled,
discovered, constructed or deconstructed.
3. Thereafter the information is viewed, reviewed and otherwise explored for connections, conclusions
and other forms of pattern.
4. At some point the client experiences a change. Given how little is known about the process of how
people change, probably the most accurate description of this stage is: ‘and then a miracle occurs’.
5. Thereafter the aim of the process itself changes – from seeking change, to seeking to preserve,
stabilise and maintain the changes. Eventually the new becomes old as the client continues their
journey of personal development.
Different therapies have their own names for these five stages. In Symbolic Modelling we call them:
Entry, Developing Symbolic Perceptions, Modelling Symbolic Patterns, Encouraging Conditions for
Transformation, and Maturing (Figure 2.4).57

STAGE 1: ENTRY
The horizontal dashed line in Figure 2.4 denotes a threshold between two worlds: below the line is
everyday narrative, conceptual description and dialogue; above the line is embodied metaphor,
symbolic perceptions and trialogue. During Stage 1 clients become aware that their verbal and
nonverbal expressions, as well as objects and events in the physical environment, can be perceived
metaphorically. This requires only the merest shift of attention from commonplace recounting of events
to engaging with a world of personal symbolism. Entry into the symbolic domain can happen
spontaneously, or it can be facilitated by a clean question.
 FIGURE 2.4 Symbolic Modelling’s Five-Stage Therapeutic Process

STAGE 2: DEVELOPING SYMBOLIC PERCEPTIONS

A symbolic perception encompasses a unit of symbolic time which need have little obvious relation to
‘clock’ or ‘remembered’ time. It can be a moment, an event, a scene, a process, or even an entire
lifetime. It allows an instant to be examined for hours or an aeon to be explored in a few minutes. Stage
2 focuses on developing single symbolic perceptions, one at a time. The client’s desired outcome
should be represented as one of these symbolic perceptions – preferably the first.
During Stage 2 clients individuate the components of each symbolic perception from the
“undifferentiated information mass” they typically bring to therapy.58 When the matrix of their
experience differentiates into symbols which have an existence and an identity, each symbol’s
attributes and relationships with other symbols becomes apparent. As clients embody and engage with
their symbols, a symbolic perception forms and comes to life – like a photograph emerging from
developing solution. The client can then be asked to draw, or in some other way to physicalise the
configuration of symbols and relationships.

STAGE 3: MODELLING SYMBOLIC PATTERNS

Clients make the transition to Stage 3 when multiple perceptions have been developed and a more
complex metaphor landscape emerges. The landscape creates a context in which patterns across
perceptions can be identified and examined.
Patterns manifest as stable configurations, repeating sequences and recurring motifs (over space, across
time and among attributes). Once identified, each pattern can be named, symbolically represented and
explored. Thus the modelling process repeats at a higher and more inclusive level. As the organising
logic of the metaphor landscape is revealed, the client discovers:
• The role of the configuration of symbols and relationships.
• The sequence in which thoughts, feelings and behaviours repeat time and time again.
• The significance of recurring motifs within the overall scheme.
• Resources which can beneficially influence the landscape.
• Binding patterns whose organisation prevents change and maintains the status quo.
• How the system can evolve.
When, as a result of self-modelling, change occurs spontaneously, Stage 4 is bypassed and the change
is matured in Stage 5.

STAGE 4: ENCOURAGING CONDITIONS FOR TRANSFORMATION

If change does not occur spontaneously, or if a change translates the ‘present state’ into another form
without changing its essential nature (the classic ‘jumping out of the frying pan into the fire’), a binding
pattern of patterns, a double bind, will be maintaining the metaphor landscape’s existing organisation.
In these cases a transformation to a new form of organisation is required.
While transformations cannot be manufactured to order, Stage 4 encourages the conditions from which
transformative change can emerge. We have identified six approaches which encourage clients to vary
the way they attend to, and work with, the inherent logic of their metaphor landscape:
A. Concentrating attention on lower, more fundamental levels of organisation
B. Attending to higher, more significant patterns of patterns
C. Broadening attention to outside or beyond existing spatial boundaries
D. Lengthening attention to before or after a sequence of events
E. Identifying the logical conditions necessary for change
F. Introducing one symbol to another so that information or resources can be transferred or
exchanged.
Changing attention in these ways tends to trigger expanded awareness and new perceptions – just the
conditions required for the transformation of an existing conflict, dilemma, impasse or paradox.

STAGE 5: MATURING
When the form, location or function of a symbol changes, the effects of that change can be matured in
Stage 5. Maturing is a process by which a newly changed symbol is evolved, developed and
differentiated from its previous form, and the effects of the change spread to other symbols. When
sufficient changes accumulate or a change of sufficient significance occurs, thresholds are exceeded,
boundaries are crossed, defining moments occur and binding patterns transform. Then a new
organisation emerges which transcends and includes the limitations of the existing landscape. After
further maturing, the new landscape takes on a solidity and life of its own. Now the client can
contemplate the changes which have taken place, become familiar with their new symbolic world and
make new associations. As this happens cognition, perception and behaviour change correspondingly.

The Five Stages as one integrated process

The five stages are provided as a framework to guide you while accompanying a client on their unique
journey of self-evolution. Your knowledge about where they are in the process will inform your choice
of which clean question to ask and what to ask it of.
You may have noticed a correlation between levels of organisation and the Five-Stage Process. Stage 2
is about identifying component symbols and their relationships within a single symbolic perception.
Stage 3 reveals patterns of relationships, patterns across perceptions and binding patterns. Stage 4
works with the inferential logic of the whole landscape to encourage conditions for the transformation
of binding patterns of organisation. Viewed in this way, the Five-Stage Process is congruent with, and a
reflection of how self-perpetuating systems are organised and evolve.
While we have presented the five stages sequentially, the transition between stages is necessarily ill-
defined because identifying and working with symbolic perceptions is an emerging, unpredictable,
iterative and fuzzy process.59
Stage 1 does not happen just at the beginning, as the client may enter their symbolic world once or,
more likely, several times during a session. Similarly whenever another symbolic perception appears,
the form and relationships of its symbols are developed using Stage 2 processes. Equally, as soon as the
client has a sufficiently well-developed metaphor landscape they can start Stage 3, modelling the logic
inherent in the patterns across their perceptions. Self-modelling patterns is a recursive process which
frequently produces spontaneous change. When it does the client progresses to Stage 5 where the
change is evolved and spread to other symbols. Like all other stages, maturing is not a one-time event.
It will involve a series of changes as the landscape metamorphoses and a new organisation emerges. In
cases where a binding pattern prevents change occurring, or when a change turns out to be another
example of the same pattern repeating, Stage 4 is required to encourage conditions for transformation.
At any time during the five stages the client may return to everyday dialogue, bringing with them new
perceptions and different feelings about those perceptions – with the resultant changed behaviour. The
whole process can take place in less than an hour or it may require many iterative cycles. How the
client cycles through the stages and how long each stage takes is dependent on the nature of their
metaphor landscape – it takes as long as it takes, and no longer.

Principles of Symbolic Modelling

The salient features of the three frameworks within which Symbolic Modelling operates (the
organisation of metaphor landscapes, how they change and evolve, and the Five-Stage Process) can be
summarised as a set of operating principles designed to guide you when facilitating a client to self-
model.60 These are presented below.

AN INDIVIDUAL’S SYSTEM WORKS PERFECTLY AT DOING WHAT IT DOES

• It does what it does because it is organised to do so. It simply cannot do something it is not organised
to do, no matter how desirable that may be. In other words, at every moment, people cannot not be
themselves.
• Since the organisation of a client’s metaphorical expressions is isomorphic with the organisation of
their cognition, self-modelling their metaphor landscape allows them to explore and learn from the
organisation of their cognition.
• Each component of a system performs a function which affects other parts of the system and
contributes to maintaining the existing organisation. Therefore within the current setup each symbol
will have adapted to and, to some degree, be dependent upon every other symbol’s existence – even
if that symbol is the meanest and most frightening symbol that ever existed.
• The processes that result in limitations and constraints are the same as those that generate creativity,
learning and loving. It is not the processes themselves, but how they are organised and utilised that
determines whether there is a problem or not.

METAPHOR LANDSCAPES EVOLVE AS APPROPRIATE CONDITIONS ARISE

• The process of a client self-modelling the organisation of their metaphor landscape – becoming aware
of symbols, relationships between symbols, and patterns across perceptions – creates a context for
change. Change itself is a by-product of self-modelling symbolically.
• While clients always have the capacity to change and evolve, when, how and why a particular
metaphor landscape reorganises is inherently indeterminate. There are, however, conditions which
increase the likelihood of significant change occurring. These principally involve the system
learning about its own organisation.
• Binding patterns such as paradox, conflict, dilemma and impasse will be operating when a client has
experienced repetitive unwanted symptoms over a period of time despite their desire and best
efforts to change.
• A translation which reorganises the form of the existing metaphor landscape will, more often than not,
satisfy the client’s desire to change. When it does not, a new landscape with a transformed pattern
of organisation will be required.

FACILITATORS NEED TO OPERATE FROM A STATE OF ‘NOT KNOWING’

• You can never know another person’s experience or even fully understand their description of their
perception, because to do so invokes your metaphorical constructs. What you can do is build a
model which has a corresponding organisation (is isomorphic) with their metaphor landscape; but it
will always be your model of their descriptions and behaviours.
• Symbolic Modelling involves working with emergent properties, fuzzy categories, apparently illogical
causal relations, multiple levels of simultaneous and systemic processes, iterative cycles and
unexpected twists and turns. In short, especially during the early stages, the client’s information is
intrinsically unpredictable and messy.
• Symbolic Modelling is a dynamic process and your model of the client’s model will require continual
revision as each new piece of information emerges – especially as their landscape may well start
changing before a comprehensive model has been identified.
• You can rely upon the intelligence and wisdom of the whole system (i.e. the combined conscious and
unconscious mind-body-spirit that comprises you, the client, their metaphors and the immediate
environment) to indicate what needs to happen at each moment. This requires you to stay true to the
process, especially if you feel confused, lost, helpless or hopeless. In other words, when you do not
know what to do, the system knows.

SYMBOLIC MODELLING REQUIRES CLEAN FACILITATION

• Analysis and interpretation of the meaning of symbols by the facilitator is counterproductive because
it distracts the client’s attention from their own perceptions. Instead you can accept clients’
metaphoric expressions as perfect examples of their patterns manifesting in the moment.
• You can facilitate clients to self-model their embodied symbolic perceptions by accurately referencing
their verbal and nonverbal metaphors, and by asking clean questions within the inherent logic of
their metaphors.
• Neither you nor the client can make, induce, trick, reframe or otherwise cause a transformation. While
you are continually triggering responses in the client’s system, all responses and changes are
specified by the particular form and pattern of organisation of the system (not the trigger). Therefore
there is no need for you to make something happen or to solve anything; rather your aim is to
encourage the appropriate conditions in which change is the specified response. These conditions
will exist within the inherent logic of the metaphor landscape.
 Concluding Remarks
Part I of this book has presented the theoretical background of Symbolic Modelling. Chapter 1
introduced the symbolic domain of experience and the central role of metaphor in understanding,
communicating and learning. We explained that metaphors and symbols can be expressed verbally,
nonverbally, materially and imaginatively, and that an individual’s embodied symbolic perceptions are
part of a coherent and consistent metaphor landscape.
In Chapter 2 we described how each landscape is both unique and conforms to self-organising patterns
of existence, operation and evolution. These systems consist of a network of multi-dimensional and
fuzzy relationships whose transformation is inherently indeterminate. Therefore traditional linear,
formulaic and analytical approaches to therapy are incongruent with the nature of metaphor landscapes.
Instead we provided an alternative, iterative and systemic Five-Stage Process for Symbolic Modelling.
The primary purpose of Symbolic Modelling is to facilitate an individual to learn about the organisation
of their metaphors. In the process of becoming aware of the way their system works, conditions emerge
in which change is a natural consequence. Change does not occur in a vacuum – it requires a context, a
metaphor landscape. Once the context exists, simply using Clean Language within the logic of the
client’s metaphors and faithfully following the process as it unfolds, normally activates the change
process.
As you will see next, it is the simple and well-specified structure of Clean Language that makes it easy
to learn how to facilitate clients to self-model their symbolic perceptions.
 Chapter 3 Less is More: Basic Clean Language
A gentle genie has escaped from the lamp. His name is David Grove and his magic is ‘clean
language’.
Ernest Rossi
Verbal communication is one of the defining characteristics of being human and the way each of us
uses language in part defines us as individual human beings. Our language not only expresses who we
are, it also allows listeners to peek into our private perceptual world. As the listener listens, a multitude
of meaning-making processes are automatically activated. This happens so fast that they are unaware of
what they have gone through to make sense of what they hear. In this way all language triggers
reactions, only some of which appear in the listener’s consciousness.
How therapists use language largely determines the way they conduct therapy. There can be few people
who have spent more time in the thick of clinical interactions exploring the influence of language than
David Grove, and the result is an outstanding contribution to psychotherapy: the concept, definition and
application of Clean Language.
While Chapter 4 addresses how to use Clean Language with nonverbal metaphors, this chapter covers
the basics of using Clean Language with clients’ verbal metaphors. It introduces:
The Purpose of Clean Language
An Outline of Clean Language
A Client Transcript: Castle Door
The Function of Syntax
The Function of the Basic Clean Questions
Utilising Vocal Qualities

The Purpose of Clean Language

In his book, Resolving Traumatic Memories (coauthored with Basil Panzer), David Grove is explicit
about the purpose of Clean Language:
The first objective is for the therapist to keep the language clean and allow the client’s language
to manifest itself. The second objective is that the clean language used by the therapist be a
facilitatory language; in the sense that it will ease entry into the matrix of experience, and into
that altered state that may be helpful for the client to internally access his experience. … By
asking clean questions we shape the location and the direction of the client’s search for the
answer. In asking a question we do not impose upon the client any value, construct or
presupposition about what he should answer. … The client is free to find an answer and may
keep the answer to himself. It may not be necessary for the client to share his memories,
thoughts or feelings. … The questions are not asked to gather information or to understand the
client’s perspectives. We ask our questions so that the client can understand his perspective
internally, in his own matrix. … We want to leave our questions embedded in the client’s
experience. … Our questions will have given a form, made manifest some particular aspect of
the client’s internal experience in a way that he has not experienced before.61
In other words, Clean Language has three functions:
• To acknowledge clients’ experience exactly as they describe it.
• To orient clients’ attention to an aspect of their perception.
• To send them on a quest for self-knowledge.
Clean Language is an extraordinary language because everything that you, as the facilitator, say and do
is intimately related to what the client says and does. Since each Clean Language question takes as its
point of departure the client’s last verbal or nonverbal description, there is minimal need for them to
translate and interpret your words and behaviour. And because the client’s response always informs
your next question, the organisation of the client’s information leads the therapeutic interaction. Thus
the entire focus of the process becomes an exploration of the client’s model of the world from their
perspective, within their perceptual time and space, and using their words.

Of course Clean Language influences and directs attention – all language does that.62 Clean Language
does it ‘cleanly’ because it is sourced in the client’s vocabulary, it is consistent with the logic of their
metaphors and only introduces the universal metaphors of time, space and form. Facilitating clients to
self-model using Clean Language requires that your attention be focused on the logic inherent in their
information when, according to David Grove, “The I-ness of the therapist should appear to cease to
exist.”63

An Outline of Clean Language

To use Clean Language you need to understand the function of its essential components: the full
syntax, the nine basic questions, and the vocal qualities. (A fourth component, nonverbal behaviour, is
covered in the next chapter.) Although these components are interrelated, we introduce them separately
to show the contribution that each makes to the Symbolic Modelling process; first as an overview, then
as a client transcript and then in a detailed explanation.

Syntax
Syntax is the way that words are combined into sentences to achieve a purpose. The syntax of Clean
Language is unusual in that it directs the client’s attention to their own perceptions. The full syntax of
Clean Language is made up of three elements:
And [client’s words].
And when/as [client’s words],
[clean question]?
It is designed this way so that your language automatically acknowledges the client’s description, then
invites them to orient their attention to an aspect of their symbolic perception and finally sends them on
a search for self-knowledge.

The nine basic questions

In everyday conversation the quality of a question is judged by the information elicited and its
usefulness to the questioner. With Clean Language the quality of a question depends upon how the
client processes the question and its usefulness to them. A clean question sends the client on a quest.
Whether they find the Holy Grail is less important than that they seek it, and in so doing learn about
themselves along the way.
At the heart of Clean Language there are just nine questions. Our research shows that David Grove asks
variations of these nine questions about eighty percent of the time, which is why we call them the basic
clean questions:64
 DEVELOPING QUESTIONS
And is there anything else about [client’s words]?
And what kind of [client’s words] is that [client’s words]?
And that’s [client’s words] like what?
And where is [client’s words]?
And whereabouts [client’s words]?

MOVING TIME QUESTIONS

And then what happens?
And what happens next?
And what happens just before [client’s words]?
And where could [client’s words] come from?
When a question requires “client’s words” this can be a single word, a phrase or everything the client
has just said, depending on where you want to direct their attention.
How can so few questions invoke such a wide range and depth of responses and facilitate profound
change? As you will see, the answer lies in their cumulative capacity to value what is, and to elicit what
could be.

Vocal qualities
It may seem obvious that in every therapeutic encounter words are generated from two sources: the
client and the therapist. But the difference between the way client-generated words are spoken and the
way therapist-generated words are spoken is essential to the effective use of Clean Language. To reflect
the difference between the two sources you need acute listening skills and the flexibility to alter your
voice, so that:
• When using client-generated words, match the way they speak those words.
• When using therapist-generated words, s-l-o-w d-o-w-n your speed of delivery, and use a consistent,
rhythmic, poetic and curious tonality.
To reiterate: the essential components of Clean Language are the syntax, the nine basic questions, and
the vocal qualities you use to ask the questions. When you have an understanding of these components
you can begin practising and building the skill of working within clients’ symbolic perceptions.

Client Transcript: Castle Door

The following transcript illustrates the basic facets of Clean Language. We recommend you read it out
loud in order to familiarise yourself with the syntax, questions and vocal qualities. Except for personal
pronouns, all the words that we introduce are shown in bold to distinguish them from client-generated
words, not to signify emphasis. For simplicity we have not identified which one of us asked the
questions. The client is female, in her late 30s. She responds to our opening question with:
C1: I’d like to have more energy because I feel very tired.
T1: And you’d like to have more energy because you feel very tired. And when you’d like to have
more energy, that’s more energy like what?
C2: It’s like I’m behind a castle door.
T2: And it’s like you’re behind a castle door. And when behind a castle door, what kind of castle door
is that castle door?
C3: A huge castle door that’s very thick, very old, with studs, very heavy.
T3: And a huge castle door that’s very thick, very old, with studs, very heavy. And when huge castle
door is very thick, very old, with studs, very heavy, is there anything else about that huge
castle door?
C4: I can’t open it and I get very very tired trying to open it.
T4: And you can’t open it and you get very very tired trying to open it. And as you get very very tired
trying to open it, what kind of very very tired trying is that?
C5: Like I’m struggling on my own and not getting anywhere. It takes a lot of energy. I feel like I’m
banging my head on a wall.
T5: And like struggling on your own, not getting anywhere, and banging your head on a wall. And as
it takes a lot of energy banging your head on a wall, what kind of wall is that wall?
C6: A castle wall of thick granite and I get very frustrated and very angry.
T6: And a castle wall of thick granite and you get very frustrated and very angry. And when very
frustrated and very angry, where is that very frustrated and that very angry?
C7: In here [touches solar plexus region].
T7: And when in here, whereabouts in here?
C8: Exactly in here. Hollow. Full of darkness.
T8: And exactly in here. Hollow. Full of darkness. And when hollow is full of darkness, is there
anything else about that darkness?
C9: It’s very dry.
T9: And it’s very dry. And when darkness is very dry, it’s very dry like what?
C10: It’s dry like a desert.
T10: And it’s dry like a desert. And when dry like a desert, is there anything else about that?
C11: It keeps me in one place and it doesn’t let me move.
T11: And it keeps you in one place and doesn’t let you move. And dry like a desert, hollow full of
 darkness in here and struggling on your own and very very tired trying to open huge castle
door that’s very thick and very heavy and very old. And is there anything else about that
door you can’t open?
C12: Yes. A great big circular handle that’s all twisted around.
T12: And is there anything else about that great big circular handle that’s all twisted around?
C13: It looks like twisted pasta. It’s big. It’s old. It’s dull. It’s metal, iron, black.
T13: And when great big circular handle looks like twisted pasta and it’s old iron, black, where could
that old iron come from?
C14: A spear.
T14: And a spear. And what kind of spear could that spear be?
C15: Like a Roman would use – I’ve a sense of a centurion standing with it.
T15: And you’ve a sense of a centurion standing with it. And what kind of centurion could that
centurion be?
C16: [Smiles.] Big and broad with armour on and a spear.
T16: And when big, broad centurion with armour on is standing with a spear, then what happens?
C17: He knocks on the door.
T17: And as he knocks on the door, what happens next?
C18: I can hear him but he can’t see me and he goes away. And I can’t get out. Then I get very
frustrated. It gets almost too much to bear.
T18: And it gets almost too much to bear. So when you’re behind huge castle door with a twisted iron
handle, and you get very very tired trying to open it, and hollow is full of darkness, and a big
broad centurion with a spear knocks, and you can hear him but he can’t see you, and he goes
away, and you can’t get out, and it gets almost too much to bear, [pause] then what happens?
C19: [Pause.] Then I lose all my energy because I don’t know what to do.
T19: And then you lose all your energy because you don’t know what to do. And when you lose all
your energy because you don’t know what to do, then what happens?
C20: I sit in the corner and go to sleep.
T20: And you sit in the corner and go to sleep. And as you sleep, and sleep, what happens next?
C21: I have to find a way out. I try to open it again.
T21: And you have to find a way out. And you try to open it again. And what happens just before
you try to find a way out again?
C22: [Looks up and squints.] I can see the sky – I never noticed that before – hope is on the outside
[long pause]. It’s very strong. It gives me determination and the ability to keep trying.
T22: And you can see the sky. And hope is on the outside. And when it gives you very strong
determination to keep trying, whereabouts is it when it’s very strong?
C23: I can feel it right in the middle – at the absolute core of my being.
T23: And when you can feel it right in the middle, at the absolute core of your being, it’s like what?
C24: It’s gold.
T24: And it’s gold. And when it’s gold at the absolute core of your being, what kind of gold is that
gold?
C25: Absolutely pure. It’s always been there.
T25: And absolutely pure. And absolutely pure gold’s always been there at the core of your being.
And is there anything else about that absolutely pure gold?
C26: It’s incredibly strong but malleable. Powerful. You could shape it but you couldn’t break it. An
almost silent powerful.
T26: And an almost silent powerful. And is there anything else about that absolutely pure gold
that’s incredibly strong and malleable and almost silent powerful at the absolute core of your
being?
C27: It can move.
(See Part V for the completion of this transcript.)
An explanation of the components of Clean Language, and the role each plays in the transcript, follows.

The Function of Syntax

The distinctive syntax of Clean Language is a defining characteristic.Its dual role is to keep your
language clean and to keep the focus of the client’s attention on their symbolic perceptions. We analyse
the function of syntax under three headings:
The full syntax
Using clients’ terminology
Shortened syntax.

The full syntax

The full syntax of Clean Language has three parts: to acknowledge the client’s way of perceiving, to
orient their perception, and to request them to examine that perception for new information:
And [client’s words].
And when/as [client’s words],
[clean question]?
The overall purpose of the syntax is to encourage the client to go through the process of generating and
self-modelling their symbolic perceptions again and again (see Figure 3.1).
In the transcript, our use of the full syntax is clear from the outset:
C1: I’d like to have more energy because I feel very tired.
T1: And you’d like to have more energy because you feel very tired. And when you’d like to have
more energy, that’s more energy like what?
C2: It’s like I’m behind a castle door.
Using the full syntax acknowledges the client’s description and orient her attention towards what she
would like, “more energy.” The question invites her to notice the form of that energy. Her answer is
overtly metaphoric.65
 FIGURE 3.1 The full syntax and its purpose
You may have noticed in the transcript that apart from the clean questions, the only words we introduce
are and, when and as. And there are good reasons for using these little words.

STARTING WITH ‘AND’

All clean language sentences start with the conjunction ‘And’. Its function is to connect, to add, to
continue. As well as being a gentle way of starting, ‘And’ signals that what is about to be said will not
be a dialogue in which two minds compete for centre stage. Instead it says: ‘What I am about to say is a
continuation of what you have just said’. With repeated use, ‘And’ sends a mostly out-of-awareness
message to the client: this whole interaction is to be conducted from your perspective.66

ABOUT ‘WHEN’
Using ‘when’ invites the client to focus on either a particular moment when they experience what they
are describing, or a class of experiences similar to that being described. Think of the former as viewing
a single snapshot or video clip, and the latter as a number of snapshots or clips of similar events. In
other words, ‘when’ asks the client to perceptually ‘stop time’ so that new information and insights
have a chance to enter awareness. You can see how this operates in the following example:
C2: It’s like I’m behind a castle door.
T2: And it’s like you’re behind a castle door. And when behind a castle door, what kind of castle door
is that castle door?
C3: A huge castle door that’s very thick, very old, with studs, very heavy.
Here ‘when’ invites the client to attend to her perception of the particular time and place called “behind
a castle door” – in preparation for the question that follows.

ABOUT ‘AS’
Like ‘when’, ‘as’ encourages perceptual time to pause so that the client can focus their attention on a
single event. In addition, ‘as’ acknowledges and orients to the ongoing and dynamic nature of the
client’s perception. This can be indicated in a number of ways: by a metaphor (e.g. C5: “It takes a lot of
energy”); by nonverbals (say, a repeated circular motion of the hand); and by verbs ending in ‘-ing’
which presuppose a continuing process (e.g. trying, struggling, banging). The following illustrates the
difference between using ‘when’ and ‘as’:
C3: A huge castle door that’s very thick, very old, with studs, very heavy.
T3: And a huge castle door that’s very thick, very old, with studs, very heavy. And when huge castle
door is very thick, very old, with studs, very heavy, is there anything else about that huge
castle door?
C4: I can’t open it and I get very very tired trying to open it.
T4: And you can’t open it and you get very very tired trying to open it. And as you get very very tired
trying to open it, what kind of very very tired trying is that?
C5: Like I’m struggling on my own and not getting anywhere. It takes a lot of energy. I feel like I’m
banging my head on a wall.
If you compare C3 with C4 you will notice the difference between a static perception of “A huge castle
door” and a dynamic perception of “trying to open it.” Referencing “castle door” with ‘when’, and
“trying” with ‘as’, honours the nature of each description.
To summarise, the formulaic nature of the full syntax of Clean Language is designed to keep your
vocabulary and metaphors out of the client’s perceptions. The words ‘and’, ‘when’ and ‘as’ are used for
continuity and to encourage clients to attend to a single symbolic event. This enables them to more
fully explore whatever they are perceiving at the time, and because they hear mostly their own words,
their attention is not distracted from what they are perceiving. Equally, because you do not need to
manufacture words of your own, more of your attention is available to watch what they do and listen to
exactly what they say.

Using clients’ terminology

Once a client enters the symbolic domain, words take on special significance and meaning. They are
packed with information: they indicate the client’s current patterns, they represent the organisation
which keeps these patterns replicating and they hint at the means by which these patterns can transform.
David Grove puts it succinctly: “Within the paradigm of the presentation of the problem also lies its
solution.”67
Your first priority when using Clean Language, therefore, is to preserve the client’s terminology. Four
ways of doing this are: repeating their words exactly, selecting words and phrases, backtracking, and
accumulating a number of the client’s descriptions.

REPEATING EXACTLY
In the full syntax of Clean Language the first ‘And’ is immediately followed by repeating exactly what
the client has just said. Since every one of their words (and the order in which they say them)
potentially contains vital information, it is only by reflecting their words exactly that you can be sure to
faithfully acknowledge their experience.68 An exception is the need, on occasion, to change personal
pronouns (and any associated use of the verb ‘to be’). For example in T1 the client hears a precise echo
of their words, except ‘you’ has replaced ‘I’:
C1: I’d like to have more energy because I feel very tired.
T1: And you’d like to have more energy because you feel very tired. …
In addition, short words can be as important as long ones, prepositions as important as nouns, adverbs
as important as verbs, and repetition no accident. Therefore, when the client says:
C4: I can’t open it and I get very very tired trying to open it.
“Very very tired” is likely to have a different connotation to ‘very tired’ since the repetition itself may
be a container of symbolic significance. This is why our response honours the client’s exact
description:
T4: And you can’t open it and you get very very tired trying to open it. And as you get very very tired
trying to open it, what kind of very very tired trying is that?
Even if the question sounds somewhat strange to you, it will not to the client because it is their
description of their experience. Another reason for making a point of repeating “very very” is that the
client has already used the word “very” six times in her first four sentences: a minimal clue to the
significance of this word for her!
Once a client’s exact words have been acknowledged, the determiners ‘a’, ‘the’, ‘my’, ‘your’, etc. are
often not repeated in the related question. Referencing symbols without determiners helps to establish a
personal name for the symbol, and once something has a name, it then has an identity and a uniqueness
which distinguishes it from other things. For example, we say, ‘It’s a deer’ or ‘It’s the deer’, but as
there is only one Bambi, we say ‘It’s Bambi’ and not ‘It’s a Bambi’ or ‘It’s the Bambi’. (Chapter 6
gives more information on naming symbols.)
When you repeat back clients’ exact phraseology, a number of things happen:
• They hear their own words delivered from a different source.
• They know that what they have said has been heard.
• They have extra time to examine their current perception and discover associations with other
perceptions.
As a result, clients seem to recognise (unconsciously at least) that:
• Their experience has been affirmed.
• Their terminology will be the basis for the interaction.
• They are being invited to stay with their current perception.
• Another, not insignificant reason for word-for-word repetition is that it helps you to model their
descriptions and gives you time to consider which clean question to ask next.

SELECTING WORDS AND PHRASES

When clients give long descriptions or explanations, it may not be possible or desirable to repeat every
word verbatim. In such cases you can recap key phrases in the order given. Metaphors, repeated or
emphasised words or phrases, and idiosyncratic, unusual or ambiguous expressions, are good
candidates for selection. This is not summarising in the traditional sense, as it does not introduce words
from your vocabulary. Rather, it is selective word-for-word reflection, as this example from another
client transcript shows:
C: A feeling that I’ve got to love her as much as I can because she’s not going to be around for that
long. It’s like I’ve got to eat all the sweets today even though there will be plenty more
tomorrow. “It’s too good to be true.” I don’t believe it will be there tomorrow. I’m not meant to
be happy, it’s not for me. Love brings me happiness but I can’t handle happiness and joy. It’s as
if I have to live my life in the darkness.
T: And when you’ve got to eat all the sweets today, and you’re not meant to be happy and you have
to live your life in the darkness, is there anything else about that darkness?
C: I don’t ever remember having been happy.
We repeat a few phrases as a way of encompassing the whole experience, before asking the client to
notice one aspect – the metaphor of darkness. And because our question utilises the client’s last
statement, the flow and direction of their perception is maintained.

BACKTRACKING
Once a client begins to examine one aspect of their perception, other aspects may remain unexplored –
like going down one particular road to the exclusion of any other. It is possible to retrace steps, to
backtrack to the point of departure, and then go in a different direction, on a road not yet travelled. You
can assist the client to do this by using their words in reverse order to track back from their current
focus to the ‘point of departure’. For example:
C11: It keeps me in one place and it doesn’t let me move.
T11: And it keeps you in one place and doesn’t let you move. And dry like a desert, hollow full of
darkness in here and struggling on your own and very very tired trying to open huge castle
door that’s very thick and very heavy and very old. And is there anything else about that
door you can’t open?
We acknowledge the client’s last description (C11), before referring to desert (C10), hollow full of
darkness (C8), in here (C7), struggling (C5), very very tired trying to open (C4), and huge castle door
(C3). It will now be natural for the client to answer a question about the door because it has become the
focus of her attention.

ACCUMULATING DESCRIPTIONS
The effect of repeating clients’ individual answers will be enhanced if periodically you recap several of
them in one review. We call this accumulating because it collects together a number of client
descriptions into one perception. In the following extract, we first acknowledge what is said and then
recap some previous responses:
C18: I can hear him but he can’t see me and he goes away. And I can’t get out. Then I get very
frustrated. It gets almost too much to bear.
T18: And it gets almost too much to bear. So when you’re behind huge castle door with a twisted iron
handle, and you get very very tired trying to open it, and hollow is full of darkness, and a big
broad centurion with a spear knocks, and you can hear him but he can’t see you, and he goes
away, and you can’t get out, and it gets almost too much to bear, [pause] then what happens?
C19: [Pause.] Then I lose all my energy because I don’t know what to do.
Accumulating descriptions (especially using the client’s intonation, rhythm and speed as described in
Vocal Qualities below) is likely to have a number of effects. First, it is wonderfully reassuring. When
one of our clients said, “It’s like you understand what it’s like to be me. Thank God somebody can
understand and I’m not going mad,” they may not have appreciated how little we understood about the
meaning of their metaphors, but they knew we were in rapport with their symbolic patterns and this
resonated at a deep level.
Second, accumulating descriptions encourages clients to become aware of the embodied nature of their
language, or, as David Grove puts it, “To make words physical.” In this way clients’ figurative and
imaginative perceptions come to life.
Third, accumulating descriptions can bring together a number of symbols or a sequence of symbolic
events which may have emerged piecemeal during the session. This gives the client an opportunity to
check the description for accuracy and completeness, to identify and embody their pattern as a whole
and to make new associations. Once this happens, there is often no need to ask a question. Just pausing
invites the client to ask a question of themselves, which in turn they answer – the ultimate in Clean
Language.

Shortened syntax
To recap, the full Clean Language syntax has three parts:
1 - And [client’s words].
2 - And when/as [client’s words],
3 - [clean question]?
There are many occasions, however, when one of the following shortened versions is more appropriate:
1 - And [client’s words].
3 - And [clean question]?
e.g. T14: And a spear. And what kind of spear could that spear be?
or
2 - And when/as [client’s words],
3 - [clean question]?
e.g. T7: And when in here, whereabouts in here?
or
3 - And [clean question]?
e.g. T12: And is there anything else about that great big circular handle that’s all twisted
around?
You can use the shortened syntax when:
• The client is answering quickly with short answers and you want to respond in kind.
• The client has attended to one aspect of their perception for some time.
• The client’s metaphor landscape is well developed.
• You want to be congruent with a metaphor that is moving or changing fast.
• You are using Clean Language conversationally – perhaps in a business coaching context, or with a
new client, or at the beginning of a session.
• You are using certain ‘strategic approaches’ (see Chapter 8).

Summary of syntax
The syntax of Clean Language is designed to acknowledge the client’s perception, to orient their
attention to the perceptual present, to prepare them to gather information about their symbolic
perceptions and to establish a context for the question to perform its task.
Not only does the syntax remind the client that they are involved in something other than an everyday
dialogue, it also acts as a discipline for the therapist. In ordinary conversation it is natural to introduce
your own vocabulary, paraphrase the other person’s language and make suggestions. When working
within the symbolic domain of your clients’ experience, it is the distinctive syntax of Clean Language
that will help you change this habit of a lifetime.

The Function of the Basic Clean Questions

Clean questions are the second essential part of Clean Language and almost all David Grove’s
communication with clients is via questions. We have categorised the nine questions he most frequently
asks by the aspect of perception they invite into the foreground of the client’s awareness. These aspects,
or perceptual dimensions, correspond to the universal metaphors of form, space and time. We
distinguish two categories of basic questions: developing and moving time.

Developing questions
The first five questions are referred to as the basic developing questions. They invite the client to
identify attributes of form, to convert to symbolic form and to locate symbols in perceptual space.

IDENTIFYING ATTRIBUTES OF FORM

Symbols are identified and distinguished by their attributes, qualities, features, characteristics and
functions. When a client identifies a specific attribute of a symbol it becomes tangible in a way that
abstract concepts do not. Whereas concepts are formless, symbols not only have functions and interact
with other symbols, they also have a history and a destiny. Notice the difference between the concept of
‘door’ in general, and “A huge castle door that’s very thick, very old, with studs, very heavy.” These
attributes give this door its unique form.
The two clean questions which invite clients to discover information about a symbol’s attributes,
functions or relationships with other symbols are:
And is there anything else about {that/those} [client’s words]?
And what kind of [client’s words] is that [client’s words]?
The salient word in the first question is ‘else’. It can mean any or all of the following: in addition to,
extra to, more than, other than, different from, supplementary to, further, over and above, greater than.
Asking ‘And is there anything else about that X?’ invites the client to consider how they represent ‘X’,
and to notice other characteristics that they have not previously described. The words ‘about that X’
encourage them to concentrate on a particular ‘X’ and to distinguish it from any other ‘X’.
In the full syntax of Clean Language, ‘when’ orients attention to the particular context (time and place)
while ‘about’ and ‘that’ direct attention to the particular content (form and location) to be attended to.
These words act cumulatively to orient attention to one perceptual aspect at a time (be that a symbol, a
relationship between symbols, a metaphor, a pattern of perceptions or the entire metaphor landscape).
For many clients, ‘that’ also encourages symbols to acquire an independence, an identity, and to be
perceived as separate from the perceiver (see Chapter 6).
‘And is there anything else?’ presupposes so little that it can usefully be asked at any time. We call this
question ‘the therapist’s friend’ because if you do not know what question to ask next, you can ask this
one.
During a training exercise one trainee spent 20 minutes asking only
‘And is there anything else?’ about a fellow participant’s metaphor. The recipient went through several
remarkable emotional experiences, including intense frustration, culminating in a significant insight
about patience. When the time came for a debrief the recipient thanked her partner, and asked in an
incredulous tone, “How did you know that just asking that one question would prove so perfect for
me?” He looked rather sheepish and admitted, “I didn’t know. I just couldn’t remember any of the other
questions.”
In the family of questions called Clean Language, the sibling of ‘And is there anything else about X?’
is ‘And what kind of X is that X?’. The key word in this question, ‘kind’, is derived from the Old
English word for ‘nature’. Thus this question asks ‘What is the nature of X?’. There are three common
types of response to this question. Clients will describe the qualities or function of ‘X’, or offer an
instance or example of ‘X’, or give an analogous description of ‘X’. In whatever way they respond,
they will likely discover something more about ‘X’. The following extract from the transcript illustrates
how clients typically respond to these two identifying-attributes questions:
C2: It’s like I’m behind a castle door.
T2: And it’s like you’re behind a castle door. And when behind a castle door, what kind of castle
door is that castle door?
C3: A huge castle door that’s very thick, very old, with studs, very heavy.
T3: And a huge castle door that’s very thick, very old, with studs, very heavy. And when huge castle
door is very thick, very old, with studs, very heavy, is there anything else about that huge
castle door?
C4: I can’t open it and I get very very tired trying to open it.
T4: And you can’t open it and you get very very tired trying to open it. And as you get very very tired
trying to open it, what kind of very very tired trying is that?
C5: Like I’m struggling on my own and not getting anywhere. It takes a lot of energy. I feel like I’m
banging my head on a wall.
In C3 the client specifies that she is perceiving a castle door which has a whole string of attributes:
“huge, very thick, very old, with studs, very heavy.” In C4 she describes the relationship between the
castle door and the symbolic perceiver behind it as “trying to open” – and by implication the door’s
current function, which is not to open. In C5, she switches from describing attributes to explaining the
nature of “very very tired trying” using a number of metaphors: “struggling,” “not getting anywhere,”
“takes a lot of energy,” and “banging my head on a wall.” The client has now established a detailed
context, an intention, and the effect of not achieving that intention – and all from three simple
questions.
The ‘Anything else?’ and ‘What kind of?’ questions direct the client’s attention to one aspect of their
perception at a time. Then they invite the client to identify the attributes of that aspect and by what
name it is known. These two questions perform such a useful role that they can be asked at any time
during the Symbolic Modelling process.

CONVERTING TO SYMBOLIC FORM

When clients use sensory or conceptual expressions they can be requested to convert their description
into metaphor by asking:
And that’s [client’s words] like what?
The essential ingredient in this question is the word ‘like’ which means: similar to, resembling, in the
same ways as, equivalent to, analogous with, akin to, comparable to, corresponding to, etc. The prime
function of the ‘Like what?’ question is to enable the inexpressible, abstract or voluminous to be
expressed as a tangible, vivid and compact metaphor. Compare “Sometimes I’m so desperate I don’t
know what to do” with its metaphorical equivalent, “It’s like I’m on a roller coaster.” A roller coaster
can stop and the passenger can get off, or maybe the track can level out and become a railway going
somewhere. There are a multitude of options available in the metaphor that are unavailable in the
conceptual word ‘desperate’.
During the conversion to tangible metaphoric form, the client’s attention shifts from one type of
perception to a parallel, isomorphic perception. For example:
C1: I’d like to have more energy because I feel very tired.
T1: And you’d like to have more energy because you feel very tired. And when you’d like to have
more energy, that’s more energy like what?
C2: It’s like I’m behind a castle door.
The ‘Like what?’ question prompts the client to convert her everyday narration into symbolism. In the
next example, the ‘Like what?’ question is used within the metaphor to help her discover a form for an
undefined “it”:
C23: I can feel it right in the middle – at the absolute core of my being.
T23: And when you can feel it right in the middle, at the absolute core of your being, it’s like what?
C24: It’s gold.
T24: And it’s gold. And when it’s gold at the absolute core of your being, what kind of gold is that
gold?
C25: Absolutely pure. It’s always been there.
T25: And absolutely pure. And absolutely pure gold’s always been there at the core of your being.
And is there anything else about that absolutely pure gold?
C26: It’s incredibly strong but malleable. Powerful. You could shape it but you couldn’t break it. An
almost silent powerful.
T26: And an almost silent powerful. And is there anything else about that absolutely pure gold
that’s incredibly strong and malleable and almost silent powerful at the absolute core of your
being?
C27: It can move.
Once the client has shifted into metaphor, the ‘Anything else?’ and ‘What kind of?’ questions further
develop the form and potential of the symbol, “gold”.
‘And that’s like what?’ has a special place in the family of clean questions. It can be used to initiate the
Symbolic Modelling process; to convert sensory description, abstract notions and emotions to a more
concrete symbolic form; to give form to relationships and patterns within a client’s metaphor
landscape; and to translate abstract concepts such as forgiveness, trust, hope, safety, strength, power,
knowing, understanding and love into tangible resource symbols which can be utilised for healing and
transformation.

LOCATING SYMBOLS IN PERCEPTUAL SPACE

Space is to perception what water is to fish. Just as physical space is constituted by things having a
location, so is perceptual space. Clients can be invited to notice the location of their symbols and
therefore the spatial nature of their metaphors by asking:
And where is [client’s words]?
And whereabouts {is} [client’s words]?
For example:
C6: A castle wall of thick granite and I get very frustrated and very angry.
T6: And a castle wall of thick granite and you get very frustrated and very angry. And when very
frustrated and very angry, where is that very frustrated and that very angry?
C7: In here [touches solar plexus region].
T7: And when in here, whereabouts in here?
C8: Exactly in here. Hollow. Full of darkness.
Initially the client locates “very frustrated and very angry” verbally by “in here,” and nonverbally with
a gesture. The ‘Whereabouts?’ question then requests her to further specify the location, which she
refers to as “exactly in here.” These two questions focus her attention on the location of “very frustrated
and very angry” long enough for the symbol “hollow. Full of darkness” to become apparent. Further
into the transcript there is another example of locating symbols in perceptual space:
C22: [Looks up and squints.] I can see the sky – I never noticed that before – hope is on the outside
[long pause]. It’s very strong. It gives me determination and the ability to keep trying.
T22: And you can see the sky. And hope is on the outside. And when it gives you very strong
determination to keep trying, whereabouts is it when it’s very strong?
C23: I can feel it right in the middle – at the absolute core of my being.
You may have noticed we were not quite clean. The client said, “Hope is on the outside. It’s very
strong,” whereas we accidentally attached the attribute “very strong” to determination. Even so, the
client still locates “it.”
While both these examples are related to the perceptual space inside the client, there are numerous
references to the location of symbols outside of the client’s (or perceiver’s) body:
C2: It’s like I’m behind a castle door.
C5: I feel like I’m banging my head on a wall.
C11: It keeps me in one place and it doesn’t let me move.
C20: I sit in the corner and go to sleep.
C21: I have to find a way out.
C22: [Looks up and squints.] I can see the sky … hope is on the outside.
The ‘Where?’ and ‘Whereabouts?’ questions invite the client to establish the precise location of each
symbol. One client (who had been diagnosed as anorexic) used the word “angry” so often that each
time she said the word we began asking, “And where is that angry?” She discovered seven types of
anger, each located in a different place in her body. Rather than having them lumped into one
conceptual category, being able to locate and convert each type of anger into a metaphor allowed her to
differentiate these ‘angers’. Then she could recognise which type of anger she was feeling at any
moment and learn to have a choice of responses more appropriate to each one.
Once the inherent spatialness of the client’s symbolic perceptions is developed, it is easier for one
symbol to be distinguished from another, for patterns of spatial relationships to emerge and for the
overall configuration of the metaphor landscape to take shape.

Moving time questions

In the physical universe time marches onwards. There is no stopping time, no going back and no
jumping forward. Not so in the land of symbolic perception where the laws of physics do not
necessarily apply and where, in the blink of an eye, symbols from one time and place can interact with
symbols from a completely different time and place.
The five basic developing questions invite the client to examine their current symbolic perception for
long enough to identify the form and location of its component symbols. And because the word ‘is’
appears in each developing question, the client is invited to perceive an event as if it is happening now,
rather than looking ‘back on’ or ‘forward to’ it. In other words, they are encouraged to ‘stop time’ and
assume the perceptual present – the timeframe of the event being described. In the land of metaphor,
the present is a perceptual event which may coincide with the actual present, with a memory, or with an
expectation of a future event. Often the perceptual present is ‘outside time’ altogether in that it can
symbolise a pattern which may have repeated in one form or another for decades. As one mystified
client discovered, symbolic events can even coexist or coalesce: “I don’t understand this but I am
seeing myself at 3 years old playing with a toy I got when I was 6 in the garden of a house I moved to
when I was 14.”
In contrast to developing questions, the four basic time questions invite the client to attend to an event
subsequent, or previous, to whatever was last referenced. In other words they move time forward or
back. While we adhere to convention and refer to these as temporal questions, they are not really about
time at all – in the sense of the client’s past, present or future. They enquire about a sequence of events.
Events do not occur in a vacuum; they only make sense as part of a temporal sequence, a number of
related events which follow one after another in a particular order. An event is as much defined by what
happens before and what happens after, as it is by what happens during (see Figure 3.2).69

FIGURE 3.2 The perceptual present of a sequence of events

When repetitive sequences of thoughts, feelings and behaviours are unwanted, they are called bad
habits, addictions, obsessions or compulsions. Yet some repetitive sequences result in a general
disposition toward optimism, determination or persistence. Whether a client’s sequence has three steps
or dozens, and whether it takes a few seconds or many years to run through, each step can be
symbolised by an equivalent event in their metaphor landscape.
Asking moving time questions to establish a sequence is like asking a client to use a remote control on
a video to advance or reverse through a scene, one frame at a time. Through the skilful use of the four
temporal clean questions, a complete sequence of symbolic perceptions can emerge and the client can
recognise the underlying pattern. Once they understand how they ‘do’ the individual steps of a
sequence, each step then becomes a choice-point, and hence an opportunity to change the pattern.

MOVING TIME FORWARD

The two basic clean questions which invite clients to evolve time, to describe the event subsequent to
their current perception, are:
 And then what happens?
And what happens next?
Whether the client’s attention moves a fraction of a second within the current perception, or several
years to another perception, or some unspecified length of symbolic time to an apparently unrelated
event, will reflect the organisation of their metaphor landscape (see Figure 3.3).

FIGURE 3.3 Moving the perceptual present to the next event

For example:
T15: And … what kind of centurion could that centurion be?
C16: [Smiles.] Big and broad with armour on and a spear.
T16: And … then what happens?
C17: He knocks on the door.
T17: And … what happens next?
C18: I can hear him but he can’t see me and he goes away. And I can’t get out. Then I get very
frustrated. It gets almost too much to bear.
T18: And … then what happens?
C19: [Pause.] Then I lose all my energy because I don’t know what to do.
T19: And … then what happens?
C20: I sit in the corner and go to sleep.
T20: And … what happens next?
C21: I have to find a way out. I try to open it again.
A sequence of events unfolds step-by-step until, as usually happens, the cycle repeats:
 A centurion knocks on the door (C17) >>> he goes away >>> she gets very frustrated (C18) >>>
she loses all her energy (C19) >>> goes to sleep (C20) >>> tries to open the door again (C21)
>>> which will result in her getting tired (C4) >>> and so on.

MOVING TIME BACK

The basic clean questions which invite clients to explore preceding and antecedent events are:
And what happens just before [client’s words]?
And where could [ client’s words ] come from?
While the two evolving time questions are similar, there is a significant difference between the two
‘pulling back’ questions, as David Grove calls them.
‘And what happens just before X?’ asks the client to notice what occurs during the preceding event.
The word ‘just’ plays an important role by directing the client’s attention to the moment immediately
before the one they have just described. It’s like winding back a video recorder just one frame (See
Figure 3.4).

FIGURE 3.4 Moving the perceptual present to the preceding event

For example, the transcript continues when we ask the client to describe what happens just before she
tries to find a way out again:
T21: And you have to find a way out. And you try to open it again. And what happens just before
you try to find a way out again?
C22: [Looks up and squints.] I can see the sky – I never noticed that before – hope is on the outside
[long pause]. It’s very strong. It gives me determination and the ability to keep trying.
She discovers something new – that she can see the sky, that hope is on the outside, and that “it” gives
her the determination and ability to keep trying to get out – and we can assume to repeat the sequence
over and over.70
When ‘And what happens just before?’ is asked repeatedly it winds back a client’s perception frame by
frame to the beginning of a sequence, or even to the moment before the sequence starts.
Also, used in conjunction with the moving time forward questions, ‘And what happens just before?’
can invite the client to examine what occurs on either side of a threshold – at the beginning or end of a
sequence for instance. This is especially useful when one side of the threshold is considered resourceful
and the other unresourceful.
The other moving time back question, ‘And where could X come from?’ is a little more involved as
clients generally give this question one of four meanings:
• What made ‘X’ possible (or caused ‘X’ to happen)?
• What was the location of ‘X’ before its present location?
• What or who had ‘X’ before?
• What is the source of ‘X’?
For example:
C13: It looks like twisted pasta. It’s big. It’s old. It’s dull. It’s metal, iron, black.
T13: And when great big circular handle looks like twisted pasta and it’s old iron, black, where could
that old iron come from?
C14: A spear.
We assume that the client opts for the last meaning and that her attention has moved to the source of the
old iron – a spear before it was a door handle. Had the client given this question a different meaning
she might have replied:
“A forge” (What made “old iron” possible).
“Underground” (Location of “old iron” before it was on castle door).
“My father” (Who had “old iron” previously).
To summarise, the principal function of the four moving time questions is to help clients notice how
they punctuate their experience in a connected succession of perceptual events – a sequential pattern.
Repeated use of these questions enables the client to notice each step of the sequence. The word
‘happens’ appears in three of the moving time questions. This invites the client to attend to the
perceptual present and describe events as they happen. Once a client has self-modelled a temporal
pattern they are in a position to wonder how their metaphor might have a different beginning, middle or
end, and how a change to a step in the sequence might result in a change to the overall pattern.

The basic clean question compass

David Grove’s Clean Language questions are clean because they:
• Make maximum use of clients’ terminology.
• Conform to the logic and presuppositions of clients’ metaphors.
• Only introduce universal metaphors of form, space and time.
• Only use nonverbals congruent with clients’ nonverbals (see Chapter 4).
Because of their universality they can be used in a remarkably wide range of circumstances. Although
they leave clients free to process, respond and answer with whatever information they consider
relevant, they, like all questions, presuppose a perceptual orientation.
To help you help your clients navigate their metaphor landscape, the nine basic questions are
diagrammed in Figure 3.5 as a three-dimensional compass. The arrows indicate where each question
invites the client to orient their attention to:
• Remain with the current perception and identify attributes
• Convert the current perception into metaphor
• Locate a symbol within the current perception
• Move forward or back in time to a subsequent or previous event.
Individually the nine basic questions may be simple, but when asked over a period of time, they have a
complex, cumulative effect.
Each time a clean question is answered it sets up a feedback loop between the client and their symbolic
perception. Describing these perceptions encourages further information to emerge, which can also be
described, and so on. As this happens the client becomes the viewer-hearer-feeler of the symbolic
content of their perceptions. This intimacy establishes the existence of the key elements of their
metaphor landscape.

FIGURE 3.5 The nine-question compass

Utilising Vocal Qualities

The third essential component required to facilitate clients to self-model symbolically relates to how the
questions are asked. David Grove’s research has led him to use a particular combination of voice
qualities when using Clean Language. The distinctiveness of his delivery is a result of:
• Matching the client’s voice qualities when using their words
• The speed of delivery of his words
• The rhythm and tonality of his voice
• The consistency of his delivery.

Matching clients’ voice qualities

People unconsciously personalise their speech by varying their tonality, volume, speed, pitch, rhythm,
timbre, breathiness, etc. When you match the way clients express their words, you not only
acknowledge their description, you gather impressions about how they use their body to produce those
sounds. This can add to your model of their perceptions and enhance your intuition about which
question to ask next. You are not required to mimic the client, only to adjust your voice to more closely
match the emphases and changes evident in their speech. If a client speaks quickly and breathlessly,
then when you first repeat their words you might need to speed up your delivery and add a little
breathlessness to match them. Or a client may speak slowly and softly and emphasise one particular
word – and so should you. There is no need to parrot, just to honour the way another person speaks by
adjusting your way of speaking to correspond to theirs.

Speed of delivery
The golden rule of Clean Language when referring to any part of a client’s experience is to use their
words and phraseology as well as their way of speaking those words. However, it generally helps to s-l-
o-w d-o-w-n the speed with which therapist-generated words are spoken. This gives the client’s
perception an opportunity to start forming, even before your question is complete. The speed of your
delivery can drop to half or at times even a third of the speed of a typical conversation. You can slow
your delivery by taking longer to say the words themselves or by pausing between words. As Mark
Twain said, the right word may be effective, but no word is ever as effective as the right-timed pause.

Rhythm and tonality

You can convey curiosity about the client’s answers if therapist-generated words are spoken with a
somewhat poetic singsong rhythm, a smooth tonality and a slightly lower-pitch. Taken together, these
voice qualities will encourage clients to wonder about their perceptions.
David Grove once told us that with Clean Language, sound, feel and rhythm take precedence over
grammar, and that if we wanted to learn how to develop rhythmic tonality, we should listen to
recordings of Dylan Thomas reading his work.

Consistency of delivery
Asking the same clean questions in the same manner – whether a client is describing their nail biting
habit or sexual abuse – establishes a systematic and therefore predictable rhythm and format. The
faithful adherence to a methodical delivery, regardless of the apparent magnitude of the client’s
experience, is one of the hallmarks of Clean Language. And since your questions are entirely focused
on their information, there is little else for them to do but become intimately involved with their own
perceptions (rather than react to the changes of emphasis and inflections in your voice). Clients may be
surprised by what you ask about, but not by the way you ask it. They report that this consistency values
all their experience and allows them to determine the significance of their symbolic perceptions for
themselves.
It is particularly important to maintain a consistent delivery when working in metaphor because you
may not appreciate the significance of a client’s symbols or the correspondence to their ‘real’ life – and
sometimes, to begin with, neither do they.
Another benefit of using a methodical and consistent delivery is that questions can be asked by more
than one therapist working together, without distracting the client from their symbolic perceptions.
Some clients report that when they are facilitated by both of us they lose track of which one is asking
the questions.

Summary of vocal qualities

The syntax and delivery of Clean Language separates it from everyday conversation. While some
people think they are overdoing the rhythm, tonality and slow pace when first using Clean Language,
we usually recommend they make it even more pronounced. The combination of matching clients’
voice qualities, asking clean questions with a tonality of implicit acceptance, curiosity and wonder,
while using a slow delivery and a poetic rhythm, is a potent mixture.
As a result of self-modelling, many clients develop heightened states of self-absorption (trance)
indicated by fixed focus of attention, slowed speech, negative and positive hallucinations, involuntary
ideomotor mannerisms, etc. David Grove explains:
We do not maintain that clients need to go into trance. … The structure of the questions induces
the altered state [indirectly] … Trance is often a prerequisite in finding the answer. Clients alter
their state in going somewhere to get that answer. That somewhere is where we want to leave
them, and that happens to be where they may develop in the trance. … We normally do not want
the client to be in a deep trance. … We prefer our client in a state of conversational trance. …
Every time the client goes inside, as in a daydream, he is going into a trance. It can be very
effective in therapy to use these facilitatory states in producing neurological changes. …
Questions couched in ‘normal’ language ask the client to comment on his experience. Every time
he does that he comes out of a state of self-absorption to perform an intellectual task which
interrupts the process we are working to encourage and to facilitate. 71
While trance is a common result of using Clean Language, it is not a requirement. Nor is the use of
overt metaphor. A number of our clients remain conceptual throughout therapy, with only brief forays
into metaphor, yet they still derive enormous benefit from self-modelling.

Concluding Remarks
David Grove developed the precise formulation of Clean Language during many years of clinical
practice. It is designed to evoke responses and information which bring a client’s symbolic perceptions
to life – uncontaminated by the facilitator’s vocabulary, ideas, presuppositions and solutions.
With Clean Language you are not so much questioning the client as asking questions of their metaphors
and symbols. In this way the client discovers something new about themselves. Therefore your job is to
ask clean questions on behalf of the client’s metaphors in a way that values their answers and enables
them to become familiar with the hidden workings of their perceptual patterns. You do this by
treasuring the metaphors embedded in their responses, and by asking clean questions in a consistent and
methodical manner. The nine-question compass will help you to help the client navigate their metaphor
landscape by orienting their attention to the fundamental dimensions of form, space and time. In the
process the client will (consciously or unconsciously) model the organisation of their perceptions. It is
this self-modelling that lays the foundation for a beneficial change in the configuration of their
metaphor landscape, which in turn results in new patterns of thoughts, feelings and behaviours.
Clean Language governs what you say in relation to what the client says. It can also reference and
utilise a client’s nonverbal behaviour – and this is the subject matter of the next chapter.
 Chapter 4 Clean Language Without Words
We know more than we can tell.
M. Polanyi
While metaphors are traditionally thought of as verbal expressions, clients also use nonverbal, material
and imaginative metaphors. These are embodied in movements, postures, sounds, objects, structures in
the environment, mental images and feelings – metaphors without words.
In Symbolic Modelling all behaviour is considered “an outside view of the dance of internal relations of
the organism.”72 In other words, there is a correspondence between whatever a client’s body is doing
and the organisation of their cognition. This means that when clients become aware of their repetitive
nonverbal behaviour they can infer information about the embodied and spatial nature of their symbolic
perceptions.
Chapter 3 described how Clean Language can assist clients to self-model their verbal metaphors. It
covered what you, as a facilitator, say and how you say it. But how do you reference metaphors that
have not been described in words? How do you orient a client’s attention to their nonverbal behaviour
and enquire of its symbolism cleanly? How do you acknowledge the placement of symbols within a
client’s perceptual space?
The first thing to remember is that there are different types of metaphors without words. In Chapter 1
we identified four: two nonverbal metaphors and two related to the client’s perceptual space. What
distinguishes these is where symbolic information is located. With nonverbal metaphors – body
expressions and sounds – the information is encoded in the nonverbal behaviour itself; whereas
perceptual space contains material and imaginative metaphors which are pointed to or indicated by the
client’s nonverbal behaviour (Figure 4.1).

FIGURE 4.1 Types of nonverbal behaviour

When utilising Clean Language to reference a client’s nonverbal behaviour, you use the standard
syntax, questions and vocal qualities, and you use your nonverbal behaviour to refer to the client’s:
Nonverbal metaphors, either by replicating, gesturing to, or looking at a body expression; or by
replicating a nonverbal sound.
Perceptual space, with hand gestures, head movements and looks that are congruent with the
client’s perspective of the location of their material and imaginative symbols.
Hence the full syntax becomes:
And [replicate client’s nonverbal or indicate to their perceptual space].
And when/as [replicate client’s nonverbal etc.], [clean question]?

Nonverbal Metaphors
This section illustrates how both body expressions and nonverbal sounds can be addressed cleanly with
the basic developing and moving time questions.

Body expressions
Nonverbal behaviour is often interpreted as unconscious communication, yet people involved in a
telephone conversation will gesture, shift position, look around and make all sorts of facial expressions.
Why do they do this when the other person cannot see them? Because these movements enable the
speaker to sort out their feelings, keep their ideas straight and weigh up situations – they are
unconsciously communicating with themselves.
This communication with one’s self is amplified in Symbolic Modelling because the primary locus of
the client’s attention is with their metaphoric perceptions. We recommend therefore that you pay
exquisite attention to clients’ nonverbals, not as communication to you, but as potential carriers of
information for them.
Clients use their body to express symbolism and metaphor in all sorts of ways:

TORSO MOVEMENTS
leaning, bending, rocking, tics, shrugs, twitches, shudders, unusual breathing

FACIAL EXPRESSIONS
grimacing, pouting, grinning, frowning, blushing, mouthing, yawning

INTERACTIONS WITH OWN BODY

holding, rubbing, nail biting, thumb sucking, brow wiping, hair curling

INTERACTIONS WITH OBJECTS

rearranging clothing, cushion hugging, pen chewing, twiddling with jewelry
While clients are talking about their experience, their body is often enacting it. When this happens,
words tend to express what they think and feel, and nonverbals how and where they are thinking and
feeling. For example, a client doubles over and holds their head in their hands, or looks at the palm of
their hand as if there is something on it, or adjusts the position of an object on a table.
Sometimes ideas and emotions can only be verbalised when they are spoken in conjunction with certain
actions. At other times the body expresses that for which there are no words. As Isadora Duncan has
said, “If I could tell you what it meant, there would be no point in dancing it.”73
Just as every word or phrase used by a client represents the tip of an iceberg projecting above a
submerged mass of interconnected ideas and meanings, so nonverbal behaviour can represent a vast
amount of unseen knowledge.
While touch, feelings, emotions and proprioception (position, movement, balance) clearly encode
information nonverbally, the body can also encode preverbal, preconceptual and idiosyncratic
knowledge; unspeakable trauma; family lore, genealogical traits and cultural codes; spiritual
connections and mystical experiences. David Grove explains that:
In every gesture, and particularly in obsessional gestures and tics and those funny idiosyncratic
movements, is encoded the entire history of that behaviour. It contains your whole psychological
history in exactly the same way that every cell in your body contains your whole biological
history.74
For example, a client periodically used the flat of her left hand to pat the arm of the sofa next to her.
While she was in the process of patting, Penny asked:
And when [fixed look at client’s hand movement whilst nodding head to the same rhythm],
what kind of [continue looking at hand and nodding] is that [continue looking at hand and
nodding]?
The client looked at her hand as if it did not belong to her and watched it pat. After a while she replied,
“It’s how I keep my emotions down.” Her out-of-awareness patting became an entry point into a
metaphor landscape where she discovered she “buried emotions.” Uncovering the precise sequence and
the intricate mechanism of how she did this proved to be a vital step towards learning how she could
express her emotions more appropriately.
To minimise the possibility of imposing your words and distracting the client’s attention, you should
only verbally reference their body expressions after they have labelled them for themselves.
In the above example there can be no doubt that the client’s left hand was moving, yet to ask “And is
there anything else about that left hand?” or “And what kind of movement is that movement?” would
have attached our words to the client’s experience. While this would have directed her attention to her
hand or its movement, it may have been the arm of the sofa or a numbness in her shoulder that carried
the most important information for her. Penny’s use of a look and head movement enabled the client to
determine for herself what was significant about the patting and to describe it in her own words, “Keep
my emotions down.”
Another example is a client who, at his first session, delivered an unbroken hour-long description of his
predicament. He ended with “So that’s how it is” and looked expectantly at us. Penny replied, “And so
that’s how it is. And when that’s how it is, that’s how it is, like what?” He lifted his head, chin pointing
up high. While he was considering the question his mouth started to open and close in a rhythmical
fashion without sound. He was still deep in thought when Penny asked, “And [replicated angle of head
and mouth movement]. And [repeated nonverbal] is like what?” The client repeated the mouthing
movement and replied, “It’s like I’m a goldfish in a deoxygenated pond having to come up for air.” He
had captured the essence of his dilemma in a single metaphor, and his body had acted it out before he
knew what to say. Now he could work with the metaphor for the pattern rather than, as it appeared to
us, swimming round and round, suffocating in the detail of his description.
Once a client recognises that their body, or parts of it, can be a metaphor, they can notice how it
responds to each clean question. For example, by describing the reaction his body had to each of David
Grove’s questions, James connected with his ‘sense of purpose’. By standing and attending to his body
James discovered that his head looked to the right to what caught his attention and wanted to move in
that direction; his shoulders and trunk faced forward in the direction his life was moving; and his feet
wanted to move to the left toward his sense of purpose. Through doing this he was able to identify what
needed to happen for all of him to be aligned and moving in the same direction. Over the next 18
months James took a number of important decisions to change direction – and one result is the book in
your hands.

Nonverbal sounds
Sounds without words include sighs, in-breaths, throat clears, coughs, blows, clicks, groans, grunts,
gurgles, giggles, snorts and expressions or exclamations such as oh-oh, ah, uhm-m, hems and haws, etc.
David Grove recognised that these sounds can also be a source of, or a signpost to, symbolic
information which is outside the client’s awareness.
A particular sound can become the focus of a question simply by replicating that sound as if it were a
word within a clean question. Thus a client who preceded his answer with a big sigh was asked:
C: [Big sigh] I give up.
T: And [replicates big sigh] you give up. And when [big sigh], what kind of [big sigh] is that?
C: [Sigh] I’m not sure.
T: And when [sigh] you’re not sure, is there anything else about [big sigh]?
C: I can’t find the words.
T: And you can’t find the words. And when you can’t find the words about [big sigh] is there
anything else about words you can’t find?
C: They’re locked away.
Acknowledging both the client’s nonverbal and verbal answers validates them as equally appropriate
and useful. Differentiating between ‘sigh’ and ‘big sigh’, and continuing to direct the client’s attention
to ‘big sigh’ means he discovers that he “can’t find the words” and that “they’re locked away.” Later
the client found a way to unlock the words so that he did not have to “give up” any more.

Moving time questions

So far we have given examples of using the basic developing questions with body expressions and
sounds. Another way to utilise nonverbal metaphors is to regard them as temporal markers. You can
ask questions which ‘move time forward’ or ‘move time back’ by using the client’s nonverbal
behaviour as a reference point. For example a client was fluently describing an event in metaphor when
suddenly words deserted her:
C: The sky is filled with the wings of a giant eagle. She’s gliding and scanning the ground and sees a
boy. She swoops down and plucks out his eyes.
T: And giant eagle is gliding and scanning the ground and sees a boy. And when she swoops down
and plucks out his eyes, then what happens?
C: [Skin goes pale, she doubles over and is still and quiet for a while.]
T: And when [takes up similar body position and sits quiet], what happens next?
C: [Pause. Sits up straight.] She’s free.
We were surprised when the eagle plucked out the boy’s eyes and had no idea what was happening
during the client’s long silence. When it became clear that the client’s posture and silence were her
answer, asking a clean question utilised this nonverbal response. In this case, a moving time forward
question encouraged the sequence to unfold, and then the client had words available again.
Just as a body expression can be regarded as a temporal marker, so can a nonverbal sound. The
following example demonstrates pulling time back with a client who periodically sucked air through
her teeth. This made a small suction-like sound which was not particularly noticeable, however, over a
period of time the sound caught our attention, so we asked:
T: And [replicates sound]. And when [sound], where could [sound] come from?
C: [Long pause.] My God, that’s the sound my grandmother used to make when she was angry and her
teeth became loose.
T: And that’s the sound your grandmother used to make when she was angry and her teeth became
loose. And is there anything else about that sound?
C: It was terrifying. I used to stand behind my mother.
Although this habit of making a sucking sound had been pointed out by others, she had never before
made the connection to her grandmother’s long-forgotten false teeth. She discovered it symbolised her
pattern of “hiding from confrontation” with others as well as from an aspect of herself. With this
awareness, whenever she made this sound she could ask herself ‘What am I hiding from?’ and take
appropriate action.
Given the opportunity, clients can usually translate their nonverbal behaviour into a verbal description
which then can be explored in the standard manner. However, if no words are forthcoming, the entire
process can be conducted by asking clean questions of body postures, movements and sounds without
the need for the client to use words.75 Either way, the result will be the formation of a psychoactive
metaphor landscape within which change can take place.

Perceptual Space
As well as enacting nonverbal metaphors, clients also point to where their symbols are located in
perceptual space, in what direction they are moving and how they interact. They do this mostly out-of-
awareness, by positioning and moving their whole body, through gestures (with hands but also with
feet, head, elbows), and by lines of sight (the direction of gaze and point of focus). You can think of
clients as having a perceptual space around and within themselves which contains both their material
and imaginative symbols. It is the relationship between the client and their symbolic perceptions that
prompts their body to dance within its perceptual theatre. Such is the rhythm, precision and elegance
with which the body utilises surrounding space that David Grove refers to it as ‘choreography’. This
symbolic marking out of space is crucial to the self-modelling process because of its direct
correspondence with the configuration of a client’s metaphor landscape. As Edward Hall noted, “Space
speaks.”76
Once clients become ‘a-where’ of the location of symbols in their perceptual space they begin to
interact with them directly. They get curious about their function, relationship and configuration. In
other words, they self-model. For clients to enter into a wondrous and trusting alliance with their
metaphor landscape requires that you do so too. As David Grove says, “Space will become your co-
therapist if you pay it due regard.”77 The rest of this chapter explains how to pay due regard to:
• Aligning to clients’ perceptual space
• Physical and imaginative space
• Lines of sight
• Physicalising perceptual space
• Metaphor maps
Aligning to clients’ perceptual space
Since you want to keep the client mindful of their symbolic perceptions it is important that your
marking out of space aligns with the configuration of their perceptual space and not yours. Therefore
you need to notice how clients nonverbally indicate the location of symbols so that you can refer to
them as if they exist in those places. You refer to the location either by motioning or looking to where
the symbol exists for the client when it is outside their body, or by replicating the way they nonverbally
reference the symbol when it is inside, or a part of their body. For example, suppose the client gestures
to a location outside their body:
C: It’s out to get me.
T: And it’s out to get you. And when it’s out to get you, where is it?
C: [Pause, gestures down and to his right.]
T: And when it’s [points down to client’s right], whereabouts [points down to client’s right]?
C: Down there.
T: And down there. And when down there, whereabouts down there [looks ‘there’]?
C: A couple of feet away.
T: And a couple of feet away. And when it’s down there, a couple of feet away and it’s out to get
you, it’s out to get you like what?
C: Like a boa constrictor.
When the client indicates that there is a symbol inside their body, you can use your gaze to mark its
location or you can reference it as follows (the therapist is sitting opposite the client):
C: I can’t speak my mind [touches neck with left hand].
T: And you can’t speak your mind. And when [touches own neck with right hand], whereabouts
[touches neck with right hand]?
C: [Clasps neck with left hand.]
T: And when [clasps neck with right hand], whereabouts can’t you speak your mind [looks at
client’s neck]?
C: Inside.
T: And inside. And whereabouts inside?
C: In the middle.
T: And when inside, in the middle, what kind of middle is that middle, where you can’t speak your
mind?
C: [Makes a round shape with both hands.]
T: And when [replicates gesture] is inside [touches neck], in the middle, is there anything else about
[replicates gesture]?
C: The words get stuck in my throat.
If the therapist was sitting beside the client they would have used their left hand to touch their neck,
rather than mirror the client’s gesture as in the example above. The general rule is, make your
movements congruent with their perceptual space from their perspective. And as these examples show,
once clients have described a symbol in words it is preferable to use their verbal description as its
name, even if you continue to address its location nonverbally.
Accurately referring to the location of imaginary symbols is especially important when a landscape first
emerges because it encourages symbols to “lay claim to their own patch of perceptual real estate,” as
David Grove sometimes refers to it.78
Once a metaphor landscape is established, symbols tend to remain in the same place between sessions.
This means you can assist clients to reconnect with their metaphor landscape by nonverbally orienting
their attention to wherever their symbols were last located. If you remember any gestures or nonverbal
sounds connected with them, so much the better. Should a symbol have relocated since the last session
your references will give the client an opportunity to notice the change and update you.

Physical and imaginative space

Given the opportunity, clients unconsciously orient themselves to their physical surroundings in such a
way that windows, doors, mirrors, ornaments, furniture, shadows, etc. correspond to the configuration
of their metaphor landscape. Generally, you know that a client has attached symbolism to a physical
object or to a structure in their surroundings when they tell you or when they start interacting with it. In
the first case you simply use their words when referring to the object, and in the second you refer to the
interaction, using the methods described throughout this chapter. For example, if a client suddenly
grabs a cushion and clasps it tightly to their stomach you might ask, “And when [look at cushion] what
kind of [replicate clasping] is that?”
So revealing is the relationship between a client’s perceptual space and their physical surroundings that
David Grove gives clients an opportunity to align the two at the outset of each session. He asks them to
sit where they want, to rearrange the furniture and to position him. Clients naturally place themselves
where it is most appropriate for them to explore their symbolic world.79
When James asked a client where she wanted him to sit, she said, “Anywhere but there [pointing
directly in front of her].” Her presenting problem was a fear of heights and “a magnetic force pulling
me to jump in front of trains.” Exploring the characteristics of the magnetic force led her to identify
what was pulling: “A shadowy something [she traced a shape in the air with both hands]. It’s the same
shape as that fire extinguisher there [pointing directly in front of her].” She instantly remembered a
recurring childhood apparition where her deceased father came to her bedroom and beckoned her to
join him. For the first time she realised that her childhood feelings of being drawn towards him were
the same as the magnetic force pulling her to jump from heights and train platforms. Her fear
transformed into comfort when the shadowy figure moved behind her and put his hands on her
shoulders. She later reported that the magnetic pull had disappeared (“all that’s behind me now”), and
that she felt safer generally. It is noteworthy how the client positioned James in the room. Had he sat in
the chair in front of her he would have blocked her view of the fire extinguisher which, at the very
least, would have intruded on her symbolic perception.

Lines of sight
The last example shows that where clients sit and where they want you to sit is often determined by
their dominant lines of sight. This particular nonverbal behaviour requires special explanation.
David Grove’s clinical research suggests that the direction, angle and focus of a client’s eyes can
indicate an out-of-awareness, notional pathway which correlates with the location of material or
imaginary symbols within their metaphor landscape. These lines of sight are probably formed as part of
state-dependent memories or imprints.80 Think of a child who, having just been beaten, looks up in
vain to search a mother’s face for a sign of love. The upward line of sight becomes encoded as a
habitual part of the client’s symptomatic behaviour. From then on similar feelings of being unloved
may invoke the same posture and line of sight. Conversely, replicating the line of sight may lead to
reaccessing the memory and feelings.
With a body expression the source of the symbolism is the nonverbal behaviour, whereas the symbolic
information indicated by a line of sight is out in perceptual space. Lines of sight are most easily
observed when the client fixes their eyes in one particular direction (such as staring out of a window),
or at one particular object (a mirror, book, door handle), or is transfixed by a pattern or shape (a spot on
the carpet, wallpaper motif, shadow), or gazes defocused into space. Investigating these lines of sight
can give the client direct entry to an area of their metaphor landscape seldom, if ever, visited.81
While waiting to begin a session with David Grove, Penny sat staring mindlessly at a box of tissues on
a nearby table. She was vaguely aware that her reason for being there was to become comfortable
speaking in front of large groups. When David Grove asked her a question about her line of sight she
replied, “I’m looking at that box of tissues, at the part that stands out from all those triangles, the part
with the frame around the words ‘Peel off Label’.” (She was thinking, “What on earth am I doing
talking about a box of tissues?”) However a few questions later the frame began to look like a cinema
screen. On the screen emerged a geometric shape which reminded her of the maze at Hampton Court.
Further examination of the maze revealed a lost child alone and stuck, eternally attempting to get out by
“pushing through the bushes backwards.” (In retrospect Penny recognised this as symbolic of her
inclination to step back when presenting until she was almost hidden by the flip chart.) As the metaphor
evolved the child found resources that enabled her to move forward and find her way home. It is
fascinating to think that asking clean questions of a stare at a box of tissues resulted in Penny
comfortably presenting to 400 people six months later.
Although stares and repeated gazes most obviously indicate clients’ lines of sight, even a momentary
glance into a corner or over the shoulder is unlikely to be a random or meaningless act, but rather a
response to configurations and events of their symbolic world. Clients also orient their bodies and view
to avoid looking at a particular space. This occurred when a client entered our consulting room, sat at
the right-most end of the sofa, crossed his legs and angled them to his right. His shoulders were
inclined right as well and for much of the session he had his left hand beside his left eye, like a horse’s
blinker. At one point, while pondering a question, his hand dropped away and he glanced down to his
left momentarily. Immediately he was asked “And what happens just before [replicates hand movement
and glance]?” He looked down and to his left and let out a massive sob. When he recovered his breath
he said, “Oh God, there’s something down there (glance to left) and I don’t know what it is. I haven’t
been down there in a very long time. If I look down there I will be trapped and it will be compulsive
viewing.” He discovered “down there” was a fog which symbolised confusion and feelings of
abandonment. Further exploration revealed a symbolic scene of a younger self on a hilltop watching his
father leave home, never to be seen again. The adult’s “down there” line of sight was the same angle
and direction of that little boy watching his father walk away. Later he realised that wherever possible –
in meetings, walking down the street and at home – he would arrange to have people on his right to
avoid looking at the space on his left. When that patch of perceptual real estate transformed, not only
could he look “down there” and feel secure, but for the first time he could be confident he would not
abandon his own family.

Physicalising perceptual space

Some clients’ relationship with their perceptual space is such that they prefer to explore it by moving
around rather than by sitting and visualising it. They may want to occupy the location of symbols and
enact symbolic events. By physicalising the space these clients gain an understanding of the structure
of their symbolic world. One colleague described the result of moving around his metaphor landscape:
 I discovered the 3-dimensional nature of the landscape, the 3-dimensional nature of the elements
within it and the spatial relationships between them all. I also discovered that some elements
moved with me and some remained still, some modified in shape and some retained their shape.
A lot happened!82
One of our clients symbolised an important decision in his life as like having to choose between (on his
left hand side) “a dark tunnel” and (on his right hand side) “a featureless white plain.” By standing up
and moving to where the tunnel was located he was able to experience and to describe this choice as
“depleted, unhappy, blocked, trapped.” On the other side of the room he wandered around the
featureless plain and realised that although it represented “openness, lightness, freedom, relief, easy
breathing” it was also “empty of meaning” offering “the illusion of freedom.” No wonder he was
incapable of making a decision when all his attention was on choosing between the tunnel and the
plain. But what was in the space between left and right? When he occupied this space, he discovered
“A vertical dividing line … a place I’ve never been before.” Several weeks later he wrote: “The place
… was remarkable to me in that it was a place of no expectation, a sense of underlying faith in events,
acute senses, fully focused concentration, wide open attention, a sense of being fully present in my
situation (not spectating). It was a discovery in its own right and it started to seem that here was the
freedom I was so desperate for.”83
In addition to utilising the space of the consulting room, David Grove also utilises the physical
environment outside. He has held sessions on hill tops, beside lakes and at every time of the day or
night in order to synchronise the client’s imaginary and physical terrains. In one instance he conducted
a session late on a summer’s evening at sunset so that the client could physicalise their metaphor of
“the sun going down” on their relationship with a close friend who had recently died. After the sun had
finally disappeared behind a mountain David asked, “And what happens to a sun that sets?” It was a
beautiful moment when the client realised that from the sun’s perspective, it never sets.

Metaphor maps
A metaphor map is a type of material symbolic representation that merits special attention (examples
are shown in Figures 4.2 and 7.5). Asking clients to draw a map of the configuration of their symbols,
either during or between sessions, is an integral part of Symbolic Modelling. Although other means of
representing metaphor landscapes can be used, a map can conveniently depict symbolic shapes,
colours, numbers of things and especially spatial patterns.
If you want to refer to any part of a client’s Map the rule is the same – use their word if they have given
one; if not, use nonverbals which correspond to the way they have nonverbally referenced it. If you
have neither, and it seems important that the client consider an unreferenced symbol, then you can
improvise. For instance, if a client produces a metaphor map with two symbols ‘X’ and ‘Y’ and they
talk about the attributes of ‘X’ but never mention ‘Y’ you might say, “And when [attributes of X], is
there anything else about [point to symbol Y]?”
 FIGURE 4.2
Example of a client’s metaphor map

Concluding Remarks
Clean Language can help clients recognise that a gesture, a body posture, a repetitive grunt, a pattern on
a carpet or a piece of jewellery may symbolise an unacknowledged emotion, a relationship, an
obsession, a childhood memory – or anything else.
Asking clean questions of a client’s nonverbal behaviour invites them to become aware of the form,
location and significance of the symbol, in relation to the rest of the metaphor landscape. This means
more than simply copying a client’s nonverbals. It means referencing their nonverbal behaviour in such
a way that they continue to attend to the content and flow of their perceptions. Directing questions to
nonverbal behaviour and perceptual space is an unusual procedure and may take clients by surprise.
Your purpose is for them to become self-aware, not self-conscious.
In addition, it is far easier for clients to self-model when there is only one configuration of perceptual
space to contend with – theirs. For this to happen you need to direct your questions to the space around
or inside the client, and to adjust your nonverbal behaviour so that it is congruent with the location of
symbols from the client’s perspective. In this way the configuration of their metaphor landscape is
preserved.
The relationship between the client and their perceptual space is as intimate as between a mother and
her unborn child and forms one of the most important aspects of Symbolic Modelling. Once clients are
aware of this relationship, their space becomes psychoactive and will continue to influence and inform
them long after they walk out of your consulting room.
 Chapter 5 Stage 1: Entering the Symbolic Domain
In oneself lies the whole world, and if you know how to look and learn, then the door is there and
the key is in your hand. Nobody on earth can give you either that key or the door to open, except
yourself.
Krishnamurti
The ability to process metaphorically and symbolically seems to be innate. It is not if someone can
operate from a metaphoric perspective, but rather under what circumstances and in what manner are
they consciously perceiving symbolically.
The Five-Stage Therapeutic Process was summarised in Chapter 2. This chapter examines Stage: how
to start a Symbolic Modelling session by facilitating clients to begin self-modelling their metaphors.
We describe how to initiate the process with the ‘standard opening’ question, or use an ‘entry’ question
in response to one of six verbal and nonverbal ‘cues’. We then give several examples of which entry
question to ask in response to each type of cue. In short, this chapter provides:
The Purpose of Stage 1
How to Start
Entry Questions
Entry Cues

The Purpose of Stage 1

In the beginning of the Symbolic Modelling process your task is to use Clean Language to support the
client to become aware that their metaphoric expressions have a correspondence with their life
experiences.
At some point during the client’s narrative, something they say or do will prompt you to select an entry
question which invites them to switch from everyday perception to, as Caroline Myss calls it, ‘symbolic
sight’.84 The question you select will depend on the logic of the information supplied by the client in
relation to their desired outcome, their metaphors and their behaviour at that moment. With clients who
are less aware of their use of metaphor, you may need to ask a number of entry questions for them to
become familiar with the symbolic nature of their language and perception. These clients may cross the
line from everyday narrative to consciously using metaphor many times before they settle into, stay
with, and model their symbolic perceptions. On the other hand, for some clients, speaking metaphor is
their mother tongue.
How do you recognise when a client has started to perceive symbolically, to engage with their
metaphors and to self-model? There are a number of indicators, the most obvious being the client’s use
of overtly metaphoric language. More subtle are the nonverbal indicators which vary from client to
client: marking out the location of symbols in perceptual space, enacting events within the metaphor,
and entering a contemplative state. In addition, when a client meta-comments with “this is weird” or “I
don’t know where this is coming from but …” or “it’s difficult to put into words,” they are usually
indicating a transition to a consciously symbolic perception. Sometimes it is patently obvious when a
client becomes aware of the symbolism inherent in their descriptions; at other times it takes acute
observation to detect whether they have made the transition. For example, a client may dip into
symbolism for just a few seconds, or they may be talking conceptually while seeming to express
nonverbal metaphors with their body. It is vital that you calibrate the indicators to each client because,
just as people exhibit differing degrees of emotion, so the range of behaviours which reflect their
degree of awareness and involvement with their metaphors varies.
There are also indicators of when a client is not perceiving symbolically. These include repeatedly:
• Making eye-contact with you
• Asking you questions
• Meta-commenting or analysing
• Giving examples from everyday life
• Replaying events and dialogues, ‘He said … and she said …’
Keep in mind, however, that any repetitive behaviour may itself be symbolic of an unconscious pattern
to the client’s perceptions.

How to Start
We begin the first session by asking the client where they would like to sit and, when they are settled,
where they would like us to sit. Then we take a short personal history and ask them to define an overall
desired outcome – our contract for therapy. This builds rapport, allows us to assess the client’s level of
self-awareness and to note the metaphors they use during the conversation. Then we ask entry questions
of their metaphorical, sensory or conceptual expressions so that they begin to self-model.85

When to initiate self-modelling

You can start modelling symbolically from the first contact with the client, be that by telephone, letter
or face-to-face. From the client’s perspective, the process starts when you ask a clean question which
invites them to consider their verbal or nonverbal expressions symbolically. How they respond will
indicate whether, or to what degree they accept the invitation. While there are no cast iron rules for
when to begin, there are two key factors to consider: your degree of rapport with the client, and their
level of self-awareness. Studies have shown that how the client and therapist relate is one of the most
important aspects of a successful therapeutic encounter, regardless of the type of therapy.86 In this
respect, Symbolic Modelling is no different to any other therapy, except that Clean Language is
inherently rapport-building. By self-awareness we mean the client’s ability to introspect, to self-reflect,
to describe their own experience and to define a personal desired outcome. The greater the rapport
between the two of you and the more the client is aware of their metaphors and patterns, the sooner the
self-modelling process can begin.

The standard opening question

The standard opening question requests clients to specify their desired outcome for therapy and invites
them to begin self-modelling.
And what would you like to have happen?
Although we did not make it explicit in Chapter 3, you have already seen an example of a response to
this question:
T0: And what would you like to have happen?
C1: I’d like to have more energy because I feel very tired.
T1: And you’d like to have more energy because you feel very tired. And when you’d like to have
more energy, that’s more energy like what?
C2: It’s like I’m behind a castle door.
After just two questions the client has defined a desired outcome, the problem and accepted the
invitation to work in metaphor. Our second question orients the client’s attention to what she wants –
“more energy” – and at the same time invites her to become aware of the nature of her desired outcome.
Because she responds with an overt metaphor, a Stage 2 exploration of her symbolic perception can
begin.
Whether you begin with the standard opening question or not, you start with a clean question. David
Grove says:
The first question is important because … it is going to set the tone and the direction of how the
session will go. This quality of direction is very important because it will direct the client’s
attention – [and then] he will direct our attention – to a particular location in his experience and
to a particular orientation in time.87
If your objective is for the client to define a desired outcome for the session, then the standard opening
question can be further specified by adding “during this session,” “while you are here,” or “during our
time together today.” It can also be used when, as is common, the client provides a detailed description
of their problem. Asking the standard opening question has a number of benefits:
• Most importantly, it directs the client’s attention towards what they want or need so that they describe
whatever they think, feel or intuit will bring about the desired change.
• Even if the client answers “I don’t know,” they will still have considered the question, and in the
process of considering they will have nonverbal responses.
• Whatever the client answers will provide information related to their beliefs about the process of
change.
• Very often the client’s response to this question is a microcosm of how they expect to resolve their
issue in the future, or how they have tried (unsuccessfully) to solve their problem in the past, or how
they are ‘stuck’ in their problem in the present.
Any of these responses give you an opportunity to begin constructing a model of their metaphor
landscape. The client’s response to the standard opening question inevitably carries significant
information and usually more than you can comprehend in the moment. Therefore, we recommend you
take verbatim notes of their answer (including pauses, nonverbal sounds, emphases, false starts and side
comments). This allows you to refer back to it during this and subsequent sessions.88

Entry Questions
In addition to the standard opening question, David Grove used eight common entry questions: the five
basic developing and three specialised entry questions. During Stage 1 the function of these questions is
to invite the client to cross the bridge from everyday narrative to a world of personal symbolism.

The basic developing questions

In many situations, one of the five basic developing questions described in Chapter 3 can be used to
encourage a shift to symbolic self-awareness:
And [client’s words]. And when [client’s words] …
… is there anything else about that [client’s words]?
… what kind of [client’s words] is/could that [client’s words] be?
… that’s [client’s words] like what?
… where is [client’s words]?
… whereabouts {is} [client’s words]?
While these questions are used throughout the Five Stages, your purpose in asking them during Stage 1
is to invite perceptual time to stand still so that the client pays attention to the symbolism in their
everyday language and behaviour.
When you are new to Symbolic Modelling we recommend you do not use the moving time questions in
Stage 1 because they invite attention to shift to another time frame. The developing questions offer
more opportunity for the client to notice and embody their experience by concentrating on a single
symbol, event or place.

Specialised entry questions

As well as the five basic developing questions, there are three specialised entry questions, each
designed to respond to a particular type of cue presented by the client – an abstract concept, a line of
sight or a symbolic object:
Entry via an abstract concept:
And [client’s words]. And when [abstract concept], how do you know [abstract concept]?
Entry via a line of sight:
And when you go there [gesture and/or look along line of sight], where are you going, when
you go there [gesture and/or look along line of sight]?
Entry via a symbolic object (e.g. metaphor map):
[Look at object.] And where are you drawn to?
The function of each specialised question is introduced below. How they are applied follows in the
section on Entry Cues.

AND HOW DO YOU KNOW?

The ‘And how do you know X?’ entry question invites the client to go beyond the label ‘X’ and search
for evidence or signs that they had, or are having, the experience they call ‘X’. Although many clients
start therapy unable to differentiate and describe their perceptions, they have to have ways of
distinguishing one feeling from another, one thought from another, the past from the present from the
future, and so on. (If they do not, this may need to become part of their outcome for therapy.) Suppose
a client says, ‘I want confidence’. How do they know they want it? To answer the question they must
somehow represent this particular want to themselves in a way that enables them to distinguish it from
other experiences (such as: need, have to have, choose to have, require). They will quite likely describe
their want with a mixture of sensory-based language and metaphor, such as ‘I feel a pull inside’.
When clients convert an abstract concept like ‘want confidence’ to metaphor or sensory description,
they tend to embody what they are talking about. These see-hear-feel perceptions enable them to
distinguish one experience from another. To encourage this you may need to ask the ‘And how do you
know X?’ entry question two or three times before they get a clear sense of what they call ‘X’.
‘And how do you know?’ goes directly to the client’s epistemology because it asks them how they
know that they know something. What and how they answer will depend on the organisation of their
perceptions, the distinctions they make and the vocabulary they have available to describe them.89
Surprisingly, clients’ descriptive powers seldom have much to do with familiarity. Some clients have
had the same symptoms for decades, yet cannot find more than a few words to describe them. Whatever
their response the question has value, because in considering it they will have begun to model their
perceptions.

AND WHERE ARE YOU GOING WHEN YOU GO THERE?

The last chapter explained how clients’ lines of sight – the direction of their gaze either before they
speak or as they answer a question – often indicates the location of their attention at that moment. Lines
of sight suggest a client is perceiving (though not always by visualising) what is ‘out there’ in their
metaphor landscape.
A client will not be aware of a line of sight until your entry question directs their attention to it. The
specialised entry question “And when you go there [gesture and/or look along line of sight], where are
you going, when you go there?” acknowledges that the client’s attention is somewhere, invites them to
become conscious of that somewhere, and asks them to give that place a name or an address. The
question also requests the client’s attention to remain where it is, so that whatever they are attending to
can be identified and described. Should the client look at you when you ask this question, simply direct
their attention back to the source of the information by gesturing along their line of sight with your
eyes, head or hand and repeat the question.

AND WHERE ARE YOU DRAWN TO?

Sometimes we ask a client to bring two drawings to the first session: one of their current situation and
the other of how they would like it to be. More often we ask the client to bring a metaphor map to the
second and subsequent sessions. Occasionally a client will bring a photograph, memento or other item
which has symbolic significance for them. In all these cases you can begin by looking at the object and
asking the question, “And where are you drawn to?” Their search for an answer will either initiate the
self-modelling process or connect them with a previously established metaphor landscape.

Use of ‘you’ in specialised entry questions

The standard opening question, “And what would you like to have happen?” and the three specialised
entry questions, are the only Clean Language questions which introduce the word ‘you’. This is
permissible at the entry stage because the client is still engaged with their everyday narrative and
perceptions. But once they have entered the symbolic domain the introduction of ‘you’ may distract
them from considering their metaphor landscape and bring them back to ordinary dialogue. This is why
all other clean questions only use ‘you’ in response to the client having said ‘I’ or ‘me’.

Entry Cues
Every one of the client’s words, sounds or body expressions is a potential entry cue. We distinguish
three types of verbal entry cues depending on whether the client’s language is metaphoric, sensory or
conceptual. As explained in Chapter 1, while these categories may be fuzzy, they usefully distinguish
the ways in which people make sense of their experience. We tend to initiate the process via verbal
entry cues until a client becomes familiar with self-modelling. Thereafter we also invite entry through
nonverbal cues or symbolic objects.
Just as there are no fixed rules about when to start, there are few rules about which cues are the most
appropriate to start with – it all depends on the client’s desired outcome, the logic inherent in their
metaphors, and their verbal and nonverbal emphasis. In practice, whatever entry cue or question you
choose is less important than following the guidelines for Clean Language.
The rest of this chapter describes the six most common entry cues presented by clients with examples
of questions you can ask in response to each type of cue:
• Overt metaphors
• Embedded metaphors and sensory expressions
• Abstract concepts
• Body expressions and sounds
• Lines of sight
• Material metaphors and symbolic objects
The relationship between the most common entry questions and each of the entry cues is summarised in
Figure 5.1.

FIGURE 5.1 Guidelines for entry questions

Entry via overt metaphors

The simplest and most obvious entry cue is via an overt spoken metaphor. When a client uses overt
metaphor they are making use of their symbolic voice, symbolic sight or symbolic feelings. The “What
kind of?” or “Anything else about?” questions invite the client to develop the form of their metaphor.
For example:
T: And what would you like to have happen?
C: Life to be as easy as a smooth flowing river.
T: And life to be as easy as a smooth flowing river. And when as easy as a smooth flowing river, is
there anything else about that smooth flowing river?
C: It has a rocky bottom.
T: And it has a rocky bottom. And when it has a rocky bottom what kind of smooth flowing river has
a rocky bottom?
C: Deep, deep, deep.
The client’s answers demonstrate the use of symbol and metaphor to self-model so they have
progressed to Stage 2.

Entry via embedded metaphor and sensory expressions

Chapter 1 defined sensory expressions as words and phrases which describe objects, behaviours and
sensations that can be seen, heard, felt or in some way sensed. While people can easily describe
physical objects and behaviours in sensory terms, it is rare that they use sensory-based language for
sensations that occur within their body. More commonly they use embedded metaphors – those out-of-
awareness metaphors hidden in everyday language. Sensory expressions and embedded metaphors
either directly reference or imply a form for, and a location of, what is being sensed. Take as an
example these common descriptions for five types of feelings:
Tactile:
I’m touched by her kindness.
I’m holding myself together.
Environmental conditions:
I’m hot.
I’m under pressure.
Visceral (internal organs):
My gut reaction is ‘yes’.
My heart aches.
Proprioception (movement):
The feeling comes and goes.
It starts in one place and spreads out.
Vestibular (equilibrium and orientation):90
I’m off balance.
I’m going round in circles.
All of these expressions presuppose that certain sensations occur somewhere inside, on the surface or
outside a sensing body.
Any of the five basic developing questions asked of a sensory cue will likely result in the client
becoming more aware of their sensory experience. The ‘What kind of?’ and ‘Anything else about?’
questions invite the client to be aware of the qualities of their sensations; the ‘Where?’ and
‘Whereabouts?’ questions will direct their attention to the location of the sensations; and the ‘Like
what?’ question will invite them to convert their description to an overt metaphor. For example:
T: And what would you like to have happen?
C: I don’t want to be in pain any more.
T: And you don’t want to be in pain any more. And when you don’t want to be in pain any more,
what kind of pain is that pain you don’t want to be in?
C: A tightness.
T: And a tightness. And when a tightness where is that tightness?
C: Around my head.
T: And around your head. And when tightness around your head, whereabouts around your head?
C: Here [touches sides of head with both hands].
T: And when tightness around head, here [touches own head with both hands] that’s tightness around
head like what?
C: Like a vice.
This example illustrates the value of allowing time for the client to consciously embody their feeling by
identifying its form and location before requesting an overt metaphor.
While clients often use overt metaphors to describe their symptoms and problems, they are more likely
to use embedded metaphors to define their desired outcomes. A client may say, “I need to stand back
from the chaos” without realising the metaphorical and embodied nature of “stand back.”
T: And what would you like to have happen?
C: I need to stand back from the chaos.
T: And you need to stand back from the chaos. And when you need to stand back, is there anything
else about that stand back from the chaos?
C: I wish I could, but I seem to be attached to it.
T: And when you wish you could stand back from the chaos, but you seem to be attached to it, what
kind of attached could that attached be?
C: It’s chained to me.
The client has begun to self-model their metaphors, so they can continue to Stage 2 where the nature of
‘stand back’, ‘chaos’ and ‘chained’ can be explored and developed.
Although the above examples describe feelings, the same principles about form and location apply to
metaphors related to visual, auditory and olfactory senses. The following client refers to their visual
sense:
C: I see nothing but difficulties in my life.
T: And you see nothing but difficulties in your life. And when you see nothing but difficulties in your
life, where do you see those difficulties?
C: They’re blocking my way.
T: And when difficulties are blocking your way, what kind of blocking could that blocking be?
C: Hurdles to get over.
T: And hurdles to get over. And when hurdles are blocking your way, whereabouts could those
hurdles be?
C: In front of me [pointing with left hand].
T: And when hurdles in front of you [point to the same place] are blocking your way what would
you like to have happen?
C: To have a clear bright future to look forward to.
By now the client has enough awareness of the symbolic nature of their perception to develop the
attributes of the “hurdles,” how they are “blocking” and, equally important, the client’s “way.”
In the next example where an auditory representation is used as an entry point, we keep asking
questions about location until the client pinpoints the source of a hurtful voice:
T: And what would you like to have happen?
C: A voice says the most hurtful things, and I want it to be quiet.
T: And a voice says the most hurtful things, and you want it to be quiet. And when voice says the
most hurtful things, where could that voice be?
C: In my head.
T: And when voice in your head says the most hurtful things, whereabouts in your head is that
voice?
C: At the back.
T: And at the back. And when voice in your head is at the back, whereabouts at the back?
C: Just to the right-hand side.
T: And when voice in your head is at the back, just to the right-hand side, is there anything else
about that hurtful voice?
C: It seems like it’s hiding.
When you ask questions which connect a client with the form and location of their experience, you are
inviting them to become aware of the embodied nature of that experience. If a metaphor does not
emerge or if the client’s responses indicate they are not yet ready to engage with their symbolic
perception, you have a number of choices: continue to ask about their embedded metaphors; wait for an
overt metaphor; or ask a question from another entry cue.

Entry via abstract concepts

If a client does not respond in metaphor or sensory-based language they will be using conceptual
expressions. Given that a client’s response may include dozens of conceptual words, you will need to
direct your entry questions to those words which seem to have the most significance for them. These
words or phrases will unconsciously be marked out by repetition, tonal emphasis, changes in
physiology and gestures. In the Jubilee Clip transcript in Chapter 7 for example, we ask an entry
question of the word ‘vulnerable’ after it had been used for the fourth time.
Clients generally begin by describing their symptoms in conceptual terms (e.g. angry, grieving, scared,
confused, doubtful, depressed, lack of confidence, not enough love, don’t want, too responsible, can’t
trust). These states of mind-body usually bear fruit as entry cues because, according to David Grove,
“Symptoms are metaphors waiting to be born.”91
The following are examples of responding to conceptual cues to initiate the self-modelling process.
They make use of the basic developing questions and the specialised entry question:
And when [abstract concept], how do you know [abstract concept]?

EXAMPLE 1
C: I get frightened.
T: And you get frightened. And when you get frightened, how do you know you get frightened?
C: Because I’m scared.
T: And because you’re scared. And when you get frightened because you’re scared, where is that
scared?
C: I feel it inside.
T: And whereabouts inside?
C: In my stomach.
T: And when you feel scared inside, in your stomach, is there anything else about your stomach?
C: It turns.
T: And it turns. And when you get frightened because you’re scared and you feel it in your stomach,
and your stomach turns, your stomach turns like what?
C: A whirlpool.
Our first question asks the client to describe the behaviours, thoughts, and feelings they associate with
the label “get frightened.” In this case they answer with another concept, “scared.” We acknowledge
this and repeatedly (three times) direct them to attend to the location of this sensation. The client says
that when they feel scared and frightened their stomach “turns” (an embedded metaphor that
presupposes location, force, movement and direction). So we ask for an overt metaphor with ‘Like
what?’. Their answer, “A whirlpool” suggests they have accepted the invitation to shift to symbolism
and have taken the first step towards constructing a metaphor landscape.

EXAMPLE 2
T: And what would you like to have happen?
C: I can’t answer that question.
T: And you can’t answer that question. And when you can’t answer that question, how do you know
you can’t?
C: I don’t know [pause]. I can’t answer that question either [pause]. I’ve gone blank.
T: And when you’ve gone blank, what kind of blank is that blank when you can’t answer?
C: A familiar one.
T: And a familiar blank. And when you can’t answer, and you’ve gone blank, where is that familiar
blank?
C: It fills my head.
T: And when blank fills your head, it fills your head like what?
C: Like a sponge.
As often happens, the client says, “I don’t know” in one breath, and gives an answer in the next.92
Question by question we encourage them to become more aware of the experience labelled “can’t
answer” and “don’t’ know.” In this case the client uses an embedded metaphor “gone blank” before
converting it into an overt “sponge” metaphor.

EXAMPLE 3
T: And what would you like to have happen?
C: I want my faith back.
T: And you want your faith back. And when you want your faith back, is there anything else about
your faith you want back?
C: Life has no meaning any more.
T: And when life has no meaning any more how do you know life has no meaning any more?
C: I’m empty.
T: And you’re empty. And when you want your faith back, and life has no meaning, and you’re
empty, you’re empty like what?
C: A void.
T: And a void. And is there anything else about a void?
C: It’s a bottomless pit.
These three examples follow the same Stage 1 process of asking questions that invite the client to
explore their perception until they can identify and describe it in a graphic or embodied form.
Not all clients move from conceptual to symbolic descriptions after so few clean questions – some take
considerable time. If a client does not immediately accept your invitation to perceive symbolically, it
probably means one of the following:
• The client is not ready yet – so continue to honour the way they are expressing themselves and ask
questions which increase their awareness of the logic inherent in their abstract concepts.
• Your questions are not directing the client to attend to the embodied nature of their perception – in
which case ask clean questions of their embedded metaphors.
• You have yet to find an appropriate entry point. Keep trying others (including the nonverbal cues
which follow) until you find one to which the client can respond.93

Entry via body expressions and sounds

Chapter 4 explained how clients’ gestures, movements, coughs, sighs and other nonverbal expressions
can either be symbols in their own right, or pointers to information within perceptual space. When you
infer a particular movement or sound is symbolic, you can directly and cleanly ask an entry question of
the nonverbal expression. Whether the expression is a sound, movement or posture, the same format
applies:
And what kind of [replicate nonverbal] is that [nonverbal]?
Since clients’ nonverbal behaviour is generally outside of their awareness, it is important that you direct
their attention to it during or immediately after the behaviour. One of our clients responded to the “And
what would you like to have happen?” question with an unbroken narrative for over 15 minutes when
we noticed they were repeatedly tracing a horizontal figure eight (∞) in the air with their right
forefinger.
We asked:
T: And [replicate finger movement]. And when [finger movement], what kind of [finger movement]
is that?
After a long pause while reproducing the finger movement a number of times the client replied:
C: I move forwards only to then move backwards, from one disaster to another, desperately trying to
hold to the midpoint.
An exploration of the finger movement while it was happening revealed it symbolised a pattern that
was “a major part of my life that has existed as long as I can remember.”
In Chapter 4 we gave several examples of asking basic clean questions of nonverbal expressions such
as a repetitive patting with the hand, a goldfish-like facial expression, a pointing hand, a touch of the
neck, a big sigh, and a suction-like sound. All these examples can be considered as illustrations of entry
via nonverbal expressions, even though they may have occurred well into the modelling process.94
The only exception to these general guidelines for entry via nonverbal behaviour is for a line of sight.

Entry via lines of sight

In Chapter 4 we explained how a line of sight is created by the direction, angle and focal point of where
a client looks when they ‘go somewhere’ to retrieve or contemplate information. Lines of sight differ
from other nonverbal cues in that the locus of attention is not with the body; it is with whatever is at the
‘end of’ or ‘along’ or ‘related to’ their gaze – regardless of whether that is located in physical or
imaginative space, or both simultaneously. As the Zen master who pointed to the moon said: ‘Do not be
interested in my finger, be interested in what my finger points to’.
When you ask the specialised line of sight question, you facilitate the client to begin to notice and
engage with whatever their eyes ‘point to’ at that moment:
And when you go there [gesture and/or look along line of sight], where are you going, when you go
there [gesture and/or look along line of sight]?
Whether clients fixate on something in the physical environment, briefly attend to somewhere in
perceptual space, or just defocus, you ask the same entry question:
T: And what would you like to have happen?
C: [Gazing off into space.]
T: And when you go there [gesture to the space], where are you going, when you go there [gesture
to the space]?
C: Out the window.
T: And out the window. And when out the window, whereabouts out the window?
C: Far far away.
T: And when far far away, whereabouts far far away?
C: Continents away.
T: And continents away. And when continents away is there anything else about far far continents
away?
C: Oh, it’s Africa [gasp].
The line of sight now has a direction, “out the window,” an address, “Continents away,” and a name,
“Africa.” The client has begun to build a model of where they go to access this information so they
have made the transition to Stage 2.
Another client suddenly stops in mid-sentence while staring into a corner:
T: And when you go there [look to the corner], where are you going, when you go there [look to
the corner]?
C: Oh, nowhere [looks at therapist].
T: And nowhere. And when nowhere [look to the corner], where are you going, when you go
nowhere [continue looking to corner]?
C: Just over there [looks to the corner and pauses]. There’s a shadow.
T: And just over there. There’s a shadow. And when shadow, just over there, is there anything else
about that shadow, just over there [continues looking to the corner]?
C: Funny, but it seems to go back a long way.
T: And it seems to go back a long way. And when shadow goes back a long way, whereabouts back
 a long way?
C: Strange, I remember standing in a passage in the dark and being scared stiff.
Here we encourage the client to stay with the line of sight until symbolic information becomes
conscious. Although the client is describing a memory, the comments “funny” and “strange” make it a
fairly safe bet that they realise this memory is charged with symbolism.

Entry via material metaphors and symbolic objects

Although metaphor maps are an obvious type of symbolic object, when clients bring a photograph or
some other personal item to a session, you simply look at their map or object and ask the specialised
entry question:
And where are you drawn to?
For example:
T: [Looking at the client’s map] And where are you drawn to?
C: The fact that [points] they’re all red.
T: And is there anything else about the fact that they’re all red?
C: Intuitively I know they’re all connected.
At this point we could invite the client to develop their ‘intuitive knowing’ into a resource symbol, to
explore the attributes of the metaphor “connected,” or even to cultivate the characteristics of the “I” that
knows.

Concluding Remarks
The purpose of Stage 1 is to facilitate the client to become aware of the metaphors and symbolism
inherent in their language, behaviour and perception – and thereby to start modelling themselves. One
way of doing this is to choose an appropriate moment to ask the standard opening question and follow
this with one or more of the five basic developing or three specialised entry questions. These questions
are designed to respond to a variety of verbal and behavioural cues presented by the client: overt
metaphors, embedded metaphors and sensory expressions, abstract concepts, nonverbal sounds and
body expressions, lines of sight and symbolic objects.
Entry is not a one-off event as most clients will dip in and out of their symbolic world over the course
of a session. When they do, you use the same entry questions to guide their attention back to their
metaphor landscape.
The boundary between Stage 1 (Entry) and Stage 2 (Developing Symbolic Perceptions) is not always
well defined. However, as soon as a client has indicated that they are aware of the metaphorical and
symbolic nature of their language, behaviour or perception, they have begun to self-model and have
automatically progressed to Stage 2. It is in Stage 2 that they develop each of the symbolic perceptions
which constitute their metaphor landscape.
 Chapter 6 Stage 2: Developing Symbolic Perceptions
The entire landscape comes alive, filled with relationships and relationships within
relationships.
Frank Herbert
A metaphor landscape has to have a form before it can transform.
Once a client has entered the symbolic domain (Stage 1), the more they attend to and engage with the
symbols in their perceptual space (Stage 2), the more they establish the foundations of a metaphor
landscape within which patterns can emerge (Stage 3), the more they create a context in which the
conditions for transformation can arise (Stage 4). During this process the client discovers they have a
special relationship with certain ‘resource’ symbols which can have a beneficial influence on other
symbols.
Your role in Stage 2 is to facilitate the client’s symbolic perceptions to develop one at a time; that is,
for the client to identify and locate component symbols and to specify how they function and relate to
other symbols within that perception. A new symbolic perception may emerge anywhere within the
Five-Stage Process. When it does, it can be developed with Stage 2 questions. To facilitate this you will
need an understanding of:
A Symbolic Perception
Developing the Form of Symbolic Perceptions
Resource Symbols
Specialised Developing Questions

A Symbolic Perception
A perception is a set of thoughts, feelings and behaviours that is regarded as a single unit. In other
words, experience is punctuated so that a particular event (or events), moment (or period of time), place
(or places), and symbol (or group of symbols) appear as a gestalt. Clients arrive with a stream of
perceptions in which problems, solutions, desired outcomes, causes and effects are likely to be poorly
differentiated. When they slow this stream down, their symbolic perceptions can be identified,
separated, deconstructed and attended to long enough for each of them to develop a form.
How do clients know their symbolic perceptions exist? Because their physical and imaginative eyes
see, ears hear, skin feels and body registers sensations. One of our clients spoke for many when he
described his first taste of symbolic self-modelling:
As I tried to verbalise what was just an intangible state of things I realised that I could in fact
‘see’ and ‘feel’ this experience within my mind. The more I talked and investigated, the more
real it became. The struggle to put the whole experience of this intensely emotional time into
words, into communicable concepts, actually formed images in my consciousness. Images I
could feel, or feelings I could see – I’m not sure which.95
For a symbol to exist, it must be located somewhere in perceptual space. This space acts like a theatre
in which symbolic events can happen. A perceptual space can include any combination of:
• The physical environment around the client
• The surface or inside of the client’s body
• An imaginative space operating in the here and now (which can be inside and/or outside the client’s
 body)
• An imaginary place elsewhere in space and time.
When clients experience these spaces as alternative and compatible ways of representing symbolic
information they realise that any and all of their surroundings, language, thoughts, memories, emotions,
sensations and imaginings may be symbolic of the patterns that comprise who they are and the kind of
life they lead.
Symbolic perceptions come to life when the client responds as if their metaphors are happening to,
around and inside them. When they experience their symbols moving, changing size, exploding,
softening or releasing, they have reactions to their own imaginative representations: their eyes orient to
symbolic space, their body enacts imagined events, their hands, feet and head gesture to the location of
symbols, and their face changes expression and skin colour. As this occurs, they are often taken by
surprise and report an awareness of things happening without apparent reason. One wide-eyed client
suddenly said, “Man, where did that vulture come from?” Another said, “The muscles are rippling all
down my back and I haven’t the faintest idea why.” The embodied nature of the relationship between
the client and their symbolic perception means that when their symbolic perceptions change, so do
they.
Although symbolic perceptions are perceived as a whole, they are composed of parts:
• The content (whatever is perceived)
• A context (within which the content exists)
• A perceiver (with a point of perception and a means of perceiving the content and context).
The perceiver and the perceived may be separate but they cannot operate independently, nor can they
operate outside of a context. It is this unique combination of content, context and perceiver that enables
the client to distinguish between perceptions. Figure 6.1 shows a schematic of a single symbolic
perception.

FIGURE 6.1 Schematic of a single symbolic perception

Next we describe the component parts of a symbolic perception and then explain how to facilitate
clients to bring these to life.
Symbolic content
Every thing, entity or person identified within a symbolic perception can be considered a symbol.
Symbols have a form that the client can see, hear, feel or in some other way sense, detect or perceive.
No matter how abstract or vague a symbol is, if it exists it will have distinguishing attributes, it will be
located somewhere in perceptual space, and it will interact or have some association with other
symbols.
In mediaeval times people were named by reference to their distinguishing characteristics, as in ‘Big
John the Blacksmith’, and located by reference to nearby landmarks, such as ‘next to the bend in the
river’. Likewise, in the land of metaphor, symbols are named by reference to their attributes, located by
their relative perceptual address, and connected by their relationships.

SYMBOL NAMES
Anything that identifies a symbol qualifies as an attribute and provides a reference or name for that
symbol. Names can be:
• What is seen (size, shape, colour, movement, number)
• What is heard (volume, tonality, rhythm)
• What is felt (temperature, pressure, texture)
• What is done (behaviours, reactions, emotions)
• How it is done (skills, manner, method)
• Why it is done (purpose, function, role).

SYMBOL ADDRESSES
Any reference that locates a symbol gives it a perceptual address. Addresses can be:
• A relative location (‘over there’, ‘ten feet away’, ‘behind a door’)
• A place (‘inside’, ‘in a cage’, ‘Africa’)
• A nonverbal indicator (pointing, a look, a body expression).

RELATIONSHIPS
Symbols do not exist in isolation – they only exist in a network of relationships with other symbols. By
‘relationship’ we mean any interaction, connection, association, or way of relating between two
symbols. Relationships are usually expressed nonverbally, or verbally by:
• Verbs, e.g. metaphors of behaviour (to open, to struggle, to bang), of possession (to have, to get, to
take, to keep, to let), of perception (to feel, to look, to hear) and of existence (to be)
• Spatial metaphors (behind, on, in, outside, middle)
• Temporal metaphors (before, since, always).
Symbols are made up of component symbols and simultaneously constitute parts of other, larger
symbols. A symbolic door may contain studs and a handle, and at the same time be part of a wall which
itself is part of a castle. There are always symbols within symbols within symbols, and relationships
within relationships within relationships.

Symbolic context
Context is the environment, the situation, the setting, the circumstance or the timeframe within which
things happen. It can be as sensory as ‘this room’, as conceptual as ‘a friendship’, as symbolic as ‘a
golden wedding anniversary’; as specific as ‘three o’clock in the afternoon’, or as general as
‘everywhere’. Context is a very fuzzy notion, yet without it meaning free-floats.96 Context helps to
punctuate experience into manageable pieces by establishing boundaries (separators or markers) which
are defined by time (everything between the beginning and end), space (everything within a container),
form (everything with a similar motif) or function (all the parts of something that work together). In the
following example an unspecified symbol, a blur, is set in a well-specified context:
Everything that happened that night [time] when I was 9 [time] in my bedroom [space] after the
light was turned off [time] and it was so dark [form], is just a blur.
Once a context is defined, certain possibilities disappear and certain probabilities remain. If a client
says they are trapped, then how they are trapped – in a cage, in a dungeon, in a bedroom, in a vice, in
quicksand, in space, in a time-warp, by rising inflation, by their genes, by their history, by their beliefs,
by glue, by the bogey man – makes all the difference. These examples show how context can be the
surrounding environment in which events happen, or the cause of events, or both. When the context
changes – the client unlocks the cage, breaks out of the dungeon, absconds from the bedroom, releases
the vice, escapes the quicksand, finds Earth, goes through the time-warp, reduces the pressure,
compensates for their genes, utilises their history, updates their beliefs, dissolves the glue, befriends the
bogey man – they will not be trapped any more and then they will be free to make other choices.

Symbolic perceiver
There seems to be no limit to where, when and in what form a perceiver can exist. Sometimes the
perceiver is synonymous with the client describing their here and now experience – while on every
other occasion it is not. Although the client may be sitting in front of you, a symbolic perceiver may be
floating above and just behind them, or intensely involved in reliving an incident from childhood, or
interacting with an abstract representation made up of nothing but blobs of colour.
To perceive something requires a perceiver with a form, who is doing the perceiving from somewhere
(the point of perception), and who is perceiving by some means. And just to make life interesting,
clients can have multiple perceivers.

PERCEIVER’S FORM
Whoever or whatever is doing the perceiving can itself be regarded as a symbol which may take the
form of:
• The client in the here and now
• The client at a younger or older age
• A body part
• Another person, real or fictitious (mother, teacher, Merlin)
• Living things, real or fictitious (animal, flower, unicorn)
• Inanimate objects, real or fictitious (rock, cloud, magic wand)
• Notional objects (point, line, circle).

POINT OF PERCEPTION
A perception will be perceived from somewhere, such as:
• The physical environment
Structures (windows, walls, corners, doors)
 Patterns (on wallpaper, carpets, shadows, clothes)
Objects (books, furniture, ornaments, pictures, mirrors)
Nature (trees, ground, sky, sun).
• The body
The extremities (hands, feet, head)
Sense organs (eyes, ears, skin)
Internal organs (heart, chest, stomach).
• Imagined places
Openings, gaps, reflections
A location relative to the client (above, below, in front)
In a memory (of a bedroom, toy box, school, playground)
Any place or time other than here and now (Heaven, Planet Zog).

MEANS OF PERCEIVING
Whatever or whoever is perceiving will have some means of doing so, such as:
• Seeing, hearing, feeling, smelling, tasting
• Intuiting or ‘just knowing’
• Detecting apparatus (radar, compass, divining rod).

MULTIPLE PERCEIVERS
It is common for a client to have more than one perceiver within a perception. Each perceiver will
either inhabit a different form, do the perceiving from a different place or have a different means of
perceiving. The presence of multiple perceivers is often presupposed in the client’s language:
Part of me wants … and part of me wants …
I’m not myself today.
I need to pull myself together.
I told myself …
I can’t get in touch with my feelings.
I saw things from their perspective.
Why do I do it when I know it’s no good for me?
I’m beside myself with anger.
Multiple perceptions can also be indicated by nonverbal behaviour. A client may enact the posture and
expression of a perceiver’s body while simultaneously describing the scene from an entirely different
position. They say, “A boy’s about to be hit” while simultaneously ducking as if the event is happening
now. Their body is enacting the event from the boy’s perspective, but their narration is about what is
happening to “a boy” from the position of an observer. When such multiple perceptions occur they
usually indicate important symbolic relationships which merit exploration.97
Adopting multiple perceivers and locations is a naturally creative faculty of the human mind and in
itself is not dysfunctional. The important question is not ‘does a person occupy multiple points of
perception?’ but ‘how much choice do they have about where they perceive from, when, and for how
long?’98
Regardless of how many perceivers there are and whatever form, location and means of perception they
adopt, you can be sure that these will correspond to the way the client lives their life. And yet these
aspects of perception are usually out of their awareness – until you ask the appropriate developing
questions.

Developing the Form of Symbolic Perceptions

During Stage 2 your job is to use Clean Language to invite the client to attend to a single event, time or
place long enough for the form, location and function of each symbol, and the relationships between
symbols to develop. But how formed does each perception need to be? In principle a perception is
‘well-formed’ or ‘well-developed’ when:
• Each symbol is identified and named
• Each symbol’s attributes and function are defined
• Each symbol’s location has an address
• The relationships between symbols are specified
• The context within which the symbols relate is specified
• Each perceiver’s characteristics are distinguished.99
In practice, these conditions are far from mutually exclusive since a symbol’s location can be its
identifying attribute, and its relationship to another symbol can be its name. And because symbols have
varying significance for the client, not every symbol, relationship, context or perceiver needs to be fully
developed.
The word ‘develop’ originally meant ‘to unwrap’. Thus developing questions facilitate the client to
unwrap perceptions one at a time so that their metaphors can emerge (often blinking and somewhat
dazed) into the light of awareness. Developing questions hold time still and stop perceptions racing
from one to the next to the next. This gives the client an opportunity to explore a moment, a place or an
event in greater detail. Whether developing the form of a symbolic perception takes a few seconds or a
few sessions, you ask the same developing questions:
And when/as …
… is there anything else about that [client’s words]?
… what kind of [client’s words] is that [client’s words]?
… that’s [client’s words] like what?
… where is that [client’s words]?
… whereabouts [client’s words]?
The following is an example of how developing questions establish the name, attributes, address and
function of three symbolic rocks each of which represent a different kind of fear:
C: I have a fear.
T: And you have a fear. And when you have a fear, what kind of fear is that fear?
C: It’s like a rock.
T: And it’s like a rock. And when fear is like a rock, what kind of rock, is that rock?
 FIGURE 6.2 Developing three symbols’ name, address and function
The questions in these examples make extensive use of ‘when’ and ‘that’. Generally, ‘when’ invites the
client to consider a single event, and ‘that’ directs their attention to a particular component. Compare:
And you have a fear. And what kind of fear?
with:
And you have a fear. And when you have a fear, what kind of fear is that fear?
Using ‘when’ and ‘that’ invites the client to attend to a time when they are experiencing that specific
fear and to search for the distinguishing characteristics which make it that fear, and no other.
Each time a new symbol makes an appearance you can ask the client to consider its form, location and
function. Although not every symbol needs to be fully specified, neither you nor the client can know in
advance which symbols and which features of these symbols will be involved in the change process.
Therefore it is advisable to spend some time developing each new symbol’s characteristics so that the
client discovers which are the most significant. When numerous symbols emerge in close succession,
let your questions be guided by the client’s emphasis (nonverbal marking, verbal repetition, emotional
response). If you are unsure, simply ask about whatever the client refers to last.
In the unlikely event you direct their attention away from a symbol or feature that is fundamental, it
will reappear sooner or later – how could it not?
After a number of symbols and their relationships have been defined, the client can be requested to
further develop the form of their symbolic perception by drawing a metaphor map. As they spatially
and graphically represent what they already know, they are likely to add details, fill in gaps and notice
new relationships. Some clients prefer to represent their symbolic perceptions by sculpting, building
models, keeping a diary, writing poetry, making music, etc.
Developing a single symbolic perception is not a one-time process; rather it is a one-at-a-time process.
You use the five basic developing questions, the syntax and mapping to facilitate the client to specify
symbols, relationships, contexts and perceivers each time they consider a different perception. By the
time a number of perceptions have been developed an overall metaphor landscape will have emerged
and the client will have progressed to Stage 3.
Review of Castle Door transcript
To see how Stage 2 works in practice we return to the beginning of the Castle Door transcript. In
Chapter 3 we used this transcript to explain the fundamentals of Clean Language. Here it demonstrates
how the cumulative effect of developing questions encourages a single symbolic perception into being.
C1: I’d like to have more energy because I feel very tired.
T1: And you’d like to have more energy because you feel very tired. And when you’d like to have
more energy, that’s more energy like what?
C2: It’s like I’m behind a castle door.
T2: And it’s like you’re behind a castle door. And when behind a castle door, what kind of castle
door is that castle door?
Once the client accepts the invitation to respond in metaphor she is invited to attend to the particular
symbolic event “when behind a castle door.” Then the question “what kind of castle door is that castle
door?” asks her to consider that particular door, and by presupposition, what distinguishes it from all
other doors. She replies:
C3: A huge castle door that’s very thick, very old, with studs, very heavy.
T3: And a huge castle door that’s very thick, very old, with studs, very heavy. And when huge castle
door is very thick, very old, with studs, very heavy, is there anything else about that huge
castle door?
C4: I can’t open it and I get very very tired trying to open it.
The number of attributes describing “huge castle door” indicates its importance for the client, so we ask
her to continue attending to it. Her reply shifts from describing the door to describing the relationship
between it and the perceiver “I” behind the door. Her first four responses identify:
Three symbols (names):
‘I’, ‘energy’ and ‘huge castle door’
A relative address:
I is ‘behind’ castle door
A context:
A ‘castle’
Relationships of:
I ‘would like to have’ more energy
I ‘feel’ very tired
I ‘can’t open’ and ‘get very very tired trying to open’ castle door
Our next question uses ‘as’ to acknowledge the ongoing nature of “trying” and invites the client to
develop the form of “very very tired trying”:
T4: And you can’t open it and you get very very tired trying to open it. And as you get very very tired
trying to open it, what kind of very very tired trying is that?
C5: Like I’m struggling on my own and not getting anywhere. It takes a lot of energy. I feel like I’m
banging my head on a wall.
The client responds by describing her predicament with a number of new metaphors (‘struggling’, ‘not
getting’, ‘takes’, ‘banging’ and ‘on’) and symbols (‘anywhere’, ‘head’ and ‘wall’). Faced with an
abundance of options, we ask about ‘wall’ because it is the last symbol mentioned and to clarify
whether it is part of the castle context:
T5: And like struggling on your own, not getting anywhere, and banging your head on a wall. And as
it takes a lot of energy banging your head on a wall, what kind of wall is that wall?
C6: A castle wall of thick granite and I get very frustrated and very angry.
The client confirms that the wall is a castle wall and describes its attributes. She then switches attention
to her “very frustrated and very angry” emotional response to the situation. This indicates the existence
of at least one new symbol. So we continue the developing process by enquiring about its location:
T6: And a castle wall of thick granite and you get very frustrated and very angry. And when very
frustrated and very angry, where is that very frustrated and that very angry?
C7: In here [touches solar plexus region].
T7: And when in here, whereabouts in here?
C8: Exactly in here. Hollow. Full of darkness.
T8: And exactly in here. Hollow. Full of darkness. And when hollow is full of darkness, is there
anything else about that darkness?
C9: It’s very dry.
T9: And it’s very dry. And when darkness is very dry, it’s very dry like what?
C10: It’s dry like a desert.
T10: And it’s dry like a desert. And when dry like a desert, is there anything else about that?
C11: It keeps me in one place and it doesn’t let me move.
By maintaining attention on the location of “very frustrated and very angry” (which in this case seems
to be one symbol), the client identifies its perceptual address, “in here” and some attributes of that
place, “hollow” and “full of darkness.” Enquiring about the “darkness” reveals two metaphors: “it’s dry
like a desert” and “it keeps me in one place and it doesn’t let me move.” The latter appears to have a
similar function to the “can’t open” of castle door. To acknowledge this similarity and to give the client
time to consider the key symbols identified so far, we backtrack to the door:
T11: And it keeps you in one place and doesn’t let you move. And dry like a desert, hollow full of
darkness in here and struggling on your own and very very tired trying to open huge castle
door that’s very thick and very heavy and very old. And is there anything else about that
door you can’t open?
C12: Yes. A great big circular handle that’s all twisted around.
T12: And is there anything else about that great big circular handle that’s all twisted around?
C13: It looks like twisted pasta. It’s big. It’s old. It’s dull. It’s metal, iron, black.
The client’s attention is drawn to a new symbol, a handle, so we ask her to further describe its attributes
and develop its form.
While the client has not described every symbol’s attributes, nor defined every symbol’s location, nor
identified all the relationships between symbols, her metaphoric perception clearly is coming alive.
From now on, we can expect any new information about the client’s problem and desired outcome to
relate to the symbols in the context of the castle. If a symbol emerges which is outside of this context it
would indicate a new symbolic perception which we would then seek to develop with Stage 2
processes.
Thus far the client has identified eight symbols (assuming all the I’s, my’s and me’s refer to the same
perceiver) and numerous relationships, all within a single symbolic perception. These are summarised
in Figure 6.3.

FIGURE 6.3 Symbols and relationships in Castle Door

We return to the Castle Door transcript in the next section, and use it to illustrate how to develop a
resource symbol.

Resource Symbols
A resource is a symbol (or attribute of a symbol) that a client regards as having value, use or goodness
in its own right, or in relation to another symbol or context. Clients experience resource symbols as
empowering, uplifting, redeeming, problem-solving, mystical, balancing, grounding, protective,
enlightening, etc. – depending on their preferred metaphor.
When a resource symbol is present and its function fulfilled, it will have a beneficial influence on other
symbols (including the perceiver). A resource symbol such as a key may simply unlock a door, or it
may resolve a double bind which transforms the whole metaphor landscape.
There is no such thing as a universal resource. The word ‘love’ may be regarded as inherently positive,
but what about a ‘smothering love’? Is that negative? And if the client says, “It’s a wonderful,
smothering love I’ve wanted for a very long time,” is that positive? Only the client knows for sure.
Given that all resources are subjective and relative, it is vital that you give precedence to the client’s
judgment over your own and to the logic inherent in their metaphors. For example, our stomachs turned
at a client’s macabre description of maggots eating the eyes of a corpse, yet the client reported feeling
strengthened by the experience and released from the corpse’s evil gaze. In this metaphor, and for this
client, the maggots were a resource.
Since all symbols have attributes, and all attributes have functions, and all functions serve a purpose, all
symbols are potentially useful somewhere, somewhen or under some conditions. At any particular
moment a symbol may be:
• An overt resource, whose potential is known by the client, even if its function has yet to be
 determined.
• A latent resource, whose potential is not revealed until another symbol or context is discovered that
requires it.
• A to-be-converted resource, that needs to be released or in some way changed before its usefulness
becomes available.
The rest of this section looks at overt resources – how they manifest and how to facilitate the client to
develop them. Chapters 7 and 8 examine latent and to-be-converted resources respectively.

How overt resources manifest

Resources, like all other symbols, enter a client’s awareness as a word or phrase, an image, a feeling, a
movement, a memory, as something in their environment, or as just a vague sense. However the
moment an overt resource makes an appearance, the client will know it has a positive potential or a
beneficial effect. You, on the other hand, only know when the client tells you directly, when they
indicate it via accompanying nonverbals, or by developing a symbol’s function.

WHEN CLIENTS TELL YOU

The simplest way to know that a symbol has been recognised as a resource is when the client meta-
comments with statements such as “This is important,” “Something just shifted,” “I feel better” or “It’s
amazing.” At other times the modifiers and adjectives that clients use to describe a symbol indicate the
presence of a resource. For example:
I have a lovely warm feeling in my stomach.
Freedom is paramount.
Wow, it’s like a bird’s-eye view.
For some clients the symbols of a warm feeling, freedom and a bird’s-eye view might be problematic.
Here the use of ‘lovely’, ‘paramount’ and ‘wow’ indicate they are resources.

VIA ACCOMPANYING NONVERBALS

When clients connect with a resource symbol, you will probably notice accompanying physiological
and vocal changes. When the symbol represents their sense of identity or spiritual beliefs, the change in
the quality of their response is as palpable as a change in the atmosphere just after a storm. Since there
is no universal ‘body language’ which signals the discovery of a resource it is advisable to check your
intuitions with a clean question or two (as described in Chapters 4 and 5).

BY DEVELOPING A SYMBOL’S FUNCTION

Often clients know straight away whether a symbol represents an empowering aspect of themselves (or
a benevolent power within or beyond themselves). Sometimes however, the resourceful nature of a
symbol only becomes apparent when its attributes are developed; when, as David Grove says, it
“confesses its strengths.”100 We spent a long time asking developing questions about a toy racing car
before the client realised there was a “glint on the window that’s a part of me I’d forgotten existed.”
Sometimes resources appear as abstract or apparently insignificant symbols without much obvious
value – until they are developed and their function becomes clear. For one person an arc ten feet away
from their body turned out to be a longtime safety mechanism. For another, a thin grey line running
vertically through the middle of their body developed into a sense of “my true self, who I really am.”

Example of developing an overt resource

In the Castle Door transcript the client indicates that a number of symbols have resourceful potential:
“energy” because “I’d like to have more” of it (C1); “centurion” because he is “big and broad with
armour on and a spear” and because the client’s smile indicates a friend rather than a foe (C16); and:
C22: [Looks up and squints.] I can see the sky – I never noticed that before – hope is on the outside
[long pause]. It’s very strong. It gives me determination and the ability to keep trying.
Although “sky,” “hope” or “outside” could have been developed, we invite the client to specify and
locate “it” because this is what gives her the determination and ability to keep trying.
T22: And you can see the sky. And hope is on the outside. And when it gives you very strong
determination to keep trying, whereabouts is it when it’s very strong?
C23: I can feel it right in the middle – at the absolute core of my being.
T23: And when you can feel it right in the middle, at the absolute core of your being, it’s like what?
C24: It’s gold.
T24: And it’s gold. And when it’s gold at the absolute core of your being, what kind of gold is that
gold?
C25: Absolutely pure. It’s always been there.
T25: And absolutely pure. And absolutely pure gold’s always been there at the core of your being.
And is there anything else about that absolutely pure gold?
C26: It’s incredibly strong but malleable. Powerful. You could shape it but you couldn’t break it. An
almost silent powerful.
T26: And an almost silent powerful. And is there anything else about that absolutely pure gold
that’s incredibly strong and malleable and almost silent powerful at the absolute core of your
being?
C27: It can move.
The full extent of gold’s qualities emerge because the client attends to “it” long enough to reveal “it” as
absolutely pure, always been there, incredibly strong but malleable, you could shape it but you couldn’t
break it, an almost silent powerful, and it can move. “Can move” is particularly noteworthy because its
function contrasts with “keeps me in one place and doesn’t let me move” (C11). A symbol with this
many resourceful qualities will inevitably play a part in the evolution of the metaphor landscape.
There are clients who have spent so long examining distressing aspects of themselves that to embody
an empowering quality can be a revelation. Sometimes a well-developed resource is all that is needed to
set a change in motion. Therefore we recommend even more diligence than usual when facilitating
clients to develop the qualities and functions of resource symbols. If no obvious change results, be
patient. The time spent will invariably prove worthwhile later in the process. Once a resource has a
name, an address, clearly defined attributes and the client has an embodied connection to the symbol, it
will happily wait in the wings for an hour, until the next session or if necessary for months. As Chapter
8 shows, all it requires are the conditions to arise whereby it can fulfil its destiny.101

Specialised Developing Questions

In many circumstances the five basic developing questions will be all you need to help the client
breathe life into their metaphors. However, there are some situations where a specialised developing
question can more precisely invite attributional and locational information into the client’s awareness.
When using any specialised question there is an important rule: your question must be congruent with
the logic of the client’s metaphors. In other words, the client must indicate that the appropriate
conditions exist before the question is asked. They can do this directly, through presupposition and
other forms of inherent logic, or by nonverbal behaviour, as the next example shows.

Client Transcript: Steel Shutter

The following transcript was chosen for its unusual density of specialised developing questions (shown
in italics). We begin the second session by asking “And what would you like to have happen in your
time here, now?” The client replies:
C1: [Looking up and straight ahead.] I want to have a sense of purpose and more self worth and
confidence.
T1: And when you want to have a sense of purpose and more self worth and confidence, where are
you going when you go there [gestures along line of sight]?
C2: Over there [gestures with right hand in front and up high].
T2: And over there. And how far over there [gestures to same place]?
C3: [Looking out of window.] Way over, over the roof.
T3: And way over, over the roof. And is there anything else about way over, over the roof [looks
out of window]?
C4: It would be quite hard to get to.
T4: And when it would be quite hard to get to, what kind of quite hard to get to is that?
C5: A whole lot of traps [right hand motions down, in front].
T5: And when a whole lot of traps, how many traps could there be?
C6: One big one with a lot of offshoots.
T6: And when one big one with a lot of offshoots is there anything else about that one big trap?
C7: It’s a big steel shutter. And I can hear the ‘clunk’ when it goes shut.
T7: And a big steel shutter. And you can hear the ‘clunk’ when it goes shut. And when big steel
shutter goes shut and you hear ‘clunk’, does big steel shutter have a size or a shape?
C8: Way out of the room [both arms outstretched].
T8: And way out of the room. And when big steel shutter shuts ‘clunk’, in which direction does big
steel shutter shut?
C9: [Puts right hand in front above head and motions down.]
T9: And steel shutter shuts [replicates hand movement]. And when you hear ‘clunk’, are you inside
or outside big steel shutter?
C10: Inside [shrinks down in chair, looks up and whispers]. And I’m scared.
T10: And you’re scared. And when scared, how old could scared be?
C11: Very young.
T11: And when very young is scared, what could very young be wearing?
C12: I don’t know [long pause]. My Fred Flintstone pyjamas.
In response to the standard opening question, the client identifies a desired outcome, “purpose and
more self worth and confidence,” and via a related line of sight indicates where that is located in
perceptual space. Through a series of basic and specialised questions, the client develops a symbolic
perception for what is between them and what they want. At C10 they indicate the presence of a second
perceiver who is “scared.”
Thus far they have identified four symbols as shown in Figure 6.4

FIGURE 6.4 Symbols in Steel Shutter

Following are the specialised questions which invite the client to develop their symbolic perceptions by
identifying attributes and locating symbols.

Identifying attributes
Apart from the two basic clean questions which identify attributes (‘What kind of?’ and ‘Anything
else?’), there are three clean questions which have the specialised functions of identifying a symbol’s
size or shape, the number of members in a group or the age of a personified symbol.

SIZE OR SHAPE
A characteristic of things is that they occupy an area and their boundary defines a shape. When clients
refer to ‘a thing’ it is therefore reasonable to assume it has a size and shape about which you can
enquire:
And does [client’s words for ‘it’] have a size or a shape?
By asking about its size or shape, a symbol’s form and existence in space is given prominence. In
response to the client describing the symbol of a steel shutter we ask:
C7: It’s a big steel shutter. And I can hear the ‘clunk’ when it goes shut.
T7: And a big steel shutter. And you can hear the ‘clunk’ when it goes shut. And when big steel
shutter goes shut and you hear ‘clunk’, does big steel shutter have a size or a shape?
C8: Way out of the room [both arms outstretched].
In general this question encourages clients to discover information about a symbol’s size and shape; to
sharpen their representation of it – like adjusting the contrast on a TV screen; and to increase their
engagement with the symbol (for instance using their hands to outline it). The question often proves
valuable when the client’s initial sense of a feeling or image is vague (for an example see T18 of the
Jubilee Clip transcript in Chapter 7).

NUMBER
When the client’s language or gestures indicate that attributes or symbols exist in multiples, you simply
use their description to direct their attention to the group as a whole. The ‘Anything else?’ and ‘What
kind of?’ questions will identify the group’s distinguishing characteristics, and the ‘Where?’ and
‘Whereabouts?’ questions will elicit an address. The specialised question for directing the client’s
attention to the specific number in the group is:
And how many [name for group] could there be?
When the steel-shutter client says, “A whole lot of traps,” both the word ‘lot’ and the plural of ‘trap’
presuppose multiple traps:
C5: A whole lot of traps [right hand motions down, in front].
T5: And when a whole lot of traps how many traps could there be?
C6: One big one with a lot of offshoots.
The client responds with both a specific number “one” and a nonspecific quantity “a lot of.” Whatever
the client responds can be used to further develop the attributes of the group.

AGE OF A PERSONIFIED SYMBOL

When a client indicates the presence of a symbolic perceiver in the form of a younger version of
themselves, it is appropriate to ask:
And how old could [name for symbolic perceiver] be?
And what could [name for symbolic perceiver] be wearing?
These questions are designed to develop the younger perceiver’s body into a form which can then do
things like run away, cry or have its needs met. Before these questions are asked the client should have
clearly indicated the shift to a younger perceiver. They do this by using a personal pronoun or a proper
name and the corresponding nonverbals. As always, you must refer to the younger perceiver by
whatever name the client uses. This could be ‘he’, ‘she’, ‘little Johnny’ or, as in the following:
C10: Inside [shrinks down in chair, looks up and whispers]. And I’m scared.
T10: And you’re scared. And when scared, how old could scared be?
C11: Very young.
T11: And very young. And when very young is scared, what could very young be wearing?
C12: I don’t know [long pause]. My Fred Flintstone pyjamas.
Note that we did not ask ‘How old could you be?’ because that might have referenced the adult client
and distracted them from their current perception. Instead we first used the name “scared” and then
“very young” to direct attention to the perceiver. Once the form of the symbolic ‘child within’ emerges,
you continue to develop its surroundings and its relationships, just as you would with any other symbol.

Locating symbols
The ‘Where?’ and ‘Whereabouts?’ questions will identify the address of a symbol, but they will not
necessarily determine its distance, its direction, or whether it is inside or outside of a metaphorical
container. There are three specialised developing questions which pinpoint these additional spatial
characteristics.

DISTANCE
Whenever a client indicates that a symbol has a location in perceptual space, it must be at a distance
from the perceiver (and from other symbols) and therefore you can ask:
And how far {is} [symbol’s address]?
Directing the client’s attention to the characteristic of distance solidifies the symbol’s place in
perceptual space. The client’s response may not be in precise units of metres or miles; just as likely
they will say ‘some distance’, ‘it’s quite close’, ‘about that far [hands indicating the distance]’ or:
C2: Over there [gestures with right hand in front and up high].
T2: And over there. And how far over there [gestures to same place]?
C3: [Looking out of window.] Way over, over the roof.

DIRECTION
If a symbol moves, it must move in a direction relative to the perceiver, other symbols and its
surroundings. The client can be invited to attend to this characteristic by asking:
And in which direction is/does [symbol’s movement]?
In the transcript the client refers to a steel shutter shutting. This presupposes it must have an open
position, a shut position and a movement between open and shut. Asking for the direction of the
movement requires the client to consider all three. In this case, the client continues to answer
nonverbally by motioning with their right hand:
C8: Way out of the room [both arms outstretched].
T8: And way out of the room. And when big steel shutter shuts ‘clunk’, in which direction does big
steel shutter shut?
C9: [Puts right hand in front above head and motions down.]

INSIDE OR OUTSIDE
One of the most common ways of conceiving of something is to regard it as being a container: the body
contains feelings, the mind holds ideas, the heart is a receptacle for love, a house contains living space,
a bank is a reservoir for money, a country is a territory for citizens, a club contains members, and so on.
Container metaphors are one of the principal ways to conceive of ‘togetherness’, or conversely,
‘separateness’.102 And regarding the body as a container of our mind, thoughts, feelings, emotions and
illnesses is so common we are apt to forget it is a metaphor.
By definition all containers have an inside, an outside and a boundary in between. Structurally it makes
a big difference whether something is inside, or outside, or is the container itself. Is the wine inside or
outside the bottle, is it inside or outside your glass, is it inside or outside your body?
The question that invites the client to identify whether the perceiver or another symbol is located inside
or outside a metaphoric container is:
And is [symbol’s name] {on the} inside or outside?
In the transcript the form of the container is not clear, but the boundary, a steel shutter, is. Therefore we
ask:
C9: [Puts right hand in front above head and motions down.]
T9: And steel shutter shuts [replicates hand movement]. And when you hear ‘clunk’, are you inside
or outside big steel shutter?
C10: Inside [shrinks down in chair, looks up and whispers]. And I’m scared.
These seven specialised questions are commonly used to invite the client to develop the form and
location of a symbol, but they do not cover every eventuality. You may have to improvise a clean
question in response to particular information given by the client. To do this and remain true to their
metaphors, be sure the relevant conditions are presupposed before you design and ask your clean
question.

Concluding Remarks
Whenever a client is conscious of attaching symbolic significance to an aspect of their experience, they
form a symbolic perception – a multifaceted yet unified representation of their knowledge. Like
everything else, symbolic perceptions require a medium, a perceptual space, in which to exist.
The purpose of Stage 2 is for the client to become familiar with the form of each of their symbolic
perceptions. They do this by identifying the characteristics and location of the component symbols.
These must have unique attributes, otherwise how could the client distinguish them and how could they
know they know that?
When symbols are named, located and the relationships between them become clear, the client
establishes an affiliation with the whole perception. As they do, their body responds and reacts to what
is happening in their perceptual space. To further embody their perceptions, the client can draw a map
depicting each symbol’s key features and relative location.
While some symbols are overtly resourceful from the moment they appear, others only reveal their
beneficial qualities as they develop a form. Because clients have a special and idiosyncratic relationship
with their resource symbols, only they can determine whether a symbol is a resource. And it is possible
for a client to know a symbol is a resource but have no idea about its function – until more of their
metaphor landscape emerges.
Developing the components of a symbolic perception is not something that only happens in the
beginning of Symbolic Modelling; exactly the same process may be used once the client has progressed
to Stages 3, 4 and 5. As the self-modelling unfolds, there is a transition from developing a single
symbolic perception to considering multiple perceptions and patterns of relationships – the subject of
the next chapter.
 Chapter 7 Stage 3: Modelling Symbolic Patterns
We are not stuff that abides, but patterns that perpetuate themselves.
Norbert Wierner
In Stage 3, the client uses information gathered in Stage 2 as the raw material for noticing relationships
across multiple perceptions, and for detecting patterns in those relationships. These manifest as stable
configurations, repeating sequences and recurring motifs – over space, across time and among attributes
– as depicted in Figure 7.1.

FIGURE 7.1 Schematic of multiple symbolic perceptions

Once identified, patterns can themselves be named and symbolically represented. Thus the modelling
process repeats at a higher, more inclusive level of organisation. And because the client is the perceiver
of their own perceptions, the way they notice patterns will also reflect (be isomorphic with) those
patterns. It is this wheels-within-wheels nature of the self-modelling process that means the system
learns from itself and that changes in the metaphor landscape are reflected in changes in the client’s
thoughts, feelings and behaviour.
As Stage 3 unfolds, the logic inherent within the patterns can be explored. The client considers the
function of each symbol in relation to the overall landscape, the significance of the configuration of
these symbols and the sequence of symbolic events which repeat time and time again. During this
process the beneficial influence of resource symbols, the organisation of patterns that maintain the
status quo, and the means by which the system evolves also becomes clear.
A change to a metaphor or symbol may spontaneously occur at any time in Stages 2 or 3. Whenever
this happens, the change can be matured in Stage 5. If change does not occur, the modelling process
continues in Stage 4, Encouraging Conditions for Transformation.
During Stage 3, your role is to support the client to notice relationships across symbolic perceptions
and patterns of those relationships. In this way the client comes to recognise the organisation of their
own system. To help you fulfil your role, this chapter provides information about:
What is a Pattern?
Latent Resources
Specialised Relationship Questions
Client Transcript: Jubilee Clip – Stages 1 to 3

What is a Pattern?
Despite what they say, people do not seek help from a therapist or counsellor because they have a
problem. People seek help because they realise that, without intervention, the repetitive nature of
certain thoughts, feelings and behaviours will continue over and over. This might be repeatedly having
something they do not want (a symptom) or wanting something they do not have (an outcome). Either
way, they notice there is a pattern in their life which they do not like and do not know how to change.
Patterns are not ‘wrong’, ‘bad’ or ‘diseased’. In fact, the very patterns that no longer produce desirable,
appropriate or acceptable results will probably have made a major contribution to whatever the client
has achieved in their life.
But what exactly is a pattern? According to the Collins Concise English Dictionary a pattern is “an
arrangement of repeated or corresponding parts.” This simple definition specifies three distinguishing
characteristics of all patterns. First, they are made up of ‘parts’ or components which constitute the raw
material out of which the pattern is fashioned. Second, there is an ‘arrangement’ such that the parts are
in relation to one another And third, the arrangement ‘repeats or corresponds’ so there is some
continuity, some non-randomness, some predictability.
The dictionary definition, however, does not mention three other fundamental requirements for a
pattern to exist. Fourth, there has to be someone to notice the pattern’s existence – there has to be a
perceiver. Fifth, this someone must process the sensory input in a certain way, one that requires the
identification of similarities and differences through comparative and contrastive analysis. And sixth,
just as a painter requires a canvas on which to paint, the process of perceiving a pattern requires a
medium (such as time, space or form) over which the regularity can manifest.
Patterns exist because a perceiver notices a set of similar characteristics in contrast to other
characteristics. The similarities which constitute the pattern ‘stand out’ from the multitude of
differences; the signal is detectable from the noise. The pattern is not in the components, it is of the
components. It is what connects (links, unites) the components by virtue of a noticed regularity. Magic
Eye pictures are a good example. Looked at one way they are just a mass of random dots. Looked at
another, a figure emerges. The dots do not contain the figure. The figure exists because of the
relationship between the dots and the perception of the observer. The same principle applies whether
the pattern is ‘external’ in the physical world or ‘internal’ in an imaginary world. Beauty is said to be in
the eye of the beholder. More generally and less poetically, it can be said that patterns emerge from the
interaction between the perceptual system of the perceiver and the attributes of what is perceived.

Pattern detecting
In Symbolic Modelling there are two perceivers of pattern: the client, who detects symbolically
significant patterns across their perceptions; and the facilitator, who notices patterns in the client’s
verbal and nonverbal expressions (see Chapter 2, Figure 2.1).
Information gathered early in the clean questioning process produces a symbolic ‘sample’ of the
client’s experience. As more information materialises, the sample size increases and patterns begin to
emerge. Detecting patterns is an embodied experience that does not necessarily involve the intellect –
the client may know that some symbols are related but not necessarily how or why.103 Some of the
ways clients detect patterns are when they become aware of:
Connections and coincidences (‘This is just like …’)
Familiarity with what is happening (‘Oh no, not this again.’)
A sense of wholeness (‘So this is how it all fits together.’)
A repeating sequence (‘I’m going around in circles again.’)
The inevitability of their thinking (‘I can’t conceive of anything else.’)
The unchanging nature of the past (‘Old dogs can’t learn new tricks.’)
Isomorphism (‘I can think of dozens of examples of this in different areas of my life.’)
New ways of perceiving (‘I know all this, but I’ve never seen it this way before.’)
When clients first come face-to-face with the dominant patterns of their metaphor landscape, they may
tell you explicitly: “This sums up my whole life” or “Now it all makes sense.” Or they may be
incredulous: “I don’t believe this but …” or “No, it can’t be” or “This is weird.” Or they may be so
engaged in contemplating their patterns that for long periods of time they say absolutely nothing at all.
They may be fascinated by the intricacy and accuracy of their landscape, or stunned by the apparent
impossibility of resolving a double bind, or in awe of the beauty of a resource symbol. Meta-
commenting as above and long contemplative pauses are frequently precursors of significant change.
Whether clients detect their patterns by contemplating, by examining their metaphor maps or by
physicalising their imaginative metaphors, their system will be learning from itself and establishing
conditions by which it can reconfigure and evolve.

Types of symbolic patterns

When clients model the relationships between and across their symbolic perceptions, patterns emerge.
These patterns are made manifest as repeating relationships of space, time, form, perceiver and through
the emergence of inherent logic.

PATTERNS OF SPACE
A pattern can emerge from the spatial configuration of symbols across perceptions. This can be a
pattern of external shapes, of internal arrangements or of relative location. Spatial patterns can be
dynamic (move in a consistent manner) or static (remain in the same place). On a seashore the
movement of water in waves is dynamic, while the shape of the waves remains static.
Spatial patterns also derive from the relationships between perceptual spaces: the immediate physical
environment, what is happening on the surface and inside the body, the imaginative space operating in
the here and now, an imaginative environment happening somewhere and somewhen else. The client in
Chapter 4 with the fear of heights is an example of how the shape and location of a symbol linked three
perceptual contexts: the fire extinguisher in the physical environment, the shadowy figure she imagined
during the session, and the memory of the apparition of her deceased father who visited her childhood
bedroom.

PATTERNS OF TIME
In Chapter 3 we defined an ordered series of related symbolic events as a sequence. We described how
the four basic moving time questions can help the client navigate backwards and forwards through
events so that they discover temporal patterns. This proves useful because, despite experiencing the
same set of symptoms for many years, most clients are unfamiliar with precisely how their symptoms
start, progress and conclude – and how they repeat.
Just because a sequence is ordered does not mean that it has a linear structure with a definite beginning,
middle and end. Other common forms of temporal patterns are: cyclical sequences which repeat over
and over with no obvious start or finish, such as the seasons or the movement of the sun and moon
through the sky; threshold sequences which progress to a distinct ‘break point,’ such as boiling, melting
or volcanic eruptions; dialectical sequences that go through the stages of ‘thesis, antithesis and
synthesis’, such as the development of ideas, sexual reproduction or the merging of competing
corporations. These patterns of time are diagrammed in Figure 7.2.

FIGURE 7.2 Four common sequential patterns

PATTERNS OF FORM
A motif is a symbolic feature that repeats. It comes from the Latin for ‘motive’ – that which moves or
induces a person to act in a certain way. Thus a motif in a metaphor landscape is a recurring and
distinctive feature which motivates the perceiver. When clients connect with a dominant motif they are
moved – often to awe, sometimes to laughter, sometimes to tears.
Clients notice motifs when they either see, hear, or feel a particular form repeat in a number of their
perceptions. This may be a recurring:
• Attribute
Colour, number, shape
• Function
Transporter of water: gully, gutter, river
• Consequence
Being inside something and not being able to get out: trapped in a cave, lost in a fog, held in an
oven
• Word or phrase
The multiple use of ‘very’ in the Castle Door transcript
• Word play
In synonyms, homonyms, etymologies, ambiguities, puns, side comments and non sequiturs
• Gesture or movement
The hand patting example in Chapter 4 and the ‘figure eight’ (∞) finger movement in Chapter 5.
For some clients a motif may be so pervasive and enduring that no imaginative symbolic representation
is complete without it. Even after their metaphor landscape has transformed, something of the motif
may well carry over to the new landscape. For example, over a number of sessions a fearful client used
numerous metaphors of “being on the edge of Lover’s Leap,” “having to leap into the unknown” and
“dark thoughts leap to mind.” At his last session, when his fear had transformed, he said his life was
progressing in “leaps and bounds.”

PERCEIVER PATTERNS
Patterns also result from regularities in how the perceiver perceives, where perceptions are perceived
from, and when these shift. For example, every time a client needed to solve a problem he adopted a
“bird’s eye view” to watch a miniature version of himself acting out a scene from a play in which “tiny
me” found a way of resolving a difficulty. Once his miniature self had successfully enacted the solution
his “observing me” felt safe enough to try out the solution in real life. This strategy worked well for
him until, no matter how hard he tried, “tiny me” could not solve one type of problem. Whenever the
client thought about the problem he found himself “lost in a fog of not knowing,” became depressed
and withdrew from the world. When he discovered this pattern he realised three things: he was unlikely
to see “tiny me” solving this particular type of problem from “here”; he needed to explore this problem
from different positions (including from “tiny me’s viewpoint”); and he could continue to participate in
life while waiting to find a solution.

THE EMERGENCE OF INHERENT LOGIC

The primary focus of Stage 3 is for the client to discover relationships between, and patterns across,
perceptions. Although we have described patterns of space, time, form and perceiver separately, they
interrelate and operate as a whole. Through self-modelling, clients build an embodied sense of the rules
and logic which organise their metaphors. As they do they discover:
• How each symbol’s function relates to the overall landscape
• How the configuration of symbols and relationships encode symbolic significance
• How sequences of unwanted behaviour and symptoms repeat
• How motifs point to an underlying pattern of patterns
• How conflict, dilemma, impasse or paradox maintain the status quo
• How resource symbols can beneficially influence the landscape
• How the intention of symbols can be fulfilled
• How the system can evolve.
The rules by which things happen in the world of symbol may not conform to the laws of science but
the logic of these rules will seem just as immutable to the client. And because symbolic logic differs
from physical (cause-effect) and conceptual (propositional) logic, it allows the client to ‘step outside’
their perception of the physical and conceptual constraints which limit them.

After a pattern has been detected

When a client detects a significant pattern, a number of things can happen:
• They realise that their patterns are part of a higher, more significant pattern – a pattern of organisation
– or that an unresolvable binding pattern is operating. In these cases the client is signalling the need
to progress to Stage 4.
• They discover that a sequence can be reordered, a configuration reorganised, a motif can have an
alternate function, or that a resource can be applied in another context. In these cases, changes can
be implemented and matured using Stage 5 processes.
In other words, either there is more for the client to model, or their landscape has started changing, and
the effects of these changes can be evolved.

Latent Resources
A latent resource is a symbol or attribute of a symbol waiting to become an overt resource. A latent
resource is one that does not reveal its beneficial function until another symbol or context manifests
which requires it. Since it is impossible to predict the form or organisation of a client’s metaphor
landscape in advance, all symbols are potential resources. Latent resources become apparent in Stage 3:
Through exploring existing relationships and patterns
Through modelling inherent logic
When new symbols or contexts appear.
These are presented individually and followed by an example transcript where a latent resource
becomes overt and initiates a change.

Through exploring existing relationships and patterns

A symbol ‘X’ is a resource in relation to another symbol ‘Y’ if:
X can do something to benefit Y (e.g. A dolphin finds a mermaid’s lost ring).
X and Y can do something together they cannot do alone (e.g. A ‘he’ and ‘she’ lion produce a
cub).
The presence of X allows Y to do something (e.g. Heat from a fire releases feet glued to the floor
so they can run).
Just modelling how symbols relate can induce latent resources to manifest, to reveal their true nature, to
become overt resources. For example, one client had a sailboat metaphor for how he charted his life.
Much to his amusement he discovered that his backside responded to changes in conditions of the sea
and wind, prompting him to make micro adjustments to the tiller to keep himself on course. There were
tears of laughter when he exclaimed, “I’ve often said I must have my brains in my arse but I never
realised how accurate that was!” The resource was always there, but it was not until he explored the
network of relationships between the water, sailboat, sailor, wind and destination that he discovered the
resource was ‘behind’ him all the time.

Through modelling inherent logic

When modelling the client’s information you may notice that latent resources are often suggested,
hinted at, alluded to, or implied. Three common ways that clients indicate the existence of resources
hidden within the logic of their metaphor landscape are presupposition, complementary attributes and
ambiguity.

PRESUPPOSITION
Clients’ language contains a wealth of information that is not in the words but is presupposed by
sentence construction, implicit meaning or tonality. Presupposition is that which has to be true for a
sentence to make sense.104 It can point to latent resources as in the following examples of client
statements:
‘The dog hasn’t found its bone yet.’
Presupposes: An ongoing activity of ‘finding’ and an expectation that the bone will be found.
‘The knife doesn’t cut any more.’
Presupposes: It did cut at one time.
‘I don’t know what’s beyond it.’
Presupposes: There is a ‘beyond’ and that somebody or something else may know.

COMPLEMENTARY ATTRIBUTES
Metaphor landscapes can be regarded as systems that continue to exist because they have balancing and
homeostatic features which often appear as complementary symbols, pairings or processes. For
example, a client may have a variety of symbols that push them around and make life chaotic, only to
discover that the ground they are standing on is “firm and unyielding – solid as a rock.” Generally,
symbols that imprison also protect; where there is dark there will be light; what is below will have an
above; if all the client’s symbols are on their right, something will be on their left. Even those symbols
which exert a ‘negative’ effect on the client will usually be complemented by symbols that have an
opposite ‘positive’ effect: if “its been trying to strangle me forever,” then something equally strong
must have been preventing it from carrying out its intention of strangling.

AMBIGUITY
Homonyms, synonyms, puns and other plays on meaning make use of phonological and pictorial
ambiguity and offer all sorts of possibilities for discovering latent resources. When a client notices a
word has multiple meanings this can ‘loosen’ or ‘expand’ their perception, especially if humour is
involved. For example, one of our clients symbolised his problem as an inability to climb a muddy river
bank. During the exploration of the metaphor he realised ‘bank’ can also mean ‘certainty’ or
‘reliability’. This new-found understanding ‘invested’ him with the confidence he needed to climb the
‘deposits’ of mud so that he could ‘save’ himself.

When new symbols or contexts appear

The appearance of each new symbol or context creates an opportunity for existing symbols to fulfil
their function or purpose. The classic example is a client who suffered childhood abuse resulting in
symptoms of a knot in the stomach. Later, when a symbolic perpetrator appears, the knot comes out of
the stomach, ties the perpetrator’s hands and brings relief to the client. Once the perpetrator appeared,
the knot became a resource because it could discharge its tying role in a new way – outside the body of
the client.105
Within the metaphor landscape unresourceful symbols in one location or time can become powerful
resources in another location or time. A horrible green slime from sessions ago might act as a fertiliser
and rejuvenator for dry and barren ground which has just appeared in the landscape.
When you are working with a client over a number of sessions we recommend that you, and they, keep
a symbol inventory.

Example transcript: Still Circles of Light

Discovering and developing a latent resource often triggers a spontaneous change in another symbol,
which can result in a change to a relationship, sequence, configuration, point of perception or means of
perceiving. The client may receive comfort or hope from their discovery, they may take a more
balanced view of their situation or themselves, or they may suddenly realise a new possibility where
none existed before. The following example illustrates how developing a symptom in metaphor can
reveal a resource symbol which can change the original symptom. A participant (C) on a training
course for business people is standing around having just finished an activity called Circles of
Excellence,106 which “didn’t work.” James walks up to her and says:
J: How did it go?
C: It didn’t work because the circles won’t stand still.
J: And the circles won’t stand still. And when those circles won’t stand still, what kind of circles are
circles that won’t stand still?
C: Well, the light keeps moving [gestures high up with right hand].
J: [Continues looking to where gesture pointed to.] And when light keeps moving, what kind of light
is that light [repeats gesture]?
C: [Talking increasingly fast.] It shines down and I can’t catch up with it. Every time I attempt to step
into the light it’s not there – it’s moved. I’m trying to catch up with it and – and I want to stand
in peace and I can’t.
J: And you can’t stand in peace and you want to [pause]. And when you want to stand in peace, what
kind of stand in peace is that?
C: I relax.
J: And you relax. And what kind of relax is that relax, when you stand in peace?
C: Deep.
J: And deep. So when you stand in peace, and relax, and deep, then what happens?
C: I stop.
J: And you stop. So when you stand in peace and relax, and deep, and you stop, then what
happens?
C: The light shines on me [long pause]. It’s not that I couldn’t step into the light, it’s that the light
couldn’t catch up with me!
J: And the light couldn’t catch up with you. And now the light shines on you, and you relax, and a
deep relax, and you stand in peace, and the light shines on you, and then what happens?
C: [Shakes head, eyes fill with tears, looks down.] It’s amazing. I’m standing on a stage and a spot
light is shining on me and I’m perfectly still – and I’m not saying anything – and there are
people [gestures towards ‘audience’] who have come to see me. [Long pause.]
J: And take all the time you need to get to know what it is like now that you’re standing on a
stage, and a light is shining on you, and you’re perfectly still, and not saying anything, and
people [gestures to same place] have come to see you, and take all the time you need [pause].
In the pause James walked away. For the remaining two days of the workshop the participant kept
marvelling that it was years since she had felt so centred and relaxed.
There are a number of things to note about this transcript. First, it was conducted with conversational
voice qualities outside of a therapy environment. Second, the situation was initially perceived as one of
failure because “the light keeps moving.” Third, the problem light became a resource when she
discovered that by trying to “step into the light” she was preventing it catching up with her. Fourth,
when she stopped moving, the light could perform its function as a resource. Fifth, only two clean
questions were used.
Uncovering and developing a latent resource symbol may not produce an immediate spontaneous
change. If it does not, it only means there is more for the client to discover. Be patient and continue
facilitating the client to:
Determine the effects of having developed the resource (‘And then what happens?’).
Identify the source of resource [X] (‘And where could [X] come from?’).
Model the sequence used to (re)create the resource (‘As described later in this chapter’).
Explore the resource’s relationship to other symbols (see Specialised Questions in the following
section).
Introduce the resource to another symbol or situation (see Chapter 8, Approach F).
Latent resources may be lurking around every corner, be staring the client in the face, or waiting
patiently to be recognised and acknowledged. Even symbols which appear to have little to commend
them may turn out to have been latent resources all the while – it is just that their value was hidden,
embedded or implicit.
Developing a nose for potential latent resources is like a pig learning to snuffle out truffles – the result
is a prize of great value and well worth the effort.

Specialised Relationship Questions

Specialised questions are sometimes needed in Stage 1 to effect entry into the symbolic domain, in
Stage 2 to develop the form of individual perceptions, and in Stage 3 to identify relationships between
and across events, symbols and contexts. There are also specialised questions that identify and enact
intentional relationships.

IDENTIFYING RELATIONSHIPS
Since these questions are about identifying the relational nature of form, time and space they will
involve two symbols:

GENERAL
And what’s the relationship between [X] and [Y]?

FORM
And is [X] the same or different as/to [Y]?

TIME
And when [event X] what happens to [Y]?107

SPACE
And what’s between [X] and [Y]?
Relational questions can best be understood within the context in which they are asked, so their
function will be explained as part of the annotation to the transcript which follows this section (see T15,
T27, T40), and over the next two chapters.

INTENTIONAL RELATIONSHIPS
Intention in Symbolic Modelling simply means that a symbol has volition – a purpose, desire, choice or
causal role. Intention is inherently relational. It is what links the intender to the intended. Clients
indicate a symbol’s intention by words such as: want, need, choose, have to, would like to, try to;
must/mustn’t, should/shouldn’t; or by verbs of action – as someone or something must intend for the
action to occur.
There are a number of specialised questions for:
First, identifying intentional relationships

And what would [X] like to have happen/to do?108

And would [Y] like [intention of X]?
And then, enacting intentional relationships
And what needs to happen for [X] to [intention of X]?
And can [X] [intention of X]?
Examples of intentional relationship questions appear in the following transcript (see T22, T23, T30,
T42). They can also play a large part in identifying binds and double binds, and in creating the
conditions necessary to resolve them.

Client Transcript: Jubilee Clip – Stages 1 to 3

The following transcript is divided into segments to illustrate a variety of symbolic patterns and
specialised relationship questions. After each segment we describe the client’s emerging patterns and
how these informed our questions. The first segment is an example of asking clean questions of a
memory that was still symbolic for the client 30 years after the event. When a client models a memory,
it is the organisation of their perceptions and how the memory influences them today that is important –
not the memory’s truth or accuracy.
The transcript begins 30 minutes into the first session. The client, a manager in his forties, had already
used “vulnerable” three times when he responded to, “And what would you like to have happen?” with:
C1: Total confidence in my own abilities. There is a colleague who has incredible self-belief. He
believes he is going to succeed no matter what obstacles are put in his way. I became a senior
manager by accident and now I feel vulnerable [touches chest with left hand]. It’s like I’m
waiting to be exposed and then people will say ‘We’re proved right’. I’m thinking, how can I
disguise my weakness?
T1: And you’d like total confidence in your own abilities and now you feel vulnerable. And when
you feel vulnerable, how do you know you feel vulnerable?
C2: Failure comes to mind. I failed the 11-plus exam.109 I realised for the first time I wasn’t
invincible. I felt different about me.
T2: And you realised for the first time you weren’t invincible and you felt different about you. And
when you felt different about you, what kind of felt different is that?
C3: I see me as a young boy looking up at mother. She has a look of disappointment on her face.
She’s just read the letter saying I failed the 11-plus.
T3: And she’s just read the letter saying you failed the 11-plus. And when she has a look of
disappointment on her face, what kind of look is that look?
C4: Expressionless, drawn, eyes looking down, jaw set, a serious look of sadness. Almost a look of
resignation.
T4: And when mother’s read a letter saying you failed and mother has almost a look of resignation,
then what happens?
C5: For the first time mother distances herself.
T5: And for the first time mother distances herself. And as mother distances herself, then what
happens?
C6: He feels puzzled as it’s never happened before. He knows something wrong has happened.
Something has changed in the bond.
T6: And what kind of change could that change be when something has changed in the bond with
mother?
C7: The child feels it’s around love – it’s not as strong.
T7: And it’s around love and it’s not as strong. And when love is not as strong, then what happens?
C8: A quietness. Mother goes about her housework but doesn’t recognise the child in the same way.
T8: And a quietness, and mother doesn’t recognise the child in the same way after she has read a
letter. And what happens just before mother’s read a letter?
C9: He can sense the affection between them. There is an air of expectancy, of success. He’s happy.
T9: And when he can sense the affection between them, and an air of expectancy, and he’s happy,
then what happens?
C10: She completely read the letter. In fact I remember the moment – she completed reading the letter
twice.
T10: And she completed reading the letter twice. And she completed reading the letter twice. And
what kind of moment is that moment when she completed reading the letter twice?
C11: Not a pleasant moment. He doesn’t want to repeat it.
T11: And he doesn’t want to repeat it. And when he doesn’t want to repeat it, then what happens?
C12: He feels that something is wrong with himself.
T12: And when he feels something is wrong with himself, what kind of feels something is wrong
could that be?
C13: A bad feeling. He’s hurt somebody, caused pain.
T13: And he’s hurt somebody, caused pain. And a bad feeling. And where does he feel that bad
feeling?
C14: Here [touches chest with left hand].
T14: And whereabouts here?
C15: In the chest. In the upper chest.
T15: And in the upper chest. And what’s the relationship between a bad feeling in upper chest and
vulnerability?
C16: It’s the same as an adult feeling of vulnerability.
The beginning of the transcript is an example of how to facilitate a client to identify a temporal
sequence. The combination of basic developing and moving time questions enables him to unpack his
initial answer (C2) to “How do you know you feel vulnerable?” As is common, the client does not
describe his perceptions in a neat linear fashion. Rather the sequential nature of his pattern emerges out
of the clean questioning process. This sequence can be summarised as:
The young boy is happy, expecting success in the 11-plus exam (C9).
Until he sees the “look of disappointment” on his mother’s face (C3).
 And then “For the first time mother distances herself” (C5).
Then he knows “Something has changed in the bond” (C6) and “feels that something is wrong
with himself” (C12).
After that, mother goes about her housework (C8) and the defining moment has passed.
Figure 7.3 formats the client’s words to emphasise the sequential logic of the information. We
recommend you read this diagram in two ways: in the order the information was described by the
client, and in the sequence indicated in the columns ‘before’, ‘during’ and ‘after’.
The three events ‘during’ show that “vulnerable” is a far more complex mixture of emotions,
realisations and conclusions than might at first be obvious. Also note the defining moment: the boy’s
perception of himself, his mother, and the bond (relationship) between them all changed in the few
seconds it took for her to react to the letter. The exquisitely detailed description of a mother’s look of
disappointment, “Expressionless, drawn, eyes looking down, jaw set, a serious look of sadness. Almost
a look of resignation” indicates the significance of this moment. In addition, mother reading the letter
twice, and the client’s perception of distance as a symbolic measure of the strength of a mother’s love,
are (as you will see) early indicators of the emergence of symbolic patterns of form and space
respectively.

FIGURE 7.3 The organisation of a sequence of events

Because the client’s gesture at C14 is the same as at C1, we assume that he has modelled a complete
sequence (an operational unit) and is embodying what he is describing. T15 checks this assumption
with the specialised question: ‘What’s the relationship between?’. The client confirms the connection
between the young boy’s bad feeling and the adult’s vulnerability, so we continue to develop the
attributes of the feeling:
T16: And it’s the same feeling. And is there anything else about that feeling when it’s the same
feeling?
C17: Rapid, shallow breathing and a tightness.
T17: And rapid, shallow breathing and tightness. And when tightness, what kind of tightness could
that tightness be?
C18: [Pause.] It’s difficult to explain.
Notice how the client’s language has changed from mostly conceptual to sensory to it being difficult to
explain his experience. We ask the ‘Size or shape?’ specialised question to encourage “it” into form.
T18: And when rapid, shallow breathing and tightness, and it’s difficult to explain, does it have a size
or a shape?
C19: [Client holds left forefinger with right hand.] It’s like a finger is grabbed and pressure is applied –
I have a picture – it’s of a jubilee clip tightening around a hose.

T19: And a jubilee clip tightening around a hose. So when jubilee clip is tightening around hose,
where does that tightening come from?
C20: A screwdriver.
T20: And what kind of screwdriver is that screwdriver?
C21: Flat-bladed with a plastic handle.
T21: And is there anything else about that flat-bladed plastic-handled screwdriver that’s tightening
jubilee clip?
C22: The handle is yellow.
The client has developed a new perception, a detailed metaphor for his feelings of vulnerability
involving three symbols – a jubilee clip, hose and screwdriver. These symbols are related by:
screwdriver tightening jubilee clip, which in turn is tightening around hose. Furthermore a motif, a
pattern of form, is beginning to emerge: “around love” (C7), “jubilee clip tightening around a hose”
(C19), and, of course, jubilee clips and hoses are round, and a screwdriver tightens by going round and
round.
At this point we direct two specialised questions to screwdriver
T22: And handle is yellow. And when flat-bladed screwdriver is tightening jubilee clip around hose,
what would yellow plastic handle like to do?
C23: Undo it.
T23: And can it undo it?
C24: There’s a conflict.
T22 requests the symbol (not the client) to reveal its intention or desire. We ask the question of “yellow
plastic handle” rather than screw-driver because, logically it is the movement of the handle that
determines whether a screwdriver tightens or untightens. When screwdriver’s intention is known, the
simplest of questions, “And can it?” enquires whether it is able to enact its intention.110
The client discovers that although screwdriver is causing the tightness and feeling of vulnerability and
wants to undo jubilee clip, it cannot. This is valuable information because it indicates there are
processes operating which maintain the status quo and keep the metaphor landscape from changing.
When the client reveals “There’s a conflict” he is describing a metaphor for the binding pattern of
relationships between intentions – a higher level metaphor which encompasses both what screwdriver
is doing and what it would like to do (which are in conflict). As a new metaphor has been introduced,
we use standard developing questions to encourage the nature of the conflict into form:
T24: And there’s a conflict. And when screwdriver would like to undo jubilee clip and there’s a
conflict what kind of conflict could that conflict be?
C25: There’s a fear about undoing the clip. It’s an unknown risk.
T25: And when there’s a fear about undoing the clip, and it’s an unknown risk, what kind of
unknown could that unknown be?
C26: Is somebody going to be disappointed at the result?
T26: And is somebody going to be disappointed at the result? And when there’s a fear about undoing
jubilee clip, where could that fear be?
C27: In the chest again [touches chest with left hand].
T27: And in the chest again. And is that the same or different as vulnerable in the chest?
C28: No difference. They’re the same.
The question “What kind of conflict?” reveals a fear about undoing the clip. This implies undoing the
clip is not the problem, rather it is the fear associated with the risk of undoing the clip. But the risk is
unknown, so how can he assess whether it is a risk worth taking? Furthermore, the client’s response at
C26 is a question to himself. He wonders “Is somebody going to be disappointed at the result?” As
there is always a possibility somebody might be disappointed, there will always be a fear about undoing
jubilee clip. It is these further ‘turns of the screw’ which make the conflict unresolvable.
A clear pattern is emerging: the fear of an unknown risk is the same as “vulnerable” which is the same
as the 11-year old’s response. So we accumulate descriptions to bring the logic inherent in the pattern
to the fore, and then we ask, given all this, “What happens next?”:
T28: So fear and vulnerable are the same. And screwdriver is tightening jubilee clip round hose. And
screwdriver wants to undo jubilee clip, and there’s fear of undoing jubilee clip – is somebody
going to be disappointed at the result? And as screwdriver is tightening jubilee clip, and fear of
unknown risk, and vulnerable in chest, and screwdriver is tightening, and screwdriver wants
to undo jubilee clip, what happens next?
C29: A feeling of helplessness.
T29: And a feeling of helplessness. And when helplessness, is there anything else about that
helplessness?
C30: [Shrugs shoulders.] No.
The result of the conflict is expressed by a feeling of helplessness. The way the client says, “No”
indicates he is helpless to answer the question, thereby manifesting the pattern in the moment and
confirming the impossibility of solving this conflict within the current organisation of the metaphor.
We next ask a specialised question to direct his attention to the conditions necessary for the binding
pattern to be resolved; in this case, for screwdriver to fulfil its intention to undo jubilee clip:
T30: And no. And helplessness. So when there’s a conflict and helplessness, what needs to happen
for screwdriver to undo clip?
Notice the question does not sidestep the problem, reframe it or impose a solution; rather it
acknowledges the client’s situation by asking what needs to happen when “there’s a conflict and
helplessness.” The answer is:
T31: And a person has to do it and that person is you. And what kind of person is that person who
has to do it?
C32: Not afraid. Confident, comfortable with myself. Congruent. Well-balanced. Focused [pause]. In
harmony.
T32: And not afraid, confident, comfortable with yourself. Congruent. Well-balanced. Focused. In
harmony. And when in harmony what kind of harmony is that harmony?
C33: With people, with nature, with myself. With the good and bad things in life.
T33: And when harmony with people, with nature, with yourself, and with the good and bad things in
life, that’s harmony like what?
C34: A truly balanced person. It reminds me of a TV show and the Master from Kung Fu.
T34: And a truly balanced person, the Master from Kung Fu. And what kind of Master is that
Master?
C35: He has answers to life. A deep understanding of himself, nature, his place in the world. He can be
an example, a guide.
T35: And he can be an example and a guide. And he has answers to life, and a deep understanding of
himself, and nature, and his place in the world. And when he has a deep understanding of
himself, where could that deep understanding come from?
C36: A large part from himself. And some external. But mostly it comes from within.
T36: And some external but mostly from within. And whereabouts within does deep understanding
come from?
C37: The head. The brain. And all the senses.
T37: And when deep understanding comes from the head, the brain and all the senses, is there
anything else about where deep understanding comes from?
C38: It includes emotional things – I picture a heart.
T38: And what kind of heart is that heart?
C39: A mature heart.
T39: And a mature heart. And is there anything else about the mature of that heart?
C40: It’s had lots of experience. It’s red. It’s a picture of a heart, but it doesn’t look like a real one.
By repeatedly asking developing questions the client’s attention is continually directed to the form of
the emerging resource, the “me” who has to undo jubilee clip. The result is a new symbolic perception
of a Kung Fu master with a mature heart. The ‘Where come from?’ questions are used to direct
attention to the source of the resource – which is usually even more resourceful than the resource itself.
The client now knows that when “me” has these qualities he will be able to undo jubilee clip, even if
there is an unknown risk of disappointing somebody. However, the last ten responses have all been in
the land of ‘what needs to happen’ and not, what is happening. And why has he not already developed
the qualities needed and applied them? Asking the specialised question ‘When [event X] what happens
to Y’ directs his attention to where the answer lies – in the current relationship between mature heart
and the person who has to undo jubilee clip:
T40: And when red mature heart has had lots of experience, what happens to a person who has to
undo jubilee clip that’s tightening?
C41: I feel like the pupil. I’ve not reached the level of maturity required.
T41: And when you feel like the pupil and you’ve not reached the level of maturity required, is there
anything else about the level of maturity required?
C42: It’s not to do with age. It’s to do with upbringing and principles and thought processes. I don’t
think I’ve had the upbringing [pause]. I’ve only started to grow over the last few years.
“I feel like the pupil” suggests the client is beginning to recognise that three of the four perceptions
identified so far – his recurring thoughts and vulnerable feelings about his work, his memory of being
the 11-year old, and the metaphor of jubilee clip tightening – all symbolise the same pattern.
Interestingly, the pupil has complementary attributes to that of the Master (a teacher), which constitutes
a fourth perception.
You may also notice a spatial pattern. Compare: “I don’t think I’ve had the upbringing” and “I’ve not
reached the level of maturity required” with a Master who has “a deep understanding of himself,” a
mother’s “eyes looking down” and “a young boy looking up at mother.” This clearly indicates an up-
down orientation to the landscape.
The client’s last statement C42 announces a new metaphor, “grow” – a naturally-changing process
(with an implied up-down orientation) that may resolve his bind – so we ask a specialised question for
him to identify the conditions under which he can grow to “the level of maturity required”:
T42: And you don’t think you’ve had the upbringing and you’ve only started to grow over the last few
years. And what needs to happen to grow to the level of maturity required?
C43: I wonder if I can ever achieve it. There’s an element of doubt. I’m looking for an external
experience [laughs]. Like an exam!
T43: And you’re looking for an external experience to reach the level of maturity required. And what
kind of exam could that exam be?
C44: A very difficult exam.
T44: And a very difficult exam. And is there anything else about a very difficult exam?
C45: I haven’t got the background to sit it. I’m inadequate to take the exam.
The client realises he is looking for an external experience so that he can reach the level required to
undo jubilee clip, but he is in a paradox: although he needs to pass a very difficult exam, he does not
have the background to sit it, so can never pass. It is the inherent logic of this paradox that keeps him
going round and round (see Figure 7.4).
 FIGURE 7.4 The organisation of a paradox
We continue by asking the client to self-model the paradoxical nature of the binding pattern:
T45: And when you haven’t got the background, and you’re inadequate to take the exam, what kind
of inadequate could that inadequate be?
C46: My childhood upbringing. Not being exposed to intellectual stimuli. I didn’t grow as fast as I
might. Everything seems to come late.
T46: And everything seems to come late. And when you didn’t grow as fast as you might, is there
anything else about not growing as fast as you might?
C47: I’ll have to prove myself more than once.
T47: And when you’ll have to prove yourself more than once, how many times will you have to
prove yourself?
C48: Twice, to be his equal.
T48: And twice, to be his equal. And what kind of twice could that twice be?
C49: It’s like running round a track and I have to overtake him twice.
T49: And like running round a track and you have to overtake him twice. And running and running.
And you’ll have to prove yourself more than once. And you have to overtake him twice. And
as you’re running round that track and you have to overtake him twice, what kind of him
could he be?
C50: My ideal me.
Not only is the client’s background inadequate, he also discovers the bind has an additional constraint:
he has to prove himself twice. (Remember his mother read the 11-plus failure letter twice.) By C49 the
client has modelled enough of his binding pattern to specify the entire paradox in a higher-level
‘running round a track’ metaphor. His predicament is abundantly clear and the logic of the metaphor
proposes the question, who is the “him” he has to overtake twice? T49 seeks to find out, and its
formulation is worth noting. The question’s repetitiveness honours the twice-ness and the running-
roundness of the metaphor, further encouraging him to embody the whole binding pattern. His response
only deepens the paradox: “him” turns out to be his “ideal me.”
So far a number of interrelated metaphors have emerged: a change in the strength of the bond between
the boy and his mother; screwdriver tightening jubilee clip while wanting to undo it but fearing
disappointing somebody with the result; having to pass an exam without an adequate background to sit
it; and having to run round a track to overtake his ideal self twice.
While all of this might seem like doom and gloom, there is great value in the client embodying his
patterns. At one level of understanding none of this is new to him. At another, by symbolising his
lifetime pattern he has never before seen himself so clearly. And as you will see in the next chapter,
Kung Fu master and mature heart have yet to play their part.

FIGURE 7.5 Jubilee Clip’s metaphor map

Concluding Remarks
Recognising patterns and making sense of them (modelling) is a universal human endeavour. Clients
can learn to self-model by becoming familiar with the pattern of their metaphors and symbolic
perceptions. Patterns come in all shapes and sizes, and how the client detects, recognises and relates to
their patterns will be isomorphic with those patterns.
While clients usually have a few symbols that are overtly resourceful, every one of their symbols might
be a latent resource – a resource-in-waiting. The client’s most useful resource is often in the least
expected place, at the most unexpected time, and in the most unlikely form. If the required resource
were obvious, the client would have already applied it. Therefore to facilitate the client to discover and
utilise their resource symbols you must go beyond your, and invite them to go beyond their, everyday
thoughts about time, space and form.
As a metaphor landscape develops, the configuration and sequence of components, relationships and
patterns may spontaneously reorganise – in which case you proceed to Stage 5. If they do not, continue
facilitating the binding patterns to emerge into the client’s awareness. This is a prerequisite for
encouraging the conditions for their transformation (Stage 4), to which we turn next.
 Chapter 8 Stage 4: Encouraging Conditions for
Transformation
Freedom does not mean escape from the world; it means transformation of our entire way of
being, our mode of embodiment, within the lived world itself.
Francisco Varela, Evan Thompson and Eleanor Rosch
The stages of the Five-Stage Process are cumulative. In Stage 1 the client starts their journey into
metaphor. During Stage 2 they name and locate symbols and identify the relationships within
individual symbolic perceptions. In Stage 3 they recognise relationships across multiple perceptions
and patterns in those relationships. This chapter describes Stage 4: how to facilitate the client to model
the overall organisation of their metaphor landscape and how this can change and evolve. We address:
The Nature of Change
The Nature of Attending
Resource Symbols as Change Agents
Modelling the Organisation of Binds and Double Binds
Client Transcript: Jubilee Clip – Stage 4
The Six Approaches

The Nature of Change

Change is a strange beast. It is easy to recognise, but not so easy to define. It requires a perceiver to
compare an event ‘after’ with an event ‘before’, and can therefore only be detected retrospectively. For
change to be noticed it must somehow be embodied so that it can be seen, heard, felt, smelled, tasted or
otherwise sensed. During Symbolic Modelling change can be:
SPONTANEOUS when the client notices a change in:
The metaphor landscape (with or without knowledge of how it happened)
• Oh, the key’s just unlocked the lock.
• I don’t know what happened, but the door is now open.
Their point of perception or means of perceiving
• Hey, how did I get outside the door?
• I felt trapped but now I see the door is protecting me.
INITIATED BY:
The client suggesting a change could, should or may occur
• The silver key can unlock the lock.
• Maybe I could knock down the door.
The therapist asking a symbol for its intention which is then enacted, or introducing a resource
to another symbol (see Approaches E and F below)
• And when lock is locked, what would key like to do?
• And would key be interested in symbol going to locked lock?
Clients notice a change in their metaphor landscape when the attributes or location of a symbol
changes. This change in form can embody a change to a relationship between two symbols, a change in
the configuration of symbols, a change to a sequence of events, a change to a motif, or a change in the
overall pattern of organisation. Thus change can happen at different levels of organisation.
Furthermore, each level has its own ‘laws’ or logic of change, and a change at one level influences the
potential for change at other levels: “the lower sets the possibilities of the higher; the higher sets the
probabilities of the lower.”111
Not all changes are of the same magnitude or significance. Some happen on many levels
simultaneously while others require time for the effects to cascade, percolate and ripple through the
landscape. Significant change is often marked by the crossing of a threshold – a space, time or form
boundary.
There are two fundamentally different types of change: translation which occurs within a level, and
transformation which takes place between levels.

Translation
When a symbol or a relationship between symbols changes without significant alteration in a pattern
organising the metaphor landscape, a translation, rather than a transformation, will have occurred. A
good example is someone who cycles through periods of being ‘down in the dumps’ followed by
periods of ‘feeling on top of the world’. If they come to you depressed and leave feeling better, at best
this will be a translation – unless the down-up-down-up pattern changes.
Ken Wilber points out that it is a common mistake to interpret bigness, broadness or a large number of
translations as transformation.112 New and more are not necessarily better. People make huge changes
in their lives, only to find they are repeating the same pattern in a new city, with a new partner, in a new
job.
Chapter 2 described the effects of translation as rippling horizontally across a landscape without
transforming the nature of the landscape itself. It is possible, however, for numerous translations to
accumulate until they cross a threshold to transformation, like the straw that breaks the camel’s back.
For many clients, translatory change is all they want. Why rebuild the house when all that is required is
to move the furniture? Other clients want or need to make a more significant shift in their lives – to
perceive, to be in, and to relate to the world in a different way. They may have undertaken many
translatory changes before noticing that a larger pattern is operating. In these cases a qualitatively
different type of change is required – a transformation.

Transformation
When evolution approaches a threshold, the conditions for transformation emerge. Transformations are
discontinuities within a continuous process of evolution. They are the surprising and defining moments
that ‘shift’ from one configuration to another, ‘break’ with the past, ‘cross over’ a threshold, or make an
evolutionary ‘leap’ to the next more inclusive and more significant level of organisation.
According to Ken Wilber, transformation is characterised by a reorganisation such that the new
organisation builds upon, preserves and encompasses the fundamental features of its component parts
and predecessors – it transcends and includes. A new organisation emerges with additional properties
that were neither in any of the parts, nor predictable from the relationships between the parts.
Transformation requires ‘vertical’ change so that:
whole new worlds of translation disclose themselves. These “new worlds” are not physically
 located someplace else; they exist simply as a deeper perception (or deeper registration) of the
available stimuli in this world … Translation shuffles parts; transformation produces wholes.113
Transformation is a change to a higher, more significant level of organisation. Higher and more
significant “because more of the [client’s] universe is reflected or embraced in that particular
wholeness.”114
Transformation is characterised by indeterminacy, unpredictability and novelty. You cannot know
when, where, how or what form a transformation will take, until after it has occurred. Transformations
involve an element of surprise.
Given that transformations encompass the above characteristics, how is it possible to make them
happen during psychotherapy?
The answer is, it isn’t. When appropriate conditions emerge, or as Buddhists say, ‘arise’, transformation
occurs spontaneously. All you and your client can do is to work with what happens in such a way as to
encourage conditions for transformation. This would be a random process were it not for the
developmental, progressive nature of Nature, whose directionality is often represented by an arrow – an
arrow that does not travel in a straight line, but one that spirals and meanders as it progresses.115
How do conditions for transformation materialise in a metaphor landscape?
When the landscape gets complex enough, then a simpler, more inclusive pattern becomes apparent;
when symbols, relationships and patterns are separated and distinguished enough, they become
available for a new synthesis; when certain structures, processes or motifs are recognised as inherent, a
new responsiveness and flexibility becomes possible; when symbols realise they will not be forced to
change, they become prepared to relate in new ways; when symbols and patterns are perceived within
larger contexts and purposes, then perception itself becomes ready to change.

The Nature of Attending

What is the role of the client in the transformation of the metaphor landscape? The landscape is not a
disembodied, stand-alone entity. Its existence, meaning and significance depend on the client, its
creator. Changes in the client’s attention and ways of perceiving are in “relational exchange” to
changes in the metaphor landscape, and vice versa. Neither can evolve alone; they must “coevolve.”116
Therefore personal change is intimately linked to changes in the nature of attending. And surprisingly
there are only a few ways in which the process of attending can change. It can shift from what is
represented in perception to what is not, from narrow to broad (or vice versa), from single to multiples
(or vice versa), from a lower level to a higher level (or vice versa), and from part to whole (or vice
versa). These shifts in attention are massively overlapping, interdependent and relative; they can occur
spontaneously, or may be prompted by your clean questions.
By developing individual symbolic perceptions, Stage 2 focuses on what is represented and invites the
client to narrow their attention to one fundamental part at a time. Stage 3 is more about noticing what is
not represented and the patterns across perceptions. This requires a broader, longer, higher, more
holistic way of attending. Stage 4 goes further. It is less about single shifts and more about strategic and
organisational shifts in attention.

Directing attention strategically and organisationally

In Symbolic Modelling your active involvement is confined to using Clean Language to orient the
client’s attention. This chapter is about using clean questions strategically; that is, in combination and
with the aim of encouraging conditions for change and transformation. We have identified six
approaches, or practices, which do just this:
Concentrating Attention
Attending to Wholes
Broadening Attention
Lengthening Attention
Identifying Necessary Conditions
Introducing Resource Symbols
These approaches are not neatly packaged, self-contained techniques or procedures. Instead, they are
general fuzzy principles which respect the indeterminate nature of change. They require you to honour
each client’s unique organisation, inherent logic and characteristic ways of perceiving. They offer the
client an opportunity to transcend and include their existing organisation by cooperating with the
idiosyncratic processes and intrinsic directionality of their unfolding evolution.
The Six Approaches were derived from observation and analysis of what happens when clients undergo
change, release a binding pattern, recode their way of being, connect with a higher purpose, make new
meaning of their lives, experience a defining moment, or in a thousand other ways perceive themselves
and their world in a different way.
The Six Approaches are summarised below and Stage 4 of the Jubilee Clip transcript is used to
illustrate how they operate in practice. Each approach is discussed in detail later in the chapter.

A. CONCENTRATING ATTENTION
By repeatedly directing the client’s attention to a single aspect of their metaphor landscape you
encourage them to concentrate on one form, one space, one time. This invites them to notice additional
parts, additional attributes, additional functions and additional relationships – each with the potential
for initiating change.

B. ATTENDING TO WHOLES
By repeatedly directing the client’s attention to their metaphor landscape’s multiple forms, places and
times you encourage them to accumulate more and more perceptions into one simultaneous mind-body
space. This invites them to identify patterns of relationships, patterns of patterns and patterns of
organisation. As a result they recognise higher and higher levels of communion, of cooperation, of
interdependency, of connection to something larger – the next inclusive whole.

C. BROADENING ATTENTION
By repeatedly directing the client’s attention to the edge, to outside and beyond the boundaries of their
metaphor landscape you encourage them to notice what is external, to discover new forms and
relationships over a larger area, to widen contexts and to extend ranges – all in the service of a broader
perspective.

D. LENGTHENING ATTENTION
By repeatedly directing the client’s attention to either the origin or consequences of the symbolic event
currently in their awareness, you encourage them to sequentially shift the locus of the perceptual
present to before ‘the beginning’ or after ‘the end’. This invites them to make historical connections,
identify patterns which repeat over time, encounter new resources or (re)discover a sense of their
purpose – any of which can lead to a reorganisation of existing perceptions.
E. IDENTIFYING NECESSARY CONDITIONS
By repeatedly inviting the client to discover what needs to happen for a change to take place in their
metaphor landscape, you encourage them to find the logical associations between the first thing that
needs to happen and all the subsequent things that need to happen for a desired change to occur. In this
way a symbol’s function can be enacted or its intention satisfied, and this inevitably influences other
parts of the landscape.

F. INTRODUCING RESOURCE SYMBOLS

By inviting a resource symbol to connect and form (or reform) a relationship with another symbol –
introducing one symbol to another – you offer the symbols an opportunity to commune; to transfer
properties and information; for one to catalyse or activate the other; or for them to integrate into a new
whole. Often this will initiate a reorganisation of the whole landscape.
In summary, directing attention strategically is first and foremost a way of working with and within the
inherent logic of your client’s patterns. Second, it invites them to discover new information, make new
connections, take a different perspective and have insights. And third it is a way of encouraging
conditions for transformation to arise.
Next we examine resource symbols and the role they play in the transformation of the metaphor
landscape. Following this we turn our attention to the binds and double binds which prevent clients’
landscapes from transforming spontaneously.

Resource Symbols as Change Agents

In Chapter 6 we explained how resources within a metaphor landscape exist in a variety of guises:
overt, latent and to-be-converted.
Overt resources are symbols which the client values, even if their exact function has yet to be
determined. They can appear at any time: at Stage 1 as a conceptual word or nonverbally; in Stage 2 as
a symbol or attribute of a symbol; during Stage 3 as a relationship or pattern; and as a result of using
the Six Approaches in Stage 4.
Latent resources are symbols which do not reveal their potential until a corresponding symbol or
context appears which requires that resource (during Stages 3, 4 or 5).
To-be-converted resources are symbols that:
• Are overt resources that cannot fulfil their intention. They are in a binding pattern and need to be
released from their current function or place in the metaphor landscape.
• Need to change before their resourcefulness becomes apparent or available. The blackest pit, the most
frightening monster, the most painful trap are usually the last symbols the client expects to become
a resource or to have a valuable purpose – until they have transformed.
• Generally this releasing, converting or transforming takes place during Stages 4 or 5.

Discovering resources in Stage 4

Five of the six strategic approaches encourage the client to discover, or rediscover, additional resources
by repeatedly directing their attention to:
Lower levels = A. Concentrating Attention
Higher levels = B. Attending to Wholes
Different spaces = C. Broadening Attention
Different times = D. Lengthening Attention
Logical connections = E. Identifying Necessary Conditions
Approach F, Introducing Resource Symbols, uses one resource to release or convert a less-than-
resourceful symbol.

Applying resources
Resource symbols are no different from any other symbol except that they have the ability, power or
function to initiate or create a positive change. They do this by interacting with other symbols in the
metaphor landscape. This creates an opportunity for symbols to connect and form (or reform) a
beneficial relationship, to transfer properties or information, to catalyse and activate each other, or to
integrate into a new whole. A resource can fulfil its function in three ways:
• Spontaneously – an interaction just happens
• By the client initiating the interaction
• When the therapist enquires if a resource symbol’s intention can be enacted (Approach E), or asks if
the resource would like to be introduced to another symbol (Approach F).
Although a resource symbol may be identified in one session, or exist at one time or in one place, all
symbols in the landscape are part of a unified space-time. This means that once a symbol’s
resourcefulness becomes apparent it has the potential to form a relationship with any other symbol
regardless of when or where either was discovered. When a resource’s intention is known it can
immediately be enacted, or it can wait in the wings to be used later in the process.117

Modelling the Organisation of Binds and Double Binds

Every living system has self-preserving processes which maintain organisational coherence and
continuity, and which act to conserve the system’s identity. That is, the system is able to change at one
level in order to maintain itself at another, higher level. However the same processes that keep a system
from dissolving or escalating out of safe bounds can also act to inhibit, brake, prevent, constrain, hinder
and block development and transformation. We use bind as a generic term for any repetitive self-
preserving pattern which the client has not been able to change, and which they find inappropriate or
unhelpful.118
Although binds take many forms, there are four commonly occurring ‘prototypical’ binds – conflict,
dilemma, impasse and paradox – which replicate unwanted symptoms, tie up resources and prevent
resolution:

CONFLICT
A struggle between equal and opposing forces (intentions).
e.g. Part of me wants to and part of me doesn’t.

DILEMMA
A situation necessitating a choice between two equally (un)desirable alternatives (intentions).
e.g. I’m damned if I do and damned if I don’t.119

IMPASSE
A situation in which (the intention to) progress is stopped by an insuperable difficulty (intention
to block).
 e.g. I keep banging my head against a brick wall.

PARADOX
A self-contradictory statement or statements (which include two contradictory intentions).
e.g. My head aches through trying to stop you giving me a headache.120
Binds can be expressed conceptually, metaphorically or nonverbally, and they come in all shapes and
sizes. When expressed conceptually they may be simple one-line descriptions like that of Groucho
Marx, “I don’t want to belong to any club that will accept me as a member” or convoluted, recursive
and multilayered conundrums, as this example from R. D. Laing’s Knots demonstrates:
I never got what I wanted.
I always got what I did not want.
What I want
I shall not get.
Therefore, to get it
I must not want it
since I get only what I don’t want.
What I want, I can’t get.
What I get, I don’t want.
I can’t get it
because I want it.
I get it
because I don’t want it.
I want what I can’t get
because
what I can’t get is what I want.
I don’t want what I can get
because
what I can get is what I don’t want.
I never get what I want.
I never want what I get.121
Stripped of their narrative and drama, these schematised ‘knots’, as Laing calls them, are mind-
bendingly fascinating and frighteningly familiar. When clients express their binds in metaphor,
however, it is usually much easier for them to see, hear and feel how their binds are operating and thus
to model the organising pattern. As you will see, when the Jubilee Clip client says it is like trying to run
round a track to overtake his ideal self twice only for the gap to widen the more he grows, it is obvious
to him and to us that this is an impossible problem to solve within the current organisation. For students
of binding patterns numerous other examples can be found in the transcripts at the back of this book.
A bind can only exist when there are two or more components which have complementary, yet
opposing or contradictory intentions. It is the inherent balance of forces in a conflict, equality of
choices in a dilemma, insurmountable blockage at an impasse, and self-contradictory nature of a
paradox, which means binds cannot be resolved within their existing logic or organisation. This is why
apparent solutions are either temporary (don’t last), illusory (the way out just leads back in), or
translatory (the form changes but not the pattern).
The inherent logic and organisation of a bind compels each component to fulfil its function in the
service of maintaining the bind. This means that regardless of whether a symbol is bound, or is part of
the binding mechanism, it is unable to fulfil any other function. A jailer restricts the freedom of a
prisoner, and in so doing is himself restricted. However, it only takes one component to transform (not
translate) for the existing organisation of the bind to dissolve, evaporate or extinguish. When this
happens, what was bound and what was binding have an opportunity to use their attributes as resources
in other ways and in other contexts.
Resolving a single bind is relatively easy. The client simply reformulates (reframes) the problem and
moves on, or they accept its unsolvable nature and stop fighting, or they randomly decide between
alternatives, or they choose a different route altogether, or they ignore the paradox, or a thousand other
solutions. Paul Watzlawick uses one of Chaucer’s Canterbury Tales to illustrate this point. A young
knight is presented with a series of choices. Each time he chooses he is faced with yet another dilemma.
Eventually he finds himself married to an old hag who, on their wedding night, says he can either
accept her as she is and she will always be a faithful wife, or she will turn herself into a beautiful
maiden who will never be faithful. The knight, after much thought, refuses the choice itself. At that
moment the hag transforms into a beautiful maiden who is faithful to him for the rest of his life.122
But what if life is not that simple? What if, for some reason or other, resolving the bind is unachievable
or unacceptable? What if the potential for transformation is itself bound? Then another pattern – a
double bind – must be operating to preserve a larger organisation.
Gregory Bateson clarified the organisation of double binds. He noted that a secondary bind prohibits
escape from the primary bind because it “conflicts with the first at a more abstract level” which if
opposed or ignored would “threaten survival.”123 Thus, perfectly good solutions for the primary bind
cannot be implemented because they would conflict with, or trigger, another binding pattern. Bateson
points out that a common secondary bind involves the client being unable to speak about their
predicament for fear of triggering the primary bind (e.g. “It would kill my mother if I told her the
truth”). In more complex, and thankfully rare cases, the way out of the double bind may itself be
constrained by yet another bind – forming a triple bind. One way or another, the client is bound by their
own binds and the more they struggle, the more hopeless and helpless it seems.

How clients transform double binds

Although the organisation of each binding pattern is unique, we have observed a general flow to how
double binds transform.
When a client identifies two or more symbols whose relationship is such that their intentions cannot be
enacted or fulfilled, they have discovered a primary bind. As they explore the logic of the primary bind:
(a) The primary bind translates and repeats the same binding pattern, but in a different form, or
(b) A secondary bind becomes apparent, or
(c) The primary bind spontaneously transforms – it transcends its limitations and includes the
creativity of the current organisation.
If (a) occurs, the client discovers whether the translation is useful and productive, or whether they are
just ‘going round the loop’ again.
If (b) occurs, the client can identify the components of the secondary binding pattern, and specify its
relationship to the primary bind so that the nature of the interlocking patterns which constitute the
double bind become apparent. They will then be faced with the same three options – to translate, or in
the case of a triple bind to continue modelling at an even higher level, or to transform – but at a higher,
more significant, more inclusive level of organisation.
If (c) occurs, the client can continue and discover the unexpected effects of the transformation. (See
Figure 8.1)
As a client models the organisation of their double bind they inevitably start to experience and manifest
its symptoms. Although they are unlikely to enjoy the experience, it is part of the process because as
they embody the bind they shift from talking about it to modelling it happening in the moment. For
many clients, truly acknowledging ‘this is the way it is’ and accepting ‘current reality’ is the first step
on the road to transformation.124
Accepting current reality sounds simple, yet clients rarely face the unresolvability of their double bind
without a struggle. Instead they experience frustration, angst, grief, anger or depression as they come to
terms with and accept the fact that even their most tried and tested technique, their most successful
method, their cleverest trick, their most beloved reframe, will never resolve this particular conundrum.
Eventually they come to realise that these techniques, methods, tricks and reframes are often part of the
bind.
As clients become aware of their binding patterns they are faced with a stark choice: to be forever
constrained to act out of the bind, or to transform it by venturing into that most fearful of places, the
unknown. No wonder translation, disguised as transformation, is often a preferred option.
When binding patterns do transform, some clients report how strange the transformed pattern feels at
first. Others become amnesic for the old problem. Mostly however it is through feedback that the
significance of the change becomes apparent – when they notice themselves automatically responding
in new ways to old situations, or their changed behaviour is pointed out by others.

FIGURE 8.1 How clients can model and transform double binds
 NOTE: ‘Operational Closure’ occurs when the pattern of relationships is well enough specified
that an operational unit manifests in awareness (see Approach B, for a fuller explanation).

Facilitating the client to model their double binds

In Symbolic Modelling it is not your job to resolve the client’s bind. Rather your function is to facilitate
the client to model their metaphors so that the organisation of their binding pattern becomes clearer and
clearer to them. As a result, the conditions for transformation arise. The general process for facilitating
clients to model and transform their double binds is summarised in Figure 8.2, followed by an example
from the Jubilee Clip transcript.
1. When the client identifies two or more symbols whose intention or function cannot be enacted or
satisfied, facilitate them to model the pattern preventing resolution and then to identify a metaphor
for the primary bind.
2. Use the Six Approaches to facilitate the client to explore the primary bind’s inherent logic until
either:
• A secondary bind appears (then go to step 3), or
• It spontaneously changes (then go to step 5).
3. Facilitate the client to self-model the pattern of the secondary bind and its relationship to the primary
bind, and identify a metaphor for the double bind.
4. Use the Six Approaches to facilitate the client to explore the inherent logic of the double bind, until
either:
• A tertiary bind appears (in which case continue modelling the whole organisation), or
• It spontaneously changes (then go to Step 5).
5. Mature all changes as they occur (as described in Chapter 9) until either:
• The binding pattern translates and repeats in a different form (i.e. you are back at either Step 1
or 3), or
• The binding pattern transforms.
FIGURE 8.2 Facilitating clients to model and transform double binds
When you are modelling the client modelling their double bind, the chances are you will start to
embody the client’s binding pattern as well. At these moments you may feel uncomfortable, lost or
stuck.
If this happens, it pays to know your own patterns so that you can be aware of the difference between
the client’s bind and yours. At this point it is also vital that you stay true to the Symbolic Modelling
process. Doing anything else may send one of two signals to the client: either you cannot handle their
experience, or you do not believe they can handle their experience. Either way you risk reinforcing their
binding pattern.
Even after years of facilitating clients to self-model, we still find something magical and sacred about
the moment when a binding pattern transforms and a metaphor landscape evolves. At these moments
we are grateful to be working alongside the developmental and progressive arrow of evolution.

Client Transcript: Jubilee Clip – Stage 4

The next part of the Jubilee Clip transcript illustrates how binds and double binds manifest, how to
encourage conditions for transformation, and how three of the Six Approaches – Attending to Wholes,
Lengthening Attention and Introducing Resource Symbols – work together within the logic of the
client’s metaphors.
Two of the Six Approaches have been employed in the previous part of the transcript (Chapter 7):
Concentrating Attention facilitated the emergence of the resource symbol of the Kung Fu master’s red
mature heart (T31–T39); and Identifying Necessary Conditions helped clarify the organisation of the
binding patterns (T30 and T42). The client also began to discover the pattern of his binds, which can be
summarised as:
• Screwdriver wants to undo jubilee clip. Yet because of a conflict (a fear of an unknown risk that
somebody might be disappointed as a result), is actually doing the opposite.
• Not being able to resolve the conflict leads to a feeling of helplessness (which means he cannot have
confidence in his own abilities and is vulnerable to being exposed).
• He feels like a pupil who has not reached the level of maturity required to become the person who has
to undo jubilee clip. He needs to pass a very difficult exam, but he does not have the background to
sit it. This is like running round a track trying to overtake his ideal self twice.
In Chapter 7 the transcript concluded with:
C49: It’s like running round a track and I have to overtake him twice.
T49: And like running round a track and you have to overtake him twice. And running and running.
And you’ll have to prove yourself more than once. And you have to overtake him twice. And
as you’re running round that track and you have to overtake him twice, what kind of him
could he be?
C50: My ideal me.
Although the client is clearly in a bind, there may be a way out. If he continues growing and running
round the track, presumably he will eventually overtake his “ideal me” twice. Or will he? Our next few
questions aim to direct his attention to the paradox and move time forward so that he discovers whether
the potential resolution “grow” does offer a way out:
T50: And your ideal me. And as you’re running round that track and you have to overtake your ideal
me twice, what happens as you grow?
C51: It changes the situation.
T51: And as you grow it changes the situation, and then what happens?
C52: The gap widens. The more I grow the more the gap widens.
T52: And the gap widens. And the more you grow the more the gap widens. And the more you grow
the more the gap with your ideal me widens. And the more you’re running round a track, the
more the gap widens [pause]. And then what happens?
C53: It’s a no-win situation.
T53: And it’s a no-win situation. And is no-win situation the same or different as helplessness?
C54: It’s the same.
Repeatedly asking ‘And then what happens?’ lengthens time forward (Approach D), giving the client
an opportunity to consider the consequences inherent in the logic of the metaphor. He discovers this is
no ordinary gap because the more he grows (which is his only chance of proving himself), the more the
gap widens and prevents the possibility of him overtaking his ideal self and resolving the paradox. Thus
the solution to the bind is prevented by a further bind – a classic double bind. (And notice the parallel
between a gap widening and the memory of his mother distancing herself after she read the letter
twice?)125
The formulation of T52 is a method David Grove developed for working with conflicting intentions. By
recapitulating the elements of the bind several times, the client is given time to embody the binding
nature of the pattern as a whole. In this context, ‘Then what happens?’ means ‘What are the effects of
you being bound in this way?’. The client responds with the metaphor “It’s a no-win situation.” The
result of this double bind is the same as the result of the previous unresolvable conflict – no-win is the
same as helplessness.
By now the client has been round his pattern twice and is experiencing his binds enough to be able to
readily identify a metaphor that encompasses the whole organisation (Approach B):
T54: And no-win and helplessness are the same. And when no-win is the same as helplessness, that’s
no-win and helplessness like what?
C55: It’s like I have to keep climbing a mountain that gets higher the more I climb.
Helplessness and no-win are names for patterns symbolised by the tightening jubilee clip and running
around a track. ‘Like what?’ asks for a metaphor which includes both experiences. It asks for a
metaphor for the pattern of these two patterns – a pattern of organisation. To be able to generate such a
metaphor the client must perceive the whole and operate from a perception ‘outside’, ‘meta to’ or ‘at a
higher level than’ his patterns. As the organisation of this metaphor transforms, so will the processes
which have been replicating the pattern – and so will his experience.
In C55 the client says, “I have to keep climbing a mountain” which is consistent with “I’ll have to
prove myself more than once” (C47) and “I have to overtake him twice” (C49) so we direct his
attention to what motivates the repetitive nature of the metaphor, the have to:
T56: And when you have to keep climbing a mountain that gets higher, where did the have to of that
have to keep climbing a mountain come from?
C57: Not wanting to see a look of failure. Wondering ‘Am I good enough?’ [Touches chest with left
hand.]
By asking where his “have to” comes from we want him to identify the source of, the fuel for, or what
drives the repeating pattern. “Not wanting to see a look of failure” (just like mother’s look?) suggests
his motivation is to avoid repeating a bad past experience; while his wondering ‘Am I good enough?’
doubts his ability to do anything else in the future. You may notice that an organisation based on
avoiding failure and doubting himself will actively preclude him from ever achieving his desired
outcome of “total confidence in my own abilities
The client’s last statements are ambiguous. Is he reporting from the perspective of himself as a child or
himself now? Most likely the two perspectives are merging as he recognises they are equivalent. Also,
maybe for the first time, he has a clear sense of current reality – the impossibility of resolving his
predicament and the futility of trying to avoid the consequences of the double bind.
It is at these moments that conditions arise for a shift in perception to a new level of thinking which
both transcends and includes the existing pattern of organisation. Therefore we ask whether “red,
mature heart” would be interested in going to “young boy who’s not wanting to see a look of failure” –
the first step of introducing a resource symbol (Approach F):
T57: And not wanting to see a look of failure. And wondering ‘Am I good enough?’ [Pause.] And
would red, mature heart that’s had lots of experience and deep understanding be interested in
going to young boy who’s not wanting to see a look of failure?
C58: [Long pause.] Yes.
T58: And yes. And can that red, mature heart go to that young boy?
C59: Yes.
T59: And as red, mature heart that’s had lots of experience and deep understanding goes to that
young boy [pause], what happens next?
C60: He feels life again.
Something has changed, so it seems the introduction has been successful – even though no one can yet
know its significance or its effect on other symbols. Is it a translation or a transformation? To find out,
the change needs to be matured, which is the subject of the next chapter.
But before discovering the fate of jubilee clip, we present a full description of the Six Approaches and
show how each approach uses clean questions in combination and over a period of time to encourage
conditions for transformation.

The Six Approaches

A. Concentrating Attention
When a client concentrates, narrows or focuses their attention on a single aspect of their metaphor
landscape – on one symbol (in a place at a time), or one relationship (between two symbols, places or
times), or one pattern (involving many symbols, places or times) – they likely notice additional
attributes, components, functions within and about the symbol, relationship or pattern.
Imagine a client has a symbol of a big wall which they see as an impenetrable barrier. As they attend to
the wall they recognise it is composed of hundreds of small grey blocks held together by cement. And
wait a minute – there’s some ivy clinging to the wall. And what’s that? There’s a crack in the cement.
At first there was just a wall with only one function: to be impenetrable. A few clean questions later
there are hundreds of blocks, cement that is holding, ivy that is clinging, and a crack. Maybe that wall
is not so impenetrable after all. Instead it has become part of a story. Those grey blocks, that ivy and
that crack must have got there somehow and each will have a function to perform. By now the client
will likely be making all sorts of connections and associations as they concentrate on the additional
information about the wall – and every bit of extra information offers a possibility for change.
Having identified a component of a symbol, clients may be able to identify components of that
component, and so on, at lower and lower levels of organisation. Usually at one, two or three levels
lower, another symbol will appear with attributes which complement or contrast with the attributes of
the original symbol. In the above there were small blocks in contrast to the bigness of the wall, living
ivy in contrast to the inanimateness of the wall, and a crack in contrast to its impenetrability.
To facilitate clients to concentrate their attention, repeatedly ask questions which ‘hold’ their attention
on a single aspect of their metaphor landscape, in particular:
What kind of [X] is that [X]?
Is there anything else about that [X]?
The other three basic developing questions (Where?, Whereabouts? and Like what?) and relevant
specialised developing questions also can be used.
Concentrating can be thought of as a strategic version of developing. When developing, your aim is to
bring a symbol or metaphor to life. When concentrating, your aim is for the client to get to deeper and
more fundamental levels of a symbol or metaphor’s organisation. For example, in an early part of
Jubilee Clip the client discovers that a person has to undo the clip. A series of developing questions
(T31–T39) concentrates his attention long enough for him to discover that the Kung Fu master has a
heart that is red and mature – just the resource required later by a young boy who is inadequate to take
an exam.
By concentrating attention on a single aspect its multiple parts are revealed, each of which has the
potential to influence, and therefore to change, the whole. The ‘one’ becomes the ‘many’ at a lower
level of organisation which increases the range of possibilities available to the higher levels (upward
influence).126

B. Attending to Wholes
In Chapter 7 we discussed the importance of supporting clients to discover patterns as an integral part
of the modelling process. Once identified, a pattern can be represented symbolically, mapped and
explored. When a number of patterns have been identified, they will necessarily be part of a larger
pattern – a pattern of patterns – which itself can be represented symbolically, mapped and explored. In
this way the modelling process continues at a higher, more inclusive, more significant level of
organisation. Theoretically this process could continue forever but in practice does not, for two reasons.
First, for many clients, simply recognising their own patterns, or pattern of patterns, stimulates the
process of change. Second, patterns which represent the organisation of the whole metaphor landscape
emerge eventually.
You can encourage clients to recognise patterns of greater and greater significance with application to
wider and wider contexts by inviting them to pay attention to wholes instead of parts. Rather than
focussing on a particular form, place, time or point of perception, they bring all forms, places, times
and perceivers into one simultaneous perceptual space. Rather than concentrating on foreground
components, they sense the background network of relationships and patterns. Rather than a number of
individual ‘ones’ the client recognises the connectedness of the ‘many’ to something larger – the next
inclusive whole.
Through exploring a metaphor which symbolises a pattern of organisation, the client has an opportunity
to notice properties of the whole which are not contained in any of its constituent parts, and often this
alone is enough for the landscape to start to transform. Any changes at the higher level set the
probabilities for changes in the organisation of the lower levels (downward influence) because the
higher transcends and includes the lower.
Three ways to encourage clients to attend to more inclusive wholes are: accumulating perceptions,
working with metaphor maps, and physicalising the metaphor landscape.

ACCUMULATING PERCEPTIONS
In Chapter 3 we introduced the idea of accumulating descriptions to support the client to embody a
symbolic perception as a whole. Now we extend this idea to accumulating perceptions – comprising
multiple forms, multiple places and multiple times – into one simultaneous perceptual space. This
process is like creating a collage of photographs taken at various times and places and then describing
the picture as a whole.127
To invite the client to accumulate more and more of their landscape into awareness you ask:
And when [A], and [B], and [C] …
… what happens to [X], and [Y], and [Z]?
… is there anything else about all that?
A, B, C … X, Y, Z are the steps of a sequence, events in a story, nodes in a configuration or premises
of a personal philosophy. These questions invite A, B, C … X, Y, Z to share the same perceptual space.
Our question at T54 of Jubilee Clip is an example of referring to two patterns, “no-win” and
“helplessness,” as a way of encouraging the client to identify a metaphor which encompasses both.
When the client has accumulated sufficient perceptions, you can ask for a single metaphor which
describes their experience of the whole pattern:
And that’s [A, B, C …] like what?
And [A], and [B], and [C], … and all that’s like what?
How do you know when the client has established sufficient metaphors and symbolic perceptions for
them to be accumulated into a whole?
This is a tricky question to answer because it depends on so many factors. Fortunately, once clients
have gathered sufficient information they often ‘put it all together’ themselves and spontaneously
generate a metaphor for the whole, such as “I seem to be going round in circles” or “Here I am, stuck in
the mire again.” Alternatively, they might explicitly tell you in a meta-comment that they are
contemplating wholes rather than parts. They might say “This is like my whole life” or “This is exactly
what happens time and again.” If none of the above happens, you can be on the lookout for ‘operational
closure’,128 that is:
• When no new symbols or patterns emerge and the client’s descriptions add no further information
about how an operational unit of their metaphor landscape works and fits together.
• When new symbols or patterns continue to appear but they are isomorphic (have the same
organisation) as existing symbols or patterns.
• When the logic of the client’s description encompasses an entire configuration, a complete sequence
or a coherent set of premises (with no gaps).

METAPHOR MAPS
Whenever clients draw a metaphor map which includes more than one perception they have
accumulated those perceptions into one drawing. This enables them to make connections and see
patterns across time and space and in so doing to recognise more of the whole. When clients produce
several metaphor maps you can ask them to arrange the maps on the floor, wall or wherever they want
and then, with a sweep of the hand, improvise a clean question such as, “And what do you notice about
all of these?” or “And all of this is like what?”

PHYSICALISING
For some clients the best way to experience the entirety of their metaphor landscape is to enact or
physicalise it as described in Chapter 4. This allows them to move around their perceptual space, to
describe their embodied sense of its configuration, and to discover how it works as a whole.

C. Broadening Attention
When clients concentrate their attention on a single aspect of their metaphor landscape (Approach A)
they discover more about its composition – its internal organisation. An alternative approach is for
them to broaden their attention to outside and beyond the edge or boundary of their current landscape.
This offers them an opportunity to discover external resources, to widen contexts, to extend limits and
to expand connections – all in the service of a broader perspective.
To facilitate this you can ask about the space outside or an outside perceiver. Or you can invite them to
extend their metaphor map and suggest they research key words.
THE SPACE OUTSIDE
Once a metaphor landscape is established, its boundaries, limits and edges become apparent through
‘limits of space’ words (e.g. end, border, finish, frame, periphery, extent) and nonverbal indicators such
as gestures and lines of sight. When a boundary or edge appears or is implicit in a landscape, you can
invite the client to focus their attention on the boundary itself by asking:
And how [big / long / high / wide / broad] could [X] be?
And how far does [X extend / go / continue]?
When the client’s attention is at the boundary, then you can direct it beyond, outside, over the edge or
to the other side by asking broadening-type questions:
And … what’s (broadening word) [client’s name for boundary]?
e.g. And impenetrable wall, and when impenetrable wall, …
… what’s beyond impenetrable wall?
… what’s outside impenetrable wall?
… what’s above (over, on top of) impenetrable wall?
… what’s below (under, beneath) impenetrable wall?
… what’s behind impenetrable wall?
To remain clean your question must honour and be congruent with the inherent logic of the landscape;
that is, you only ask about a space outside that can be presupposed from the client’s description. In the
following example a client discovers that all of her symbols, including herself, are on one side of a wall
which is blocking her moving forward:
C: All there is is a big impenetrable wall in front of me.
T: And when all there is is a big impenetrable wall in front of you, how big is that wall?
C: [Looks left and right.] As far as the eye can see in both directions.
T: And as far as the eye can see in both directions. And when big impenetrable wall is as far as the
eye can see in both directions [looks left and right], how big [looks up and down] is that wall?
C: [Gestures up.] Just above my head-height.
T: And just above your head-height. And when big impenetrable wall is just above head-height, is
there anything else above head-height?
C: Nothing I can see.
T: And nothing you can see, and when big impenetrable wall’s in front of you, what’s beyond that
wall?
C: [Long pause.] Everything I’ve ever wanted but can’t have [tears].
By repeatedly guiding the client’s attention to the current limits of her perception and then beyond,
much to her amazement she realised that rather than blocking her, the wall had protected her from the
pain of seeing “Everything I’ve ever wanted but can’t have.”

OUTSIDE PERCEIVER
Sometimes a client perceives their landscape from outside the scene. That is, their point of perception is
not located within the boundary of the event being described. In such cases, a way to broaden their
attention outside the limits of their landscape is to enquire about the perceiver:
And where is [perceiver] [perceiving-word] {that} from?
Where ‘perceiving-word’ is the means of perceiving used by the perceiver, e.g. seeing, viewing,
watching, hearing, feeling, sensing, etc. For example, a client whose outcome for therapy was to “be
more present during sex” said:
C: I can see myself making love to my husband.
T: And when you can see yourself making love to your husband, where are you seeing that from?
C: It seems crazy to say, but seven storeys up.
T: And seven storeys up. And whereabouts seven storeys up?
C: I’m on a balcony.
T: And what kind of you is that you, on a balcony seven storeys up?
C: A severed me.
The client’s attention shifted from the scene of herself making love to an observing “severed me” on a
balcony seven storeys up – a perspective she realised she had habitually adopted since being close to
death in a car crash.

EXTENDING A METAPHOR MAP

David Grove has devised a remarkably simple and yet highly effective method for encouraging clients
to broaden their perspective outside their existing landscape. Once they have drawn a metaphor map he
tells them to add more paper around it so they can draw whatever is beyond its edges. He does this
when the client’s drawing suggests that only a part of the landscape has been represented. For example,
a river may stop at the edge of a page, or a mountain peak is off the top of the page, or a child is
running towards the edge of the paper but what the child is running toward is not represented. To
remain clean, you simply gesture to a location off the paper and ask “And what’s over here?” or assign
them to: “Draw what’s over there.”

RESEARCH KEY WORDS

David Grove has recently introduced a novel way of broadening attention: he asks clients to research
the etymology and alternative meanings of the words they use. He once asked James to research
‘prevailing’ from his metaphor of a “prevailing wind.” James discovered that ‘pre’ means ‘before’ and
‘vail’ means ‘service’, and so, much to his surprise, ‘prevailing’ could mean ‘before service’. This
insight had a profound effect because it introduced a spiritual dimension into his metaphor.
Similarly David asks clients to research the properties of their key symbols; how they work, their
historical development and any additional functions they have (or have had). David usually selects
words or symbols which the client has emphasised (by repetition, tonality, gesture, etc.) and especially
any idiosyncratic or ambiguous words or phrasings. When researched information resonates with the
client (either supporting or contradicting their perception) it will in some way hold symbolic
significance for them.
Whether you ask questions, have the client extend their map or research their words, when broadening
attention the principle is the same: the client attends to what is outside their existing landscape. What
they discover may well trigger all sorts of changes, and there may even be a resource symbol or two
lurking beyond the known in previously unexplored places.

D. Lengthening Attention
You can think of lengthening attention as the temporal equivalent of spatially broadening attention
(Approach C) since it invites clients to discover what comes before and what comes after the current
limits of their conscious knowledge. In previous chapters we have described how you ask ‘moving
time’ questions in combination to facilitate the client to identify a sequence of events – the
metaphorical beginning, middle and end of the way their symptoms manifest today. When using the
lengthening approach, you repeatedly ask questions that either move time back or move time forward.

MOVING TIME BACK

By repeatedly directing the client’s attention to the timeframe before what is in their awareness, you
invite them to sequentially shift the locus of their perception back in symbolic time.
And where does [X] come from?
And what happens just before [X]?
If you continue to ask these questions the client eventually gets to a time before the origin of the current
pattern. This may be back to childhood, back to the womb, to a parent’s personal history, to ancestors,
to social, cultural or historical factors, back to before civilisation, to before the evolution of humans, to
before life, back to the beginnings of the universe, back to God (and before).129 An extended example
of moving time back be found in the Lozenge transcript.

MOVING TIME FORWARD

By repeatedly directing the client’s attention to the timeframe subsequent to what is in their awareness,
you invite them to sequentially shift the locus of their perception forward in symbolic time.
And then what happens?
And what happens next?
If you continue to ask these questions the client eventually gets to after the end of the current pattern.
This may be any time in the future including after the client’s death, and anywhere up to and after
‘forever’. Examples of lengthening by moving time forward appear in the Castle Door (T16–T20) and
Jubilee Clip (T50–T52) transcripts.
During either the moving time back or forward process, the client may make historical connections,
identify repeating patterns, encounter resources, have insights or (re)discover a sense of purpose. When
they attend to a time and place which is far enough from the time and place of their symptoms, it
usually reveals “a new cosmology” – a world organised around a fundamentally different paradigm –
and a resource which David Grove terms a “redemptive metaphor.” When a redemptive metaphor is
introduced to other symbols within the landscape it usually initiates a reorganisation of existing
patterns, inspiring new ways of perceiving, being, and relating to the world.
When the client traces connections across multiple timeframes and a spontaneous change occurs, your
role is to facilitate the change to mature (see Chapter 9). However, should the client cycle through the
pattern without any noticeable change in its organisation, or should they discover a secondary bind
which prevents them from continuing to move time back or forward (as happened in Jubilee Clip at
C53), you can utilise the other approaches to:
• Concentrate their attention on the properties of the secondary bind (see Approach A)
• Attend to the repeating sequence as a whole (see Approach B)
• Broaden their attention spatially to outside the repetitive sequence or bind (see Approach C)
• Lengthen time in the opposite direction
• Investigate the conditions necessary for the repeating sequence or bind to change (see Approach E)
• Introduce a resource to the repeating sequence or bind (see Approach F).
Whatever approach you use will need to be decided intuitively in the moment based on the overall logic
of the client’s landscape.

E. Identifying Necessary Conditions

If the resolution of self-preserving patterns (which keep unwanted thoughts, feelings, and behaviours
replicating) were predictable and logical, clients would resolve them themselves and no longer be
bound. Given that they are not able to do this, you can ask questions that identify the seemingly
illogical conditions maintaining the bind and what is necessary for the binding pattern to reconfigure.
One way to do this is to ask the symbols for their intention and what needs to happen for that intention
to be enacted, fulfilled or satisfied. Figure 8.3 gives general guidelines about how this approach
unfolds.
1. Begin with either the existing intention of a symbol, or ask: And what would [X] like to have
happen/to do?
2. Ask for the conditions necessary to fulfil X’s intention: And what needs to happen for [X] to [X’s
intention]?
3. When the client answers with one or more conditions, ask whether the condition(s) can be enacted or
fulfilled: And can [necessary conditions]?
(Note: If the client gives multiple necessary conditions, you can ask for the order in which the
conditions need to be fulfilled: And when [A, B, C …] what needs to happen first?)
4. If the client’s response to “And can …” is:
• “YES.” Enact the necessary conditions and mature the changes (see Chapter 9) by asking: And
as [necessary conditions] what happens next / then what happens?
• “SOMETIMES.” You can ask: And what’s the difference between when [X] can [necessary
condition] and when [X] can’t [necessary condition]?
• “NO” or “YES, BUT …” either: Identify the prior necessary conditions by asking, And what
needs to happen for [necessary conditions]?; or specify the bind preventing the conditions
being fulfilled.
FIGURE 8.3 Using the Necessary Conditions approach
The second half of the Castle Door transcript contains an example of identifying and enacting necessary
conditions. The client discovers a very fine gold thread that links to her. We continue:
T40: And very fine thread. And what would very fine thread that links like to do?
C41: To pour some more of the gold into me.
T41: And very fine thread would like to pour some more of the gold into you. And what needs to
happen for very fine thread to pour some more of the gold into you?
C42: A tap needs to be turned on.
T42: And can a tap be turned on?
C43: Yes, but it doesn’t come out quickly enough.
T43: And a tap needs to be turned on, but gold doesn’t come out quickly enough. So what needs to
happen for gold to come out quickly enough?
C44: To come out over the top of the vessel.
T44: And to come out over the top of the vessel. And what needs to happen for gold to come out
over the top of the vessel?
C45: An unseen hand needs to tip it so it runs round the outside.
T45: And can an unseen hand tip vessel so gold runs round the outside?
C46: Yes!
T46: And as unseen hand tips vessel and gold runs round the outside, what happens next?
C47: Some of it gets into me [pause]. I get stronger as it goes down.
T47: And when some of it gets into you, and you get stronger as it goes down, then what happens?
C48: I feel much more calm and stronger.
T48: And as gold goes down and you feel much more calm and stronger, what kind of calm is that
calm?
C49: I don’t have to panic behind the door.
The transcript illustrates how unexpected symbols and apparently illogical events can have an
influence: how did the tap, the vessel and an unseen hand appear on the scene? Maybe the client knows,
and maybe they don’t. What is more important is that these symbols had a beneficial effect on the
landscape and on the client.
Identifying the conditions necessary for symbols to fulfil their intentions may be enough to resolve
single binds. If not, continuing with this approach can help reveal a secondary bind preventing
resolution of the primary bind. For example in Stages 2 and 3 of the Jubilee Clip transcript:
• We ask for the intention of screwdriver (T22) and whether its intention can be satisfied (T23).
• Because of a conflict, screwdriver’s intention to undo jubilee clip cannot be enacted. Once the
characteristics of the conflict are known, we direct the client’s attention to the conditions necessary
for the conflict to be resolved, “What needs to happen for screwdriver to undo clip?” (T30).
• The client realises “A person has to do it. And that person is me” (C31).
• This person develops into a resource symbol of a Kung Fu master’s mature heart (C32–C40).
• However before he can undo jubilee clip another condition has to be fulfilled: that the client reaches
the level of maturity required (C41).
• By asking what needs to happen for this latest condition to be fulfilled (T42), the client discovers he
needs to pass a difficult exam (C43–C44).
• Further investigation reveals a secondary bind: the client has not got the background required to sit
the exam which he needs pass in order to grow to the level of maturity required to undo jubilee clip
(C45–C46).
Through identifying intentions and the conditions necessary for their fulfilment, the client discovers
how he is doubly bound by the inherent logic of his patterns. In Jubilee Clip, as is often the case, the
transformation of a double bind required the assistance of other approaches. In this case, Approach F.

F. Introducing Resource Symbols

There is an important distinction between the first five approaches and the sixth, Introducing Resource
Symbols. Besides their other functions, Approaches A to E can be thought of as ways for the client to
discover overt or latent resources, whereas Approach F introduces a resource to another symbol that
will benefit from the attributes of the resource. For example:
• Kung Fu master’s red mature heart, goes to a young boy who does not want to see a look of failure,
and “He feels life again.” (Jubilee Clip, T57–C60).
• A sun that brings light, and love, and happiness, and calmness, goes to shackles on a baby’s ankles,
 which melt and “A baby grows up to be a happy person and he can take his time” (see Lozenge,
T35–C43).
Because you, not the client, invite the resource symbol to go to another symbol, the process is packed
with safeguards to ensure that each symbol’s intention takes precedence over yours.
Next we explain Approach F in terms of the effects of introducing symbols, the process of introducing,
and when to introduce.

EFFECTS OF INTRODUCING SYMBOLS

When symbols are introduced and there is a point of contact between them, one of the following
changes may occur:
• The bound or unresourceful symbol changes (exhibits new attributes), while the resource symbol
retains its resourcefulness for further use – like a battery that starts a car, or an oven that bakes
dough into bread. The battery and oven can be used over and over.
• Both symbols change in different ways – like water poured onto fire become steam and ashes.
• Two symbols integrate into a new form – like red and yellow combine to become orange, or slowly
adding oil to egg yolks produces mayonnaise.
When an introduction is successful, one or both symbols change and become available to influence
other symbols. Through a ripple or cascade effect, the entire organisation of a metaphor landscape may
be influenced – like a new idea that spreads through and updates a body of scientific knowledge, or a
mutation that leads to a new branch of evolution.

THE PROCESS OF INTRODUCING

David Grove has devised a precise set of questions which allow you to invite a resource symbol to be
introduced to another symbol. These questions are designed to keep your language as clean as possible
and to keep the locus of control firmly with the metaphor. The standard question which initiates
introducing one symbol to another is:
And would [resource X] be interested in going to [symbol / context Y]?
There are a number of ways the client can respond:
“Yes” – interested
“Yes but …” – interested, but cannot
“No” – not interested.

INTERESTED
If the client indicates “Yes” resource ‘X’ is interested in going to symbol or context ‘Y’, you ask:
And can [resource X] go to [symbol / context Y]?
If they again reply “yes” ask:
And as [resource X] goes to [Y], [pause] then what happens?
The first question tests the interest of one symbol to go to another symbol or context. It does not ask the
symbol to move, it just elicits the interest and therefore the symbol’s intention. Having established
there is a desire, the second question finds out if it is possible to enact that desire. These questions give
the resource symbol two opportunities to reject your suggestion.
When you say, ‘And as X goes to Y …’ it is important to dramatically slow your delivery, and pause
before asking ‘… then what happens?’. This allows time for the resource symbol to move and enact its
function, and for the client to notice the effects on other symbols. The introduction of symbols in
Jubilee Clip is a classic example:
T57: And not wanting to see a look of failure. And wondering ‘Am I good enough?’ [Pause.] And
would red, mature heart that’s had lots of experience and deep understanding be interested in
going to young boy who’s not wanting to see a look of failure?
C58: [Long pause.] Yes.
T58: And yes. And can that red, mature heart go to that young boy?
C59: Yes.
T59: And as red, mature heart that’s had lots of experience and deep understanding goes to that
young boy [pause], what happens next?
C60: He feels life again.
The client may take a while to respond, in which case you simply wait and watch. When they answer,
pay particular attention to the congruence of their responses. A verbal “yes” and a nonverbal shake of
the head may indicate an incongruence which you would want to address before continuing with the
introduction (you can do this by using the entry and developing questions for nonverbal behaviour). If
you have the slightest concern about the appropriateness of ‘X’ going to ‘Y’, you can give symbol ‘Y’
a chance to have its say by asking either:
And would [symbol / context Y] like that?
or
And is [symbol / context Y] interested in [resource X] going to [Y]?
You may also like to ask one of these questions if the answer to the invitation seems to come from the
client’s “I” or from some other symbol, e.g. “Well I’d like it to go” or “Yes it should go.” If there is a
conflict of intentions between ‘X’ and ‘Y’, you must honour either symbol’s rejection of your
suggestion to introduce them.

INTERESTED BUT CANNOT

When the client responds with some form of “Yes, but…” the resource symbol wants to go to the other
symbol but for some reason cannot. This response presents an opportunity for the client to discover the
nature of a preventing bind, the source of the bind, or what happens when the intention of the resource
symbol cannot be fulfilled:
And when [resource X] is interested in going to [symbol / context Y] but [client’s negative
response] …
… what kind of [client’s negative response] is that? (Nature of the bind)
… where could that [client’s negative response] come from? (Source of the bind)
… then what happens? (Subsequent event)

NOT INTERESTED
If your invitation (“Would X be interested in going to Y?”) is inappropriate, the client will respond with
some form of “No” or “No, but…”:
“No” – A straight negative response is feedback that either these symbols are not meant to be
together, or the timing of your question was inappropriate. If you have misread the situation you
may receive an angry or amazed response. A client once said to us, “Would what?! There’s no
 way that rock wants to go to that pool. There’d be no bloody peace left if that happened!” We
responded with “And there’s no way that rock wants to go to that pool. And what would rock
like to do?” Further examples of questions to a negative response are:
And no. And when [X] is not interested in going to [Y], …
… what would [X] like to do?
… what would [Y] like to have happen?
… then what happens?
“No, but …” – In rejecting your invitation, the client may be prompted to provide what is
required instead. They may say “No, X isn’t interested in going to Y, but Y wants to go to X,” or
“No, but Z wants to go to Y.” You continue the introduction with, “And [repeat client’s words].
And can …?” This acknowledges the client’s idea, discovers whether the symbol can do what it
says it wants, and encourages the client to take charge of their own process.

WHEN TO INTRODUCE
There is no formula or recipe for when to introduce because it is entirely dependent on having a sense
of the whole organisation of the client’s metaphor landscape and what is happening in the moment.
Sometimes introducing one symbol to another will seem entirely logical, while at other times there may
be no obvious reason other than it feels right. There are a number of factors which can inform your
decision of when to introduce.
The first requirement for a successful introduction is that a significant enough resource exists.
Obviously a resource symbol has to exist (have a name, an address and some useful qualities) before
you can ask if it would be interested in going to another symbol. It also has to have sufficient
significance for the client so that its application triggers a change in other symbols. However “it is not
the intensity or quantity of a resource state, but its particular qualities that make it useful in changing a
problematic experience.”130 Providing the client is connected to the resource and has an embodied
sense of its significance, you will be able to introduce it to another symbol days, weeks or months after
it was first discovered.
Second, the needs of the other symbol or context involved in the introducing should correspond,
connect, align with the attributes of the resource. In the Jubilee Clip example it seems likely that a
young boy who fears a look of disappointment would find a Master’s mature heart useful. But in the
Lozenge example it is less obvious that shackles on a baby’s ankles would benefit from sunlight –
unless you know the organisation of the whole metaphor landscape and what is happening for the client
at the moment of the introduction.
Third, sometimes a client has never considered the benefit that would accrue from using a resource out
of context (transferring it from one time and place to another). As a rule, the more space and time
separating two symbols, the less likely that the client will recognise the potential for connection. For
example, if after repeatedly moving time back (Approach D) the client discovers “the key to life” they
may not think of using it to escape from a prison cell with a rusty old lock explored an hour ago (or
even several sessions previously) – but you might.
Fourth, the more you work with clients’ metaphors the more you will become au fait with the illogical
logic of an individual’s symbolism. The logic of metaphors is closer to that of dreams than it is to the
laws of physics. When a client’s metaphor landscape is well developed and its organisation well
modelled you may get an intuition that symbol ‘X’ could be of use to symbol or situation ‘Y’, even
though this may seem bizarre. As long as you are not trying to solve the client’s problem for them, we
suggest you follow your intuition and invite symbol ‘X’ to go to symbol ‘Y’. The safeguards built into
the introducing process leave the client or the symbols free to reject your invitation. And whatever
happens, valuable information about the organisation of the client’s landscape will emerge.
Fifth, sometimes the client gets to a point where their landscape is perfectly poised, perfectly balanced
but nothing new happens. In these cases almost any introduction may be the catalyst that initiates a
chain reaction whereby the landscape reorganises.
As in most delicate operations in life, timing is everything, and knowing when to introduce symbols is
an art which you can only learn from experience. Introducing resource symbols is much like
matchmaking. You think two people will be perfect for each other, and yet there is more to a good
match than logic. Either the chemistry is there or it is not, and no one can be sure in advance. The
‘Interested?’ and ‘Can?’ questions are the symbolic equivalent of the first date.

Concluding Remarks
Metaphor landscapes change in one of two ways: their form, order or configuration translate without
significantly changing a higher level pattern; or the change is such that an organising pattern
transforms. Translations often give the client all they want. But sometimes no amount of translating
will satisfy, or translating itself becomes impossible. In these cases, only transforming the binding
pattern will suffice.
Neither you nor the client can manufacture a transformation, but together you can encourage the
conditions in which it can occur. These conditions arise when the client shifts the way they perceive,
rather than simply changing what they perceive.
The Six Approaches use clean questions in a strategic and organisational manner. They reveal hidden
resource symbols and create opportunities for the client to transcend and include their habitual ways of
perceiving. Whether this happens in five minutes, five sessions or five months is impossible to predict.
When a change occurs it may not be clear whether it is a translation which changes nothing, a
productive translation, or a transformation which changes everything. Only after the effects of the
change are known does the client (and sometimes the therapist) get to find out – and this is the subject
of the next chapter.
 Chapter 9 Stage 5: Maturing the Evolved Landscape
The real voyage of discovery consists not in seeking new landscapes but in having new eyes.
Marcel Proust
When a symbol changes it develops a new form. The changed symbol will usually influence other
symbols, which go on to affect other symbols, and so on in a cascade, contagion or chain reaction. If
enough changes occur, or a change of sufficient significance occurs, the client’s symbolic perceptions
reorganise and a transformed metaphor landscape emerges.
A metaphor landscape can change during Stages 2, 3 or 4. The change may be to a single attribute, to a
relationship between symbols or to a pattern which includes many metaphors and perceptions.
Whenever and however a change occurs, maturing is what happens next.
Your role during Stage 5 is to facilitate the client to nurture, embrace and enhance changes in their
metaphor landscape. As this happens, the maturing process is either interrupted by a bind – in which
case you revert to Stage 2 or 3 – or the changes continue until the reorganisation consolidates into a
new landscape. To more fully explain how landscapes mature, this chapter includes:
The Maturing Process
Facilitating a Changing Landscape to Mature
Client Transcript: Jubilee Clip – Stage 5
The Results of Maturing
Ending a Session when it is ‘Work in Progress’

The Maturing Process

Changed symbols can relate in new ways, do things they could not do before, and stimulate changes to
symbols and metaphors elsewhere in the landscape. Therefore change can be seen, not as the end of the
road, but as the beginning of a new one. For example:
• When a butterfly emerges from a chrysalis, it can get used to its wings, learn to fly and decide what it
would like to do next.
• When Arthur pulls Excalibur out of the stone, he can get to know his new ally and try out his new-
found power before they go off to fulfil their mission.
• After a bully’s frozen heart thaws, she stops baiting and provoking. Then she can attract friends to
play with, come to understand the value of sharing and the difference this makes to others.
• As a wound heals, it can understand why it got sick, rebuild its strength, and consider the effects of
long-term self-care on the organism as a whole.
Some changed symbols not only affect their immediate neighbours, they also have an effect on symbols
in other times and places. If a fundamental or significant enough change takes place, then novel forms,
unexpected events and brand new connections appear and the whole metaphor landscape reorganises.
Because the new landscape will include self-preserving processes which automatically inhibit the
replication of previous patterns, the emphasis of maturing alters: from evolving, developing and
spreading individual changes to consolidating the new landscape’s entire configuration.
Sometimes maturing is a smooth and continuous process with the
Metaphor landscape reorganising incrementally. Sometimes nothing much appears to happen and then
the whole landscape transforms at breakneck speed. The pace, the amount and the degree to which a
landscape changes is determined by a combination of three factors:

TIME
The more changes during a period of time, the faster the rate of change (evolving).

SPACE
The more of the landscape that changes, the greater the scale of the change (spreading).

LEVEL
The higher the level of organisation that changes, the greater the significance of the change.
Sometimes, as the landscape changes and the client moves toward what they want, they experience a
counterbalancing reaction – a hitherto hidden conflict, dilemma, impasse or paradox. When this
happens maturing is interrupted. This allows the binding pattern to be revealed and incorporated into an
updated landscape (using Stage 2 and 3 processes). Maturing is resumed after the next change takes
place (see Figure 9.1).

FIGURE 9.1 An overview of the maturing process

Changes to the metaphor landscape are not confined to what happens in the consulting room. As much,
if not most maturing happens outside of the session as the client adapts to the changes and discovers
how these influence their everyday life. In a sense, maturing is not complete until the changes are so
familiar that they are perceived as a natural way of being. For some clients this takes minutes, for
others, months.

Facilitating a Changing Landscape to Mature

Maturing starts when a client becomes aware of the effects of a change.
Maturing is not a single process but a number of processes which interact and build upon each other.
There are no specialised Stage 5 maturing questions. You use the same Clean Language questions as
before, but for a different purpose – to facilitate the maturation of a metaphor landscape once it has
started to change. This process is summarised in Figure 9.2.
When there is a change in the metaphor landscape, direct the client’s attention so that they
notice:
• The change – acknowledging
• The immediate effect of the change – evolving
• The new form of the changed symbol(s) – developing
• The effect on other symbols or contexts – spreading
Repeat as necessary until:
• Maturing is interrupted. Then return to Stage 2 or 3 to uncover the binding pattern
or
• The metaphor landscape reorganises. Then support consolidation of the new organisation, exit
the landscape and return to everyday dialogue.
FIGURE 9.2 Facilitating a changed landscape to mature
The following extract from the Jubilee Clip transcript illustrates acknowledging, evolving, developing
and spreading. When we left the transcript in Chapter 8, Kung Fu master’s red mature heart had just
been introduced to young boy with the result that “he feels life again” (C60). This signals the first
change and maturing can begin:
T60: And as he feels life again, then what happens?
C61: The race becomes enjoyable.
T61: And as the race becomes enjoyable and he feels life again, then what happens?
C62: Confidence returns.
T62: And confidence returns. And when red, mature heart that’s had lots of experience and deep
understanding goes to that young boy and he feels life again and the race becomes enjoyable
and confidence returns, what happens to a mother who’s just read a letter twice?
C63: She expresses it’s a learning process, not a failure. She’s comfortable with him.
T63: And she’s comfortable with him. And it’s a learning process. And when mother is comfortable
with him, what happens next?
C64: The boy has a different view. A sense of security. Looking forward to life.
T64: And looking forward to life. And a sense of security. And a different view. And what kind of
view is that different view?
C65: A wholly confident view. Congruent. Balanced [pause]. In harmony.
T65: And when young boy has a wholly confident view, congruent, balanced, in harmony what
would he like to do first?
C66: Take the exam again.
T66: And can he take the exam again?
C67: Yes, and he passes.
T67: And he takes the exam again and passes. And what happens next when he passes the exam?
C68: He begins growing into a Master.
(The transcript completes later in the chapter.)

Acknowledging a change
Directing the client’s attention to a change has two purposes: it ensures the client acknowledges the
change is happening or has happened, and it prepares the way for the change to evolve, develop or
spread. This is an essential part of maturing because, surprising as it may seem, just because a change
takes place does not guarantee the client is fully aware of it. You facilitate the acknowledgement and
preparation by starting your questions with either:
And as [description of change] …
or
And when [description of change] …
When a client’s language presupposes that change is still happening, begin with ‘as’. This recognises
its ongoing nature and encourages it to continue (see T60 and T61 above). If the change has already
happened, begin with ‘when’ (see T62 and T63).

Evolving the effects of a change

Every change has consequences and by directing the client’s attention to what happens after a change,
you invite them to consider the effects of that change. As they do they will probably notice further
changes which will have their own effects, and so on. Two ways to facilitate this evolution of the
landscape are: moving time forward and enacting a changed symbol’s intention.

MOVING TIME FORWARD

To invite the client to notice the effects of a change, ask one of the two basic moving time forward
questions:
And … then what happens?
or
And … what happens next?
e.g.
T60: And as he feels life again, then what happens?
C61: The race becomes enjoyable.
And,
T63: And she’s comfortable with him. And it’s a learning process. And when mother is comfortable
with him, what happens next?
C64: The boy has a different view. A sense of security. Looking forward to life.

ENACTING A CHANGED SYMBOL’S INTENTION

When a symbol changes, its intention may be enacted or its function fulfilled when before it could not.
Alternatively the change may result in the symbol having a new intention, function or need. In either
case, enquiring about the symbol’s intention and whether that can be enacted encourages the symbol to
continue evolving. To do this ask:
And what would [changed symbol] like to have happen/do first?
When the client answers with the symbol’s intention, you ask:
And can [intention of changed symbol]?
If the intention can be enacted, you invite time to move forward so that the client notices the evolution
of the change:
 And as [intention of changed symbol], then what happens?
For example:
T65: And when young boy has a wholly confident view, congruent, balanced, in harmony what
would he like to do first?
C66: Take the exam again.
T66: And can he take the exam again?
C67: Yes, and he passes.
T67: And he takes the exam again and passes. And what happens next when he passes the exam?
C68: He begins growing into a Master.
If the intention cannot be enacted, then maturing may need to be postponed while the client identifies
the conditions necessary for the intention to be fulfilled (see the ‘Results of Maturing’ below and
Chapter 8, Approach E).

Developing a changed symbol’s new form

While evolving matures a change by moving time forward, developing matures by holding time still.
Once a symbol, relationship or pattern changes there is value in the client getting to know more about
the form of these changes. By asking basic and specialised developing questions you establish a
changed symbol’s name, address and relationships:
T64: And looking forward to life. And a sense of security. And a different view. And what kind of
view is that different view?
C65: A wholly confident view. Congruent. Balanced [pause]. In harmony.
In addition, there are certain types of metaphor which, when developed, automatically evolve to a new
form. These are metaphors of naturally-changing processes, such as:
• Environmental processes (heating, melting, filling, emptying)
• Biological processes (birth, death, growing, aging, healing)
• Chemical processes (rusting, burning, dissolving, crystallising)
• Cyclical processes (sleeping/awakening, night/day, the seasons)
Asking developing questions of a naturally-changing process invites the client to notice what is
changing and to encourage the process to continue (see Jubilee Clip T68 and T69 below for an example
which develops ‘growing’). Naturally, moving time forward questions also support this process of
change.
Developing questions encourage clients to embody the changes taking place so that the new becomes as
real and meaningful as was the old.

Spreading the effects to other symbols

As a symbol evolves and develops other symbols and metaphors may spontaneously change. A
significant change may be able to influence every part of the landscape. It is therefore important to keep
track of which parts have been touched and influenced by the change process. If the client does not
mention that the changes have spread to a particular part of the landscape, you should check whether
they have. You can do this in two ways: enquiring about the spread of change and introducing a
changed symbol to another, to-be-changed symbol. When a client has a large symbol inventory,
metaphor maps can be a valuable aid in keeping track of the spreading process.
ENQUIRING ABOUT THE SPREAD OF CHANGE
You can invite the client to notice whether a change has, or can, spread to symbols and contexts not yet
mentioned. You do this by enquiring if a change in one place or time in the landscape has resulted in a
change elsewhere:
And when [change X], what happens to [symbol/context Y]?
e.g.
T62: And confidence returns. And when red, mature heart that’s had lots of experience and deep
understanding goes to that young boy and he feels life again and the race becomes enjoyable
and confidence returns, what happens to a mother who’s just read a letter twice?
C63: She expresses it’s a learning process, not a failure. She’s comfortable with him.

INTRODUCING A CHANGED SYMBOL

You can also encourage a change to spread elsewhere in the landscape by introducing a changed
symbol to an as-yet-unchanged symbol or context. A successful introduction will result in one or both
symbols maturing their form and function, and in so doing becoming available for further introductions.
The format for introducing can be found in Approach F, Chapter 8.

Making your questions congruent with the changes

The way you facilitate the maturing of a metaphor landscape should be congruent with the inherent
logic of the changes that are taking place. In other words, the construction and delivery of your
questions should take into account the rate and scale of changes, and how the client is responding to
those changes. This means the way the landscape matures should inform whether you speed up, slow
down, shorten or lengthen your questions, and whether you ask evolving and spreading, or developing
questions. Imagine a client describes a dam breaking with a surge of rushing water. To match this rapid
movement we would keep our questions short. Ask them quickly. Repeat only the last thing said,
adding “And then what happens?” On the other hand, if a young child emerges from a cave after years
of hiding, it would seem appropriate to allow time for the child to get used to their new freedom by …
pausing … and asking several developing questions … about the world outside … and the child’s
reaction to being outside … before inviting the change to evolve or spread further.
Your job is to synchronise your questions with the system’s inbuilt pace of change, whether this is
moving at the speed with which lightning strikes or the rate that continents drift.

Client Transcript: Jubilee Clip – Stage 5

The completion of the Jubilee Clip transcript follows. It demonstrates the way maturing processes work
together to support the emergence of a reorganised metaphor landscape. The transcript resumes
immediately after the client reports the first change, that young boy “feels life again.” We ask a moving
time forward question to direct attention to the effects of the change and the evolution of the young boy:
T60: And as he feels life again, then what happens?
C61: The race becomes enjoyable.
T61: And as the race becomes enjoyable and he feels life again, then what happens?
C62: Confidence returns.
The young boy’s relationship with the race has changed. It is now enjoyable, whereas before it involved
him having to prove himself and having to overtake his ideal self twice. Furthermore, “confidence
returns”. This is important since the client originally wanted “total confidence in my own abilities”
(C1). Even so, the maturing process is far from finished because most of the landscape has yet to be
affected. Have the changes spread to mother, for example? To find out, we first accumulate the three
changes which have taken place so far:
T62: And confidence returns. And when red, mature heart that’s had lots of experience and deep
understanding goes to that young boy and he feels life again and the race becomes enjoyable
and confidence returns, what happens to a mother who’s just read a letter twice?
C63: She expresses it’s a learning process, not a failure. She’s comfortable with him.
T63: And she’s comfortable with him. And it’s a learning process. And when mother is comfortable
with him, what happens next?
C64: The boy has a different view. A sense of security. Looking forward to life.
We discover mother has changed (she expresses that exams are a learning process), her relationship to
the boy has changed (she is comfortable with him), and the boy has changed (he has a different view, a
sense of security and is looking forward to life). These changes contrast with mother’s previous “look
of disappointment,” her distancing herself, and him feeling “something is wrong with himself”.
Because of the importance of the ‘looking’ motif in the original metaphor (C3–C4) we direct his
attention to the boy’s “different view,” before enquiring about the evolved boy’s intention:
T64: And looking forward to life. And a sense of security. And a different view. And what kind of
view is that different view?
C65: A wholly confident view. Congruent. Balanced [pause]. In harmony.
T65: And when young boy has a wholly confident view, congruent, balanced, in harmony what
would he like to do first?
C66: Take the exam again.
T66: And can he take the exam again?
C67: Yes, and he passes.
T67: And he takes the exam again and passes. And what happens next when he passes the exam?
C68: He begins growing into a Master.
T68: And as he begins growing into a Master, what kind of growing is this growing into a Master?
C69: Aware of the world around him. Understanding his place in life. Enjoying the process.
T69: And aware, and understanding his place in life, and enjoying the process. And is there anything
else as he begins growing into a Master?
C70: It’s also being able to interact with people – for their benefit.
T70: And when able to interact with people for their benefit, what kind of interact with people is
that?
C71: I feel comfortable and at ease. Almost part of them.
The paradox of not being able to sit an exam because of an inadequate background is resolved, and a
new organising metaphor of “growing into a Master” emerges. Notice how ‘as’ in T68 and T69 helps to
develop the naturally-changing metaphor ‘growing’ and automatically evolves the attributes of the now
not-so-young boy. As the boy grows the perceiver shifts from “he” to “I,” who now feels comfortable
and at ease interacting with people. Whereas the old pattern was about vulnerability, disappointment
and fear, the new pattern involves awareness, understanding and enjoyment.
The transcript nicely illustrates how one change can evolve and spread to other parts of the landscape:
Feeling life again leads to the race becoming enjoyable and confidence returning (C60–C62).
 Mother being comfortable with the boy leads him to have a different view (C63–C65).
A congruent, balanced, in harmony view leads to passing the exam (C65–C67).
Passing the exam leads to growing into a Master (C67–C68).
Growing into a Master leads to being able to interact with people – almost part of them (C68–
C70).
Because changes are happening thick and fast, and a new metaphor has emerged, and “he” has shifted
to “I,” our next series of questions hold time still so that the form of the new metaphor can develop:
T71: And when you feel comfortable and at ease and almost part of them, where do you feel that
comfortable and ease?
C72: [Smiles and touches chest.] In here again!
T72: And in here again. And what kind of in here is that in here?
C73: Totally relaxed.
T73: And when totally relaxed and comfortable and at ease and almost part of them, what kind of
part of them could that part of them be?
C74: Being an influence on their lives. Up-building of productive relationships [pause]. Maybe even
intimate.
T74: And an influence on their lives, and up-building productive relationships, maybe even intimate.
And what kind of intimate could that intimate be?
C75: [Long pause.] Could you ask me that question again?
T75: And an influence on their lives. And up-building productive relationships, maybe even intimate.
And what kind of intimate could that intimate be?
C76: There’s no comfort zone and no barrier.
T76: And when there’s no comfort zone and no barrier, what is there, when there’s no comfort zone
and no barrier?
C77: [Long pause.] Love.
The client’s last four responses suggest a significant reorganisation is taking place: the length of his
contemplations increase; for the first time he loses awareness of a question; he reports that two
previously unmentioned metaphors, comfort zone and barrier have changed; and the resource “love”
reappears (from C4). With all this happening there is no need to do anything except develop the
attributes of the resource:
T77: And love. And what kind of love is that love?
C78: Sublime love.
T78: And sublime love. And where does that sublime love come from?
C79: Here again [touches chest with left hand].
T79: And here. And when sublime love comes from here, that’s sublime love like what?
C80: Even consider giving your life for another.
The client indicates he is experiencing “sublime love” coming from the place in his chest where
previously he felt vulnerability and fear. So we ask the “When X what happens to Y?” question to
invite him to notice if the changes that have happened have spread to jubilee clip and screwdriver:
T80: And even consider giving your life for another. And when sublime love from here, what
happens to jubilee clip and screwdriver?
C81: They disappear.
Hallelujah, jubilee clip and screwdriver, the original binding metaphor have disappeared. However just
because they disappear does not mean they cannot reappear. We continue to ask maturing questions so
that the client discovers their fate:
T81: And when they disappear, where do they disappear to?
C82: They evaporate. They’re atomised.
T82: And jubilee clip and screwdriver evaporate, atomised [pause]. And then what happens?
C83: They are part of the universe.
T83: And when jubilee clip and screwdriver are part of the universe, what happens next?
C84: The child becomes the Master. Wholeness pervades [long pause]. He’s undoing jubilee clips for
other people [pause]. He’s a Master at doing it [laughs]. I feel like I’ve stopped climbing [very
long pause]. Thank you.
All the key symbols have changed and the “thank you” indicates a readiness to leave the symbolic
domain, so we accumulate his changed perceptions as a way to consolidate the new landscape:
T84: And now you’ve stopped climbing … and the child has become the Master … a Master at
undoing jubilee clips for other people … take all the time you need … to get to know about
sublime love … and intimate relationships … and feeling comfortable and at ease … being
able to interact with people … part of them … and now you’ve stopped climbing … you can
get to know even more about balance … and harmony … and confidence … and being a
Master at undoing jubilee clips for others [pause]. And take all the time you need over the
next few days and weeks … to discover … what … happens … next.
After a long silence the client smiled and mumbled something about not really knowing what to say.
Then more silence and contemplation. As the minutes quietly passed we assumed the landscape was
continuing to consolidate and that the silence was our co-therapist. Then, as he was preparing to leave,
he said:
For the last few years I’ve been asking myself, ‘Am I doing what I want to do or is it time to
look for something new?’ But I kept getting blanks. Now I know what my mission is: helping
others to undo their jubilee clips.
We all laughed.
The transcript demonstrates the value of continuing to ask maturing questions until changes come to
fruition. At C68 the boy “begins growing into a Master” but it is not until C84 that he “becomes the
Master.” In the meantime change reverberates round the whole system and the three binds – jubilee
clip, the race and climbing a mountain – are all resolved. As often happens, in the client’s vulnerability
lay his strength: now he is a Master at undoing jubilee clips for other people.

Summary of changes
One of the hallmarks of transformation is the emergence of novel forms. The transcript shows how
these can materialise in a variety of ways and at a number of levels. Although the client’s overall
pattern of organisation changes – he stops climbing and becomes a Master at undoing jubilee clips for
other people – this could not have happened unless many individual symbols and their relationships had
changed along the way. These changes are summarised in Figure 9.3.
 FIGURE 9.3 Summary of changes in Stage 5 of Jubilee Clip
The Jubilee Clip transcript demonstrates some general points about maturing which are worth noting.
First, in Stage 5 the overall number of questions which facilitated evolving and spreading are
approximately balanced by the number of questions which developed and consolidated. Second,
maturing accounted for a quarter of the entire transcript. Third, spending this much time maturing
enabled the client to embody, rehearse and become familiar with his new patterns.

The Results of Maturing

As changes evolve, develop and spread, new symbols, relationships and patterns begin to appear. Then
one of two things can happen: the maturing process is blocked, held back, undone or in some other way
interrupted by a self-preserving binding pattern; or the landscape as a whole consolidates into a new
organisation.
Interruptions to maturing
Interruptions to maturing can happen either in the session or in the client’s everyday life. During the
session, repeatedly asking questions which evolve and spread change may reveal hitherto hidden
obstacles or binds. It is important to recognise that these interruptions may manifest behaviourally
(“My head has just started aching”), conceptually (“Surely your other clients don’t say these sorts of
things”), or within the metaphor. In the following example, maturing was going smoothly until several
binding patterns “loomed up” and unexpectedly interrupted the maturing process:
T: And as button is pushed [stamps floor], and cord is retrieved, and thin sheet is triggered and goes
WHAM [replicates hand movement], and pipes are severed [pause], and construction drops away
from the base of fire bucket, then what happens?
C: It’s not a bottomless bucket any more.
T: And when it’s not a bottomless bucket any more, what happens next?
C: [Broad smile.] Then I am more at peace with myself and things don’t … [long pause]. A sense of
the world becoming right and things are as they should be. The old order being restored. Or maybe
it’s a new order made up of the old!
T: And when you are more at peace with yourself, and a sense of the world becoming right and
things are as they should be, and the old order being restored, or maybe it’s a new order made up
of the old, then what happens?
C: [Long pause. Frowns.] There are lots of gaps in me. My universe has not been realised yet. I don’t
feel I’m living on all pistons firing. I’m only actually a very small part of my universe. There’s a
whole seven-eighths I haven’t been able to realise. Eight-eighths is like dying and going to heaven
[pause]. I’d be happy with seven-eighths. If I could get a job I could start realising my life [long
pause]. ‘What if’ just loomed up. But what if, what if this doesn’t work? What if I put everything
into this and it doesn’t work? Then the whole building will come crashing down.
If an interruption like this happens, you facilitate the client to find out how this new information fits
into the organisation of the whole landscape (using Stage 2 or 3 processes as appropriate).
Maturing can also falter outside of the session. Either an in-session transformational experience proves
to be short-lived and the client reverts to old behaviours, or an apparently transformational shift proves
to be illusory and the client discovers that they are repeating the same old pattern but in a different
form. Whether the transformation was a ‘peak experience’ or a ‘translation in disguise’ the client will
need to resume the modelling process and incorporate the information contained in the relapse, reversal
or return. In a despondent moment the client may think nothing of value has happened, whereas the
information about the way the change process was interrupted will be invaluable in their search for
permanent transformation.131

Consolidating the reorganised landscape

Sooner or later, with or without interruptions, sufficient changes occur so that a reorganised landscape
emerges. Then a process of consolidation begins. Consolidating takes place when the changed symbols,
relationships and patterns integrate, amalgamate and synthesise enough for the new landscape to
become a coherent whole and take on a life of its own. From then on homeostatic and binding patterns
operate to preserve the new organisation; instead of limiting new growth they nurture it.
Just as Stage 3 is about facilitating clients to model how their existing symbolic patterns interrelate,
consolidating in Stage 5 is about facilitating clients to notice how new patterns fit together as a coherent
whole. You do this by directing their attention to the inter-connectedness of new resource symbols,
relationships and patterns so that the inherent logic of the matured landscape emerges.
How do you know when a landscape has matured enough to be consolidated? How do you know when
the process is finished – at least for now? Sometimes the client tells you. After a long contemplative
silence the Jubilee Clip client simply says, “Thank you”. Most of the time, the logic of the changes will
indicate when the client has arrived at a new staging post. For example when:
• The process comes to a natural conclusion – the child becomes the Master.
• A binding pattern is both transcended and included – although jubilee clip and screwdriver evaporate,
atomise and become part of the universe, the pattern of wanting to undo jubilee clips lives on, but
with a different purpose.
• An emerging pattern of organisation exhibits operational closure (it forms a unity which has a
measure of autonomy and the means to activate self-preserving changes) – as the client uses his
history and knowledge of jubilee clips for the benefit of others, he will further consolidate his new
landscape.
One way to facilitate consolidation of a newly emerged landscape is to review the changes that have
occurred and offer the client an opportunity to reflect on these changes by saying something like, “And
now [client words for the last change] take all the time you need to get to know about …” and then
slowly weave the new symbols and metaphors into a tapestry which blesses the new landscape’s
organisation.132 For example the Jubilee Clip transcript ends with:
T84: And now you’ve stopped climbing … and the child has become the Master … a Master at
undoing jubilee clips for other people … take all the time you need … to get to know about
sublime love … and intimate relationships … and feeling comfortable and at ease … being
able to interact with people … part of them … and now you’ve stopped climbing … you can
get to know even more about balance … and harmony … and confidence … and being a
Master at undoing jubilee clips for others [pause] …

Exiting the new landscape and returning to dialogue

Once a landscape has matured and consolidated enough, the client will need to make a transition from
metaphor and trialogue to everyday dialogue.
Often clients take the initiative to exit the symbolic domain. One client stopped, looked around and
said, “That’s amazing. Now I see the choices in my life as either on my path, or not. When they are not
‘on purpose’ it will be much easier to say ‘no’ to them, no matter how attractive they seem. It seems so
simple now.” If the client does not take the initiative you can encourage the return to dialogue by
linking the reorganised landscape to their everyday life:
And you can take some time over the next few days and weeks to discover what happens in your
life as a result of all the changes you’ve made here.
Or,
And you can begin to consider how what you’ve learned will influence your choices and
decisions in relation to your family, work colleagues and others in your life.
Some clients may need a few minutes on their own to review the session before they are ready to talk
with you again. Others will eagerly want to discuss what they have just experienced. During the
discussion you can support them to continue consolidating by asking how specific future events in their
life will change as a result of what has happened.133
 Ending a Session when it is ‘Work in Progress’
Of course not every session finishes with a completely reorganised metaphor landscape. More likely a
session will end during Stages 2, 3, 4 or 5 with ‘work in progress’. Three indicators of when to stop
Symbolic Modelling are:
• Events in the landscape come to a natural rest or stopping point, “I’m lying next to a river, enjoying
the view and wondering how I’m going to get across.”
• The client expresses their desire to stop. “Phew, well, that’s certainly given me something to think
about.”
• You run out of time.
The way you end the session will depend on how much time is left, the events happening in the
landscape and the client’s emotional state. If the client and their landscape are at a convenient stopping
point you can summarise the current configuration of the landscape and then invite them back to
everyday dialogue. For example in the Castle Door transcript, the client discovers that she can open and
close the door, but by the end of the session she has not chosen to do so. Therefore we say:
T57: And now you can open and close that door, take all the time you need, to get to know what it’s
like, not to have to spend all that energy keeping that door closed any more. And what else
can happen now more gold is inside and hollow is full and cool and all the darkness is gone
[pause]. And what difference it makes, now that you can open and close castle door – when
you choose. [Pause.] So take some time to get to know what all this means for you and
what difference it will make when you leave here [pause]. Do you have any comments,
thoughts or feelings about what you’ve experienced?
Her reply makes clear what needs to be addressed in the next session:
C58: [Long pause.] I know what this is about. My husband is ill and my daughter’s dying of cancer. I
deserted God. Or God deserted me. I’m not sure which. I lost my link to God and have never
got it back.
You can support the client to make the transition to everyday dialogue by employing the opposite
behaviours to those used in Stage 1 for Entry:
• Change to a more conversational voice tone and speed
• Ask questions which engage conceptual processing
• Initiate a dialogue by referring to the client by their name and talking in the first person.
If you are running out of time and the client is not at an appropriate stopping point, it is usually
preferable to invite them to spend some time attending to an aspect of their landscape that is
resourceful, or at least neutral, before you complete. You do this by reviewing the current state of their
landscape and then backtracking to a safe place, a resource or to their original desired outcome.134

Assignments
Just because the client leaves your consulting room does not mean the Symbolic Modelling process
stops. Many clients gain insight, get a different perspective and change their behaviour as a result of
noticing correlations between how they think, feel and respond in their ‘real life’, and the organisation
of events in their metaphor landscape. You can assist this with a well-chosen assignment.
Assignments are tasks which encourage self-modelling by engaging the client in an activity related to
their outcome for therapy and to their landscape.
Depending where in the Five-Stage Process the session ends, an assignment invites the client to
continue developing their symbolic perceptions (Stage 2), modelling their patterns (Stage 3),
identifying necessary conditions for transformation (Stage 4), or maturing changes that have taken
place (Stage 5). Assignments usually involve some type of: mapping, writing, researching or
physicalising.

MAPPING: DRAWING OR SCULPTING THE CURRENT LANDSCAPE

Mapping has numerous functions. Initially it can help the client develop the form of their symbols and
metaphors. Then it can aid them to see patterns that have occurred over sessions, and to contemplate or
investigate the relationship between the landscape and their life: “Now that you know there are six links
to that chain, it might be useful to consider what each one of those links represents.”
As we explained in Chapter 8, maps can also be used to encourage the client to attend to wholes
(Approach B) and broaden attention (Approach C).
If the landscape has already started to change, an assignment can help develop the changes and
encourage them to spread to other areas: “Now that X has happened, you might want to find out what
difference this will make to the other symbols on your map.”

WRITING: IN JOURNAL, STORY OR POETIC FORM

Some clients report that by writing an account of what happened in the session they can continue the
process on their own. Other clients dialogue with their metaphors and symbols by asking them Clean
Language questions and writing the answers in a journal.135

RESEARCHING: WORDS, PHRASES, SYMBOLS, STORIES

Some clients find it illuminating to research the additional meanings, functions, history and etymology
of key words and symbols (see Chapter 8, Approach C). For others, a way to identify their patterns is to
research the characters, fairy tales, myths, stories, books and films which have appeared in their
landscape.

PHYSICALISING: ENACTING THE METAPHORS

Clients can make all sorts of discoveries by physicalising their metaphors: visiting or revisiting places
which have appeared in their landscape; finding environments which match features in the landscape;
altering things in their home or work place to replicate the symbolic changes that have taken place;
embodying their process by engaging in symbolic acts and creating personal rituals.
At the beginning of subsequent sessions we ask clients to report on what they have learned and what
has changed as a result of the assignment. Our aim is to raise the client’s awareness of their ability to
change. We also regularly review how much has changed since they started therapy and how this
relates to patterns in their metaphor landscape.
Because change often manifests in unpredictable ways, we listen and look for changes which the client
may not have fully acknowledged or appreciated. A client came to us wanting a very specific outcome:
to stop compulsively cleaning her house. A month later, at her second session, she reported that her
compulsion was only marginally better but that her relationship with her husband had unexpectedly
improved. The next session revealed minimal change to the compulsion but a big improvement in her
relationship with her children. At subsequent sessions she reported that she had joined a gym, started
working part-time, had been accepted for a place at university and was feeling much better about
herself generally. It was not until the eighth session that she casually mentioned that while she still
reverted to the occasional bout of cleaning, it was a diminishing and not very important part of her life
any more – and that there was no need for a ninth session.

Concluding Remarks
Whether a change manifests as the merest alteration to an attribute of one symbol or as a transformation
of a pattern of organisation accompanied by a dramatic display of emotion, you respond in the same
way – by supporting the changed metaphor landscape to mature.
Your role is to direct the client’s attention to each change as it occurs, and then to facilitate that change
to evolve, develop and spread to other symbols and contexts. In this way novel patterns emerge which
can be consolidated into a new metaphor landscape.
Much as clients want to change, they usually have little idea of what they will experience when they
have changed. When some clients experience the first significant shift they think, “That’s it, it’s all
over” when there may be much more for them to learn. Therefore it is generally better to over rather
than to under mature. The more time spent maturing, the more the client will embody and integrate the
changes. The more the reorganised landscape consolidates, the more the client will become familiar
with their new way of being. Once this happens, a whole world of possibility opens up for them.
Finishing maturing does not complete the change process – far from it. The reorganised landscape will
continue to influence the client and initiate further unexpected changes long after their work with you is
a distant memory.
 Chapter 10 Outside and Beyond
Yes, metaphor. That’s how this whole fabric of mental interconnections holds together.
Metaphor is right at the bottom of being alive.
Gregory Bateson
While this book has been about facilitating individuals in a therapeutic context, Symbolic Modelling
can also be applied outside the consulting room. The components of Symbolic Modelling – metaphor,
modelling and Clean Language – can be used in three ways: to model successful strategies and states of
excellence, to facilitate change, and to facilitate individuals and groups to create new metaphors (Figure
10.1). The components can be applied together or individually; and can be used in conjunction with
other methodologies.

FIGURE 10.1 Applying the components of Symbolic Modelling

Applications
Below we describe a range of examples where Symbolic Modelling is being applied outside the field of
individual psychotherapy: as a modelling methodology, in education, with couples and families, in the
spiritual realm, in health, physical therapy, business and organisations.

Modelling success
Symbolic Modelling has been used to identify and codify states of excellence, successful strategies and
outstanding approaches. For example, what motivates an author to have their work published? How do
people forgive? How do some clinicians have excellent rapport with their patients? To find out,
modellers need access to one or more ‘exemplars’ who demonstrate the successful behaviour. The
purpose is for the modeller, or others, to be able to achieve similar results by ‘acquiring’ a
corresponding state, strategy or approach.136
One way to model symbolically is to facilitate an exemplar to self-model and to ‘take on’ or embody
their metaphors in the process. Alternatively, you can elicit the organisation of the metaphor landscape
of one or more exemplars and construct a generic model. Then you, or others, can acquire this
synthesised model by adjusting your existing metaphors to correspond to theirs.
The following examples illustrate how metaphors can be a vehicle for the transfer of behaviours, skills
and beliefs from one or more individuals to another.

MOTIVATION TO PUBLISH
When we first started writing this book James met an author who had many books and hundreds of
articles in print. James wondered what motivated him to publish his work. A little Symbolic Modelling
revealed that having his work published was like “leaving footprints in the snow.” James asked him to
stand up and describe the scene as if it were happening now. The author continued:
I’m in the open with snow all around. When I look back and see my footprints I get a sense of
where I’ve come from and the value of my life. There are lots of footprints in front of me, but
those are not mine and they are not going in my direction. Ahead I see dry-stone walls
crisscrossing the landscape. There is a gateway and that’s where I’m heading. I have no idea
what’s through the gateway until I get there. But each publication means I take a step closer to
that gateway. I know the snow will not last forever; I’ll die and my footprints will eventually
disappear. But that doesn’t matter. What matters is that I left my mark, I trod my path.
Later he remarked “I hadn’t realised before, but now I understand why I always start my day writing
and why I don’t consider a piece of work finished until it’s published”.137
James decided to put himself in the author’s shoes by physicalising the metaphor. That night he put
sheets of white paper on the floor in a line leading from his bed to the door. In the morning when he got
out of bed he stepped onto each sheet of paper which sounded like walking through snow. By the time
he had crunched his way out of the bedroom his motivation to write had the added element of ‘for
publication’. James did this every day for two weeks until he no longer needed the paper – and he has
been writing first thing in the morning ever since.

FORGIVENESS
The London Clean Language Practice Group symbolically modelled the process of forgiving. Each
participant was facilitated to discover their metaphorical representations for what it was like before,
during and after a specific act of forgiveness. Here is a selection:

The group looked for patterns across individual metaphors. They learned that, generally:
Before the process of forgiving could begin, there needed to be an explicit awareness of ‘not
forgiving’ which was experienced as tension, smallness or restriction.
The process of forgiving started with a desire to forgive, and this developed into a symbolic
movement such as releasing, opening or moving toward.
After forgiving, metaphors of choice, freedom and change in relative proportion were common.
It also became apparent that most people can forgive to a degree, and that the act of forgiving may need
to be repeated many times before a completely forgiven state is reached.
CLINICAL RAPPORT
Wendy Sullivan was contracted by the National Health Service to model clinicians with excellent
doctor-patient relationships. As part of the project she interviewed each doctor and elicited a metaphor
for the way they related to their patients. Examples were ‘a good actor’, ‘a chameleon’, ‘a detective’
and ‘attending a Southeast Asian business meeting’. When the clinicians were brought together they
were invited to share metaphors and ‘to try each other’s on for size’. It was surprisingly easy for them
to do this, even though some of their metaphors appeared to be very different. In the ensuing discussion
they agreed on the common elements of their metaphors. These were: joining another person’s world;
getting to the heart of the patient’s problem; and having the ability to adapt to each patient while
remaining true to themselves. They concluded that a ‘chameleon detective’ was the metaphor that most
fitted them all. One senior consulting physician was so pleased with the aptness of the metaphor that he
began introducing it into his training of student doctors.
It did not escape Wendy’s attention that clinicians who have good relationships with their patients have
a natural fluency with metaphor.

Education
Educators are applying Symbolic Modelling in a number of ways.The following five examples from a
range of contexts show how, with a little creativity, the use of autogenic metaphor and Clean Language
is making a contribution in the field of education.

MATHS PROBLEM
A pupil who had great difficulty doing maths thought he was stupid if he could not give an immediate
answer to a maths problem. He said, “I know I know the answers but I just can’t find them.” Caitlin
Walker helped him symbolically model how he found the answers to easy maths problems: “It’s like
the problem goes upstairs in a lift and when it comes back down I have the answer.” He discovered one
of the differences between easy and hard problems was the length of time it took for the lift to come
back down. He found, to his delight, that if the problem was hard and he waited long enough, the lift
would return with an answer or with a clarifying question. He also realised that getting upset with
himself prevented the lift returning, and that with some hard problems the lift doors became stuck.
When he found ways to oil the doors and to wait, there was improvement in his maths – and also in his
self-confidence.

ANGER MANAGEMENT
Caitlin Walker has also used Symbolic Modelling with a group of adolescents whose disruptive
behaviour resulted in their exclusion from the mainstream school system. These youngsters had little
idea how to manage their anger and would become violent at the slightest provocation. Within the
group each was facilitated to identify a metaphorical sequence of events – starting with what happened
just before they became angry and how the process of becoming angry resulted in physical violence.
Each metaphor gave its owner a language with which to describe their experience, a way of recognising
early warning signals, and a means of intervening in their own behaviour to prevent the anger-violence
pattern repeating. One youngster had a “radar” that detected when someone was thinking of starting a
fight, which led him to attack first. After he modelled his strategy, others in the group said that because
they expected him to start fights, they “prepared for war” whenever he was around. He realised that his
radar was detecting their fear of him attacking first. Over a number of months he discovered that by
“turning down” his radar he could “defuse” many situations before he “started to explode.” Although
he learned how to control his anger in the classroom, he chose to keep his radar turned up outside,
“because it’s what keeps me alive on the streets.”
CLASSROOM RESPECT
One creative teacher, Susie Greenwood, used Clean Language as a way of responding to a class of 11-
year olds when they objected to watching a religious education video. One child shouted, “It’s not fair.”
Susie wrote this exact phrase on the board and said to the class, “And it’s not fair. And when it’s not
fair, is there anything else about it’s not fair?” She was bombarded with replies, including “You’re
mean,” which she wrote on the board. When the class was asked, “And what kind of mean is that
mean?” one child ventured, “You’re cross,” which was also written up. “And what happens just before
I’m cross?” received several replies, including “You’re not cross, you’re upset.” As she wrote this on
the board, Susie asked, “And what’s the difference between cross and upset?” The first answer was,
“There’s respect.” “And when there’s respect, what happens next?” So many hands went up that she
asked every child to say one sentence about respect. By the time each child had spoken, the class had
settled down. Susie then said, “Now I’m going to show you the video, and afterwards I want to know
what you thought about it, and what you got out of it.”
Susie told us she thought this approach worked well because she asked clean questions of the whole
group rather than by singling out any individual. Collectively they could see that she accepted their
opinions without trying to change them or defend herself, after which the general discussion and mood
of the class could evolve in a mutually respectful way.

LISTENING
As a Speech and Language Therapist, Wendy Sullivan often works with students whose difficulty with
their speech is compounded by difficulty in attending to what is being said. Their poor listening skills
make it hard for them to understand or remember details, especially during school lessons or lectures.
In the past she taught rules for good listening. Now she elicits their metaphors for what poor listening is
like, and what good listening is like.
One student “went into a little world” when not listening, and “kept the ear and the eye on the teacher”
when concentrating. She helped the student explore the structure of the metaphors – how they got into
their little world, how they came out, and what needed to happen for them to keep the eye and the ear
more on the teacher.
Wendy says that once the students have identified the way their metaphors for listening work, they can
monitor and guide their own behaviour more easily than they could by consciously trying to follow set
rules.

MOVING SOUND
Christoffer de Graal runs Moving Sound workshops for people with severe physical or learning
disabilities. Some participants are described by their support staff as autistic or as not having developed
language comprehension. This does not inhibit Christoffer. “I’ve been told again and again that they
don’t understand my questions, yet they still respond, and I utilise their response – whatever it is.” He
and the participants play a variety of musical instruments “to enable them to get more of a sense of how
they can express themselves and to create a conversation between moving and sound, and sound and
moving.” He begins the workshops by asking each participant “What movement or sound do you have
today?” Then he utilises the basic clean questions to enable him to establish a connection with
participants’ nonverbal behaviour. As a result the participants create new and enjoyable ways of
expressing themselves nonverbally.
A sample of the staff’s comments from a post-workshop debriefing are “It really got people’s
personalities coming out”; “I’ve seen development, people have been more willing to join in and make
their own contribution”; and “You can place limitations on people and this blows that out of the water.”
Christoffer says, “Clean Language creates a container that’s respectful and encourages me to have an
attitude of curiosity, acceptance and wonder.”

Couples and families

Symbolic Modelling is being used successfully with couples and families. A number of therapists such
as Clive Bach, Dee Berridge and Frances Prestidge have been utilising client-generated metaphors in
couple therapy.
One way to work with couples is to facilitate each partner to develop a metaphor for the relationship,
either conversationally or through a symbolic drawing. Each metaphor is then explored using Clean
Language so that areas of conflict and compatibility can be identified. Just describing their metaphor to
their partner often has a profound effect.
In one case a couple were having sexual problems and both felt bitter and resentful – until they
gradually evolved the following metaphors.
For him it was like his favourite toy was broken and he was waiting for it to come back from the
repair shop but no one could tell him when or if it would ever be ready. He felt helpless and
frustrated. He was considering looking for a new toy, but really loved the old one and wanted it
back.
For her it was like living in a very small house surrounded by fields.
Her favourite companion, a big friendly dog, lived outside. She loved the dog and wanted to go
out and play with him but he was always so close to the door that she couldn’t get out. She felt
angry and trapped. She wanted the dog to move away from the door so she could come out and
join him in the fields.
When they shared these metaphors a big shift happened. Each could listen to and understand the
others’ experience in a way that just hadn’t been possible before. They felt compassion for one
another instead of blame and were able to identify ways to change their behaviour and solve the
problem. They continue to use metaphors to assist them in resolving new issues as they arise.138
Another approach facilitates couples to create a joint metaphor for how they want their relationship to
be, which they draw on one sheet of paper. As events unfold in the combined metaphor landscape,
frank and eye-opening discussions are stimulated when they are asked:
And what is the relationship between [Y’s symbol] and [X’s symbol]?
And is [X’s symbol] the same or different as [Y’s symbol]?
And when [X’s event] what happens to [Y’s symbol]?
And when [Y’s event] what would [X’s symbol] like to have happen?
Deirdre Tidy has introduced metaphor into the ‘circular questions’ of family systems therapy. One
member of a family is facilitated to develop a metaphor for the presenting problem. When the metaphor
changes and evolves, another member is asked what effect this change will have on a third member of
the family. Their response is developed into a metaphor and the process repeated until the question
circulates round all the family members.
Couples and families say that by sharing metaphors they have a better understanding of “where the
other person is coming from,” and that metaphor creates an environment which allows them to say and
hear things in a safe and respectful way.

Spirituality
When people speak of God, angels, devils, a life force, healing energy, a power greater than
themselves, my mission, a calling or a sacred contract, it is inevitable that they will use metaphor.
Because it is so important to honour these experiences and their associated beliefs, Symbolic Modelling
is ideal for working in the spiritual domain.

REFOCUSSING
Diane Divett is a Pastor who is undertaking a PhD. She is researching the effectiveness of
‘Refocussing’, an approach she devised which uses Clean Language and David Grove’s metaphor
therapy within the context of Christian theology. The aim of Refocussing is to: “Help individuals
examine: (1) Where have I come from? (2) Where am I now? (3) Where am I going? (4) How am I
going to get there?; in light of where God is for them and what He has to offer concerning their life
issues, past, present and future.”
Central to her approach is the use of Clean Language to help clients “locate, access and develop their
own unique God spaces. This enables people to connect to God allowing for divine interaction which
facilitates potent healings.” She maintains Clean Language is based on “the scriptural mandate to
listen.” As an example of the effectiveness of her work, Diane describes a client with a decade-long
tranquilliser addiction whose “God space was in his stomach, right near the emptiness, tension, anger,
guilt and frustration in his life … God for him was like oil, providing peace, comfort, relaxation and
love. As he focused on where God was for him and allowed God, like oil, to pour into the emptiness, he
was healed.”139

AN ETERNAL APPLE
With Clean Language you do not need to be an expert in any particular doctrine to be of value in
helping someone identify how they connect with Spirit, find the God-within, clarify their spiritual
beliefs or discover their life’s purpose – but you do need to be cleaner than clean.
Much of our psychotherapeutic work involves the spiritual content of people’s lives. This can manifest
as “an emptiness in my life,” “God is trying to trick me,” “Someone up there’s looking after me,” or a
feeling of ‘connection’, ‘oneness’ or ‘team spirit’. While metaphors such as ‘eternal light’, ‘infinite
ocean’, ‘endless space’, ‘universal plan’, ‘web of life’ and ‘all powerful energy’ are easily recognised
as spiritual in nature, the sacred often disguises itself in a mundane pattern or motif.
One client had a metaphor of throwing away a bothersome apple. No matter how often or how far he
threw it, it would reappear in his hand. He had spent years trying to get rid of it. An exploration of this
pattern revealed that he threw the apple away when he had a clear sense of the direction his life should
take – only to have it reappear in his hand whenever he felt lost or confused. It was a special moment
when he finally realised that rather than trying to get rid of the apple, he could accept it as guiding his
decisions and the direction of his life.

Health
Health professionals are using Symbolic Modelling in a variety of ways to facilitate patients and
colleagues to increase awareness of illness and wellbeing and to improve communication. Some
practitioners are finding it useful to elicit metaphors for a patient’s current symptoms, the process of
healing and their optimum state of wellness. The practitioners then use Clean Language to facilitate the
patient to learn what needs to happen – within the metaphor – to move from illness to health.140

SYMPTOM DESCRIPTION
While running a Healthy Language course for a group of nurses who specialised in Multiple Sclerosis,
we were told that their patients often had difficulty describing the bizarre nature of their symptoms. We
suggested they ask them, ‘And that’s like what?’ and then develop whatever metaphor emerged.
When they did, they got responses such as “It’s like ants running all over my body” and “It’s like
cheese wire wrapped round my legs.” Further clean questions encouraged the patients to describe these
strange sensations in greater detail. The nurses were surprised at just how relieved the patients felt
when they could explain their symptoms in this way. Some patients said it was the first time they felt
someone had really understood their illness.

A DOCTOR’S SHORTHAND
Dr. Sheila Stacey uses metaphor to save time and build rapport with patients. “Some patients give
lengthy descriptions of their symptoms or problems, so I wait for them to use a metaphor that sums up
what the problem is like for them.” The metaphor gives both the doctor and the patient a shorthand
description for future reference. A patient who was experiencing depression spent a long time talking
about her illness and a number of problems in her marriage before she said, “It’s like trying to climb
out of a black hole.” Sheila said that at future appointments “we could both refer to the ‘black hole’ or
the ‘climbing out’ and know it represented a shorthand description of a very complex problem.” This
allowed them to make maximum use of the limited consultation time available.
Sheila also says patients classically describe pain with metaphors like knotted, squeezing, stabbing or
burning. “I’ve found patients with cancer use particularly vivid metaphors: ‘it’s eating away at me’ or
‘I’m frightened it will spread like wildfire’. There were times when I’d spend hours explaining the
technical details of treatment options to patients, but when I’d meet them later it was as if I’d explained
nothing. They remember so much more when I use their metaphor to explain the effects that radiation
or chemotherapy will have on their cancer.”

REACHING AGREEMENT
The parents of a young child who had been born prematurely with major brain damage thought that,
given her prematurity, she was developing in a normal way. Paediatrician Dr. Tom Allport’s initial
diagnosis of cerebral palsy was confirmed, yet the parents continued in the belief that their child would
be fine. Because his explanation of the child’s illness did not seem to register with the parents, Tom
used Clean Language to establish agreement about the child’s observable symptoms: her arching back,
her strange limb movements and her miserable look. After there was agreement on the symptoms,
doctor and parents together could define shared goals aimed at helping to ease the child’s discomfort
and decide what forms of treatment would be best for her. They could do all of this without the parents
having to accept that their child had cerebral palsy.
The child died two years later and Tom clearly remembers a subsequent meeting with the parents where
they thanked him for “listening in a different way than everyone else had.”
Tom says, “I ask ‘What kind of ?’ all over the place. Clean Language helps me create a shared language
where words and meanings make sense to professionals and patients alike. Thinking in Clean
Language, even when I don’t speak it, helps me work out what we are understanding, what we are not,
and to consider where to take the conversation.”

Physical therapy
A growing number of bodywork practitioners are adding Clean Language and the use of client’s
metaphors to their work. Below we give two examples.
META-AROMATHERAPY
Christine Westwood uses David Grove’s metaphor therapy in combination with aromatherapy to
address unresolved trauma. “The healing process works through identification of the specific location
of associated body symptoms in combination with the aromatherapy massage, which releases …
unconscious childlike components of the personality to emerge [in] metaphor … Meta-Aromatherapy
uses the related metaphors – a succession of mental images and felt sensations unique to each client –
as a safe way of resolving these often hidden traumas.” She says it is important for the practitioner “not
to ‘interfere’ with this process of release, both [by using] ‘clean’ language … and physically through
posture and freedom of movement.” It is a safe way of working because “Metaphor allows the client to
resolve trauma without being engulfed in the actual circumstances” and “neither the client nor the
therapist need to know the originating circumstances of the trauma.”141

PUBLIC SPEAKING
Alastair Greetham, a Chartered State-Registered Physiotherapist, specialises in helping people improve
the way they use their bodies in areas such as sports performance and public presenting. He begins
working by using Clean Language to elicit a metaphor which represents the client’s current sense of
their body. He then takes them through a series of developmental physical exercises aimed at freeing
the body and creating a balanced, aligned and integrated posture. At the end of the process the client
identifies a metaphor for how they experience their body now.
One public speaking client with a tense, compressed and bent spine described his body as like “A
bridge that’s tipped up and buckling under the stresses and strains.” After the exercises this became “A
suspension bridge that supports itself. One that spans a beautiful river, with white fluffy clouds in the
sky and a setting sun – such a pleasing and relaxing environment.” Alastair says that the metaphors
enable his clients to measure how much they have progressed. And placing their attention on their new
metaphor before a competition or presentation helps them to access and retain their optimum body
state.

Business and organisations

There is a growing use of Symbolic Modelling in business and other organisations. We give three
examples involving recruitment, computer training and a company whose staff created a corporate
metaphor.

RECRUITMENT
Dan Rundle, a recruitment specialist, uses Clean Language to find a fit between employers and
prospective employees. When a Social Services department calls needing a social worker, Dan
responds “So you need a social worker. And if I could get someone for you who was perfect, what
would that person be like?” He repeats back their answers, frequently asking ‘What kind of?’ and
‘Anything else?’ about the information they have given him. He then calls prospective candidates and
asks what the perfect position for them would be like, and this opens up the way for asking more clean
questions. Dan uses Clean Language because “repeating back their exact words ensures the information
I get is accurate, and asking the questions means I don’t make assumptions and I get the specifics right
first time. I send fewer CV’s, they are closer to what the customer wants (which they really appreciate)
and my hit rate is better, so I have an enhanced reputation in the organisation and great performance
bonuses.” Dan says his job “is like one of those kid’s toys with different shapes where you have to find
the right hole, except with Clean Language you can fit an odd-shaped piece into an odd-shaped hole
perfectly.”
COMPUTER TRAINING
Simon Stanton is a consultant who trains National Health Service workers in how to use computer
systems. He likes to tailor his training to the particular learning style of his participants, so he helps
them identify a metaphor for the type of system they are learning. This sets up a context in which he
can illustrate how the computer operates in a way that is already familiar to them. For example, he finds
out in detail how a participant organises their office, toolbox or kitchen and uses this as a metaphor to
explain how a database works. The system’s features and any associated jargon are related to their
metaphorical equivalent. If the participant has a problem understanding, it can first be resolved within
the metaphor and then the solution applied to the real computer system.
Simon has found a little Clean Language can go a long way. He tells the story of a computer user who,
when asked, “What’s it like learning about the computer?” replied “It’s clear as mud.” Simon’s next
question, “And what kind of mud is that mud, when it’s as clear as mud?” gave the user something to
think about. She finally replied, “Actually, it’s getting clearer.” Simon moved on to the next participant,
leaving her mud to continue clearing.142

CORPORATE METAPHORS
Many companies have created corporate mission and vision statements, but few have created a
corporate metaphor. New Information Paradigms (NIP), a niche software development company
specialising in knowledge management systems, is one that has. Assisted by consultant Caitlin Walker,
each of the 16 staff identified a number of metaphors for ‘the company and where it is going’, for ‘me
as a member of NIP’, and for ‘my relationship to NIP and the way I would like it to become’. As a
result, an entire wall next to the coffee machine became adorned with metaphor maps. The staff were
then taught Clean Language so they could respectfully investigate each other’s metaphors. Next, each
of the company’s four teams was facilitated to incorporate the individual maps into a single group
metaphor. With this accomplished, the teams paired up to discuss areas of overlap, disagreement and
synergy, finishing with an interlinked or integrated metaphor. Finally the four teams combined to
produce a composite corporate metaphor. The result was a far better understanding of how they could
work together and of what they were collectively trying to achieve. NIP found that “Meetings are
shorter, more constructive and we reach a common understanding quicker,” “we are more able to
remain objective,” and “it allows people to access their emotions without having to be overt about it.”
Caitlin adds that the process gives them another perspective from which to find agreement and uncover
problems: one group metaphor contained a river, and when they saw there was no way for people to
cross the river, they realised that that was the problem!
Recognising a good thing, the company has devised its own applications for Symbolic Modelling.
When NIP customers have difficulty specifying their requirements, the sales team uses Clean Language
to help them create metaphors for what they want. When the metaphor is translated into traditional
business-speak, the customers feel understood and the sales people have high-quality information. Back
at the office, the sales people relay the usual customer information and the customer’s metaphors to the
software designers. NIP say the metaphors provide “a common definition language” with which to
discuss the project and to “get to the underlying reasons why something is the way it is.” The software
developers create their own metaphors to help explain the technical design features to the sales and
marketing teams, who in turn use these metaphors in their presentation to customers. In the process, the
software developers have found unexpected uses for their systems. NIP has identified three main
advantages of using metaphor. In their words:
Metaphors work because they transmit enormous amounts of information and richness. Presenting
ideas and situations as metaphors gives the receiver the opportunity to understand the message being
communicated to them, in their own terms. Perhaps what is more important, any points raised, or
criticisms voiced about the metaphor (with its inherent gaps, flaws, etc.) isn’t personal – the scope for
taking offence is greatly reduced … there is ‘room to manoeuvre’ without being ‘pinned down’ ... to
get all metaphorical.
Encouraging participants, in a group, to come up with their own metaphors for (apparently) the same
thing – a product, a customer situation, etc. – often creates a mental or virtual ‘shared space’. In this
‘shared space’, it becomes possible to explore individual metaphors, there is scope to merge or use
them as stepping stones towards a metaphor that everyone has contributed to, or at least that can be
subscribed to.143
The twenty or so examples described are only the metaphorical tip of the iceberg of what can be
achieved using Symbolic Modelling. Symbolic Modelling can be applied in so many fields because
thought processes are largely metaphorical, because modelling is an innate ability, and because Clean
Language, by its very cleanness, adapts to a remarkably wide range of environments.

And Finally …
Our metaphors are like threads which weave together to create a continually unfolding tapestry – the
fabric of our existence. They are so fundamental, pervasive and embedded in thought, word and deed
that they tend to remain out of our awareness. As we become aware of the way metaphors define our
experience, we open up the possibility for a transformative shift in the way we perceive ourselves and
our world.
Facilitating an individual to self-model their metaphor landscape requires the integrity of Clean
Language. It requires us to accept how little we can know of another person’s developmental process. It
requires us to think systemically and to trust in the dynamics by which people transcend and include
their current state of knowing and being. It requires us to honour, affirm and celebrate every one of
their responses as a revelation of their uniqueness. And it requires us to pay due diligence to the
evolutionary unfolding of each human spirit.
 – Three Annotated Transcripts
NOTE:
1. Repetitive passages and ‘filler’ words (Um’s, you know’s, etc) have been deleted from the
following transcripts, otherwise they are verbatim.
2. We do not identify which of us asked each question.
3. Our annotation is indented like this.

Castle Door Transcript

More explanation of this transcript can be found in Chapters 3, 6 and 8 (Approach E).

T0: And what would you like to have happen?

Standard opening question.
C1: I’d like to have more energy because I feel very tired.
T1: And you’d like to have more energy because you feel very tired. And when you’d like to have
more energy, that’s more energy like what?
Requests entry into metaphor.
C2: It’s like I’m behind a castle door.
T2: And it’s like you’re behind a castle door. And when behind a castle door, what kind of castle door
is that castle door?
Asks client to attend to the nature of the perceived symbol, thereby developing its form.
C3: A huge castle door that’s very thick, very old, with studs, very heavy.
T3: And a huge castle door that’s very thick, very old, with studs, very heavy. And when huge castle
door is very thick, very old, with studs, very heavy, is there anything else about that huge castle
door?
Further developing – if the door has five attributes (huge, very thick, very old, studs, very
heavy), maybe it has more.
C4: I can’t open it and I get very very tired trying to open it.
T4: And you can’t open it and you get very very tired trying to open it. And as you get very very tired
trying to open it, what kind of very very tired trying is that?
Inviting client to notice the nature of the relationship between the perceiver and perceived.
C5: Like I’m struggling on my own and not getting anywhere. It takes a lot of energy. I feel like I’m
banging my head on a wall.
T5: And like struggling on your own, not getting anywhere, and banging your head on a wall. And as it
takes a lot of energy banging your head on a wall, what kind of wall is that wall?
Developing the form of the new symbol.
C6: A castle wall of thick granite and I get very frustrated and very angry.
Attention shifts to the perceiver.
T6: And a castle wall of thick granite and you get very frustrated and very angry. And when very
frustrated and very angry, where is that very frustrated and that very angry?
 Locating ‘very frustrated and very angry’ will determine if this is one or two feelings, and will
begin to develop their form.
C7: In here [touches solar plexus region].
T7: And when in here, whereabouts in here?
Locating more specifically.
C8: Exactly in here. Hollow. Full of darkness.
T8: And exactly in here. Hollow. Full of darkness. And when hollow is full of darkness, is there
anything else about that darkness?
Developing the form of the new symbol.
C9: It’s very dry.
T9: And it’s very dry. And when darkness is very dry, it’s very dry like what?
Still developing.
C10: It’s dry like a desert.
Desert in hollow in body in castle.
T10: And it’s dry like a desert. And when dry like a desert, is there anything else about that?
More developing.
C11: It keeps me in one place and it doesn’t let me move.
Similar function to C4 and C5.
T11: And it keeps you in one place and doesn’t let you move. And dry like a desert, hollow full of
darkness in here and struggling on your own and very very tired trying to open huge castle door
that’s very thick and very heavy and very old. And is there anything else about that door you
can’t open?
Backtracking to the door and then inviting the client to notice other attributes (now that the
relationship with the perceiver has been identified).
C12: Yes. A great big circular handle that’s all twisted around.
T12: And is there anything else about that great big circular handle that’s all twisted around?
Developing the form of the new symbol.
C13: It looks like twisted pasta. It’s big. It’s old. It’s dull. It’s metal, iron, black.
Second reference to ‘old’ (C3), indicates ‘door’ and ‘handle’ have a history.
T13: And when great big circular handle looks like twisted pasta and it’s old iron, black, where could
that old iron come from?
Inviting time to move back to the source of the handle’s ‘old iron’.
C14: A spear.
T14: And a spear. And what kind of spear could that spear be?
Developing the form of the new symbol.
C15: Like a Roman would use – I’ve a sense of a centurion standing with it.
T15: And you’ve a sense of a centurion standing with it. And what kind of centurion could that
centurion be?
Developing the form of the new symbol
C16: [Smiles.] Big and broad with armour on and a spear.
 The nonverbal indicates a potential resource.
T16: And when big, broad centurion with armour on is standing with a spear, then what happens?
Invites time to move forward to start identifying a sequence of events.
C17: He knocks on the door.
Ah, ‘centurion’ is part of the castle context but is on the outside.
T17: And as he knocks on the door, what happens next?
Continues to move time forward.
C18: I can hear him but he can’t see me and he goes away. And I can’t get out. Then I get very
frustrated. It gets almost too much to bear.
Potential solution (No. 1) fails and the pattern repeats.
T18: And it gets almost too much to bear. So when you’re behind huge castle door with a twisted iron
handle, and you get very very tired trying to open it, and hollow is full of darkness, and a big
broad centurion with a spear knocks, and you can hear him but he can’t see you, and he goes
away, and you can’t get out, and it gets almost too much to bear, [pause] then what happens?
Recapitulates the sequence and then moves time forward to discover the effect of not getting out.
C19: [Pause.] Then I lose all my energy because I don’t know what to do.
T19: And then you lose all your energy because you don’t know what to do. And when you lose all
your energy because you don’t know what to do, then what happens?
Continues to move time forward to discover effects.
C20: I sit in the corner and go to sleep.
T20: And you sit in the corner and go to sleep. And as you sleep, and sleep, what happens next?
Moves time forward to after the event ‘sleep’.
C21: I have to find away out. I try to open it again.
‘I’ is repeating the same pattern.
T21: And you have to find a way out. And you try to open it again. And what happens just before you
try to find a way out again?
Directs attention to the moment before the pattern repeats.
C22: [Looks up and squints.] I can see the sky – I never noticed that before – hope is on the outside
[long pause]. It’s very strong. It gives me determination and the ability to keep trying.
Several potential resources make their appearance. Because of the long pause it is not clear what
‘it’ is referring to – and with Clean Language it doesn’t matter.
T22: And you can see the sky. And hope is on the outside. And when it gives you very strong
determination to keep trying, whereabouts is it when it’s very strong?
Locating the potential resource ‘it’ invites it into form.
C23: I can feel it right in the middle – at the absolute core of my being.
As ‘it’ is in the middle and at the absolute core, ‘it’ is probably not ‘hope’ which is on the
outside (C22). So what is ‘it’?
T23: And when you can feel it right in the middle, at the absolute core of your being, it’s like what?
Asks for a metaphor for ‘it’.
C24: It’s gold.
T24: And it’s gold. And when it’s gold at the absolute core of your being, what kind of gold is that
 gold?
Continues developing the form of the symbol.
C25: Absolutely pure. It’s always been there.
Indicates significance of this resource.
T25: And absolutely pure. And absolutely pure gold’s always been there at the core of your being. And
is there anything else about that absolutely pure gold?
More developing of the resource ‘gold’.
C26: It’s incredibly strong but malleable. Powerful. You could shape it but you couldn’t break it. An
almost silent powerful.
T26: And an almost silent powerful. And is there anything else about that absolutely pure gold that’s
incredibly strong and malleable and almost silent powerful at the absolute core of your being?
More developing of the qualities of the resource symbol.
C27: It can move.
In contrast to C4, C11, C18.
T27: And gold can move. And where would gold like to move to?
Asks for gold’s intention.
C28: To become liquid and fill all the space.
T28: And can it become liquid and fill all the space?
Checking ability to enact intention.
C29: No.
Potential solution (No. 2) fails.
T29: And gold can’t become liquid and fill all the space. And gold would like to become liquid and fill
all the space. And when gold would like to, and can’t, what needs to happen for gold to become
liquid?
Acknowledges current reality, and asks for the conditions necessary for gold to achieve its
intention.
C30: It has to go outside into the sun.
T30: And can gold go out into the sun?
Checks if it can fulfil the condition.
C31: It doesn’t want to.
Another conflict emerges.
T31: And it doesn’t want to. And for gold to become liquid and fill all the space, it has to go outside
into the sun and it doesn’t want to. And it has to go outside and it doesn’t want to. And when it
has to go outside and it doesn’t want to, then what happens?
The repetitions acknowledge the conflict of intentions. Moving time forward identifies the effect
of the bind.
C32: Some could go, and some has to stay behind.
Potential solution (No. 3).
T32: And is some that could go the same or different to some that has to stay behind?
Specialist developing question which differentiates each ‘some’.
C33: Very very core has to stay behind. I won’t let that move. I need that. I won’t let it go.
 ‘I’ reappears (for the first time since C23) and is now the one that ‘won’t let it go’ outside!
T33: And very very core has to stay behind, and you won’t let it move. And when you won’t let very
very core go outside, where does that won’t let it go come from?
Asks for the source of the ‘won’t let it go’.
C34: If it goes out into the sun I lose it. I lose my strong determination and that’s where my power
comes from.
But gold ‘has to go outside into the sun’ (C30) to become liquid so that it can fill all the space
(C28).
T34: And when your power comes from your strong determination, where does strong determination
come from?
Tracing back the source of ‘strong determination’.
C35: Way, way back.
A new context (time-space).
T35: And whereabouts way, way back?
Asks for a more specific address.
C36: A link somewhere but I don’t know where.
T36: And a link somewhere, but you don’t know where. And what kind of link could that link be?
Developing the form of the new symbol.
C37: It links from something to me. A link I know is there but nobody else can see it.
T37: And what kind of something is that something way, way back that links to you?
Developing the form of the ‘something’ at the other end of the link.
C38: I don’t know [pause].
Directs attention to what client does know.
T38: And when you don’t know, is there anything else about a link that’s there but nobody else can
see?
C39: It’s twisted.
Remember ‘twisted’ handle at C12?
T39: And it’s twisted. And when link is twisted, it’s twisted like what?
Developing its form.
C40: Very fine thread.
T40: And very fine thread. And what would very fine thread that links like to do?
Identifies fine thread’s intention.
C41: To pour some more of the gold into me.
Potential solution (No. 4).
T41: And very fine thread would like to pour some more of the gold into you. And what needs to
happen for very fine thread to pour some more of the gold into you?
Asks for the conditions necessary to enact thread’s intention.
C42: A tap needs to be turned on.
T42: And can a tap be turned on?
C43: Yes, but it doesn’t come out quickly enough.
 ‘Yes, but ...’
T43: And a tap needs to be turned on, but gold doesn’t come out quickly enough. So what needs to
happen for gold to come out quickly enough?
Asks for the conditions necessary to satisfy the ‘but’.
C44: To come out over the top of the vessel.
T44: And to come out over the top of the vessel. And what needs to happen for gold to come out over
the top of the vessel?
Asks for the prior necessary conditions.
C45: An unseen hand needs to tip it so it runs round the outside.
A new resource appears.
T45: And can an unseen hand tip vessel so gold runs round the outside?
Can ‘unseen’ hand enable a link that ‘nobody else can see’ (C37) to pour some more of the gold
into her?
C46: Yes!
T46: And as unseen hand tips vessel and gold runs round the outside, what happens next?
Invites client to enact the intention and notice its effect.
C47: Some of it gets into me [pause]. I get stronger as it goes down.
Gold is fulfilling thread’s intention from C41 and (probably) its own intention from C28.
T47: And when some of it gets into you, and you get stronger as it goes down, then what happens?
Evolving the change.
C48: I feel much more calm and stronger.
T48: And as gold goes down and you feel much more calm and stronger, what kind of calm is that
calm?
Developing the effects of the changes.
C49: I don’t have to panic behind the door.
T49: And you don’t have to panic behind the door. And then what happens when you don’t have to
panic?
More evolving.
C50: I have to want to choose to open the door.
Note ‘I’ is three removed from actually opening the door.
T50: And you have to want to choose to open the door. And what needs to happen for you to want to
choose to open that door?
C51: I need to take the risk.
Another condition is necessary.
T51: And you need to take the risk. And can you take the risk – to choose to open that door?
C52: Only if I can choose to close it again. I’m worried about the handle on the inside. I need to have
control of this door.
‘Only if ...’ is yet another condition. Presumably this ‘handle’ is the same as that in C12.
T52: And you need to have control of this door. And when more gold goes down and you feel more
calm and stronger and you don’t have to panic behind the door any more, and you’ll take the risk
to open that door if you can choose to close it again, what happens to a big, broad centurion with
 a spear?
Recaps the changes and invites client to notice if the changes have spread to the potential
resource.
C53: He can stand outside and protect.
T53: And as centurion stands outside and protects, then what happens?
Enacts centurion’s function and directs attention to the effects.
C54: I can open it from the inside and nobody can open it from the outside.
The final condition is fulfilled.
T54: And when you can open it from the inside and nobody can open it from the outside, what happens
to hollow full of darkness?
Inviting client to notice if the changes have spread to ‘hollow’ and ‘darkness’.
C55: All the darkness goes.
T55: And when all the darkness goes, what kind of hollow is that hollow when all the darkness goes?
Developing the form of the changed hollow.
C56: Well, gold fills the hollow and cools the desert.
Reappearance of the ‘desert’ (C10).
T56: And when gold fills the hollow and cools the desert and all the darkness goes, then what happens?
More evolving.
C57: I can open it and close it [pause]. I don’t have to spend all that energy keeping that door closed.
Ah, that’s where all her energy was going: keeping closed the door that she was trying to open!
T57: And now you can open and close that door, take all the time you need, to get to know what it’s
like, not to have to spend all that energy keeping that door closed any more. And what else can
happen now more gold is inside and hollow is full and cool and all the darkness is gone [pause].
And what difference it makes, now that you can open and close castle door – when you choose.
[Long pause.]So take some time to get to know what all this means for you and what difference
it will make when you leave here [pause]. Do you have any comments, thoughts or feelings
about what you’ve experienced?
It’s time for the session to end, and this is a convenient place to finish. So we review all the
changes as a way of consolidating the landscape’s new features.
C58: [Long pause.] I know what this is about. My husband is ill with ME and my daughter’s dying of
cancer. I deserted God. Or God deserted me. I’m not sure which. I lost my link to God and have
never got it back.
The client makes some conscious discoveries and connections, so the therapy will proceed with a
new outcome. As an assignment we asked her to: draw a metaphor map of the current landscape;
to wonder about the relationship between ‘I deserted God’ and ‘desert’ (C10, C56); and ‘my link
to God’ and the link ‘that nobody else can see’ (C37).

Jubilee Clip Transcript

More explanation of this transcript can be found in Chapters 7, 8 and 9.
T0: And what would you like to have happen?
Standard opening.
C1: Total confidence in my own abilities. There is a colleague who has incredible self-belief. He
 believes he is going to succeed no matter what obstacles are put in his way. I became a senior
manager by accident and now I feel vulnerable [touches chest with left hand]. It’s like I’m
waiting to be exposed and then people will say ‘We’re proved right’. I’m thinking, how can I
disguise my weakness?
Defines desired outcome. Then specifies current state, marking out the word ‘vulnerable’.
T1: And you’d like total confidence in your own abilities and now you feel vulnerable. And when you
feel vulnerable, how do you know you feel vulnerable?
The entry question asks the client to reflect on his experience of ‘feel vulnerable’.
C2: Failure comes to mind. I failed the 11-plus exam. I realised for the first time I wasn’t invincible. I
felt different about me.
A memory with indicators of a defining moment.
T2: And you realised for the first time you weren’t invincible and you felt different about you. And
when you felt different about you, what kind of felt different is that?
This developing question invites the client to stop time and define the attributes of ‘felt
different’.
C3: I see me as a young boy looking up at mother. She has a look of disappointment on her face. She’s
just read the letter saying I failed the 11-plus.
The repetition of ‘see’, ‘looking’, ‘look’ and ‘read’ indicates a significant visual motif.
T3: And she’s just read the letter saying you failed the 11-plus. And when she has a look of
disappointment on her face, what kind of look is that look?
Invites the client to notice the attributes of one of the looks.
C4: Expressionless, drawn, eyes looking down, jaw set, a serious look of sadness. Almost a look of
resignation.
The amount of detail indicates the significance of the look.
T4: And when mother’s read a letter saying you failed and mother has almost a look of resignation,
then what happens?
Starting to identify the sequence of events.
C5: For the first time mother distances herself.
More indication of a defining moment.
T5: And for the first time mother distances herself. And as mother distances herself, then what
happens?
Continues identifying a sequence.
C6: He feels puzzled as it’s never happened before. He knows something wrong has happened.
Something has changed in the bond.
T6: And what kind of change could that change be when something has changed in the bond with
mother?
Asks for attributes of the changed relationship between the symbols ‘mother’ and ‘son’.
C7: The child feels it’s around love – it’s not as strong.
T7: And it’s around love and it’s not as strong. And when love is not as strong, then what happens?
Returns to identifying the next step in the sequence.
C8: A quietness. Mother goes about her housework but doesn’t recognise the child in the same way.
This is ‘after’ the defining moment as mother’s location and her relationship with the boy have
 changed.
T8: And a quietness, and mother doesn’t recognise the child in the same way after she has read a letter.
And what happens just before mother’s read a letter?
Backtracks to the first step in the sequence so can ask client to attend to the preceding step.
C9: He can sense the affection between them. There is an air of expectancy of success. He’s happy.
The perception ‘before’ is marked by a completely different state.
T9: And when he can sense the affection between them, and an air of expectancy, and he’s happy, then
what happens?
Checking if the client goes through the same sequence.
C10: She completely read the letter. In fact I remember the moment – she completed reading the letter
twice.
Yes. And note the detail of how many times mother read the letter.
T10: And she completed reading the letter twice. And she completed reading the letter twice. And what
kind of moment is that moment when she completed reading the letter twice?
Saying the words twice honours the twice-ness. Then asks him to notice the attributes of the
defining moment rather than any component of that moment.
C11: Not a pleasant moment. He doesn’t want to repeat it.
T11: And he doesn’t want to repeat it. And when he doesn’t want to repeat it, then what happens?
C12: He feels that something is wrong with himself.
Client’s attention has moved from mother’s look to his feelings about himself.
T12: And when he feels something is wrong with himself, what kind of feels something is wrong could
that be?
Invites client to develop this new source of information
C13: A bad feeling. He’s hurt somebody, caused pain.
T13: And he’s hurt somebody, caused pain. And a bad feeling. And where does he feel that bad
feeling?
Asking for a location encourages the feeling to develop a form.
C14: Here [touches chest with left hand].
The same hand in the same place as before (C1).
T14: And whereabouts here?
C15: In the chest. In the upper chest.
T15: And in the upper chest. And what’s the relationship between a bad feeling in upper chest and
vulnerability?
Checking if there is a difference between the two feelings located in his chest.
C16: It’s the same as an adult feeling of vulnerability.
T16: And it’s the same feeling. And is there anything else about that feeling when it’s the same feeling?
Continuing to develop attributes.
C17: Rapid, shallow breathing and a tightness.
T17: And rapid, shallow breathing and tightness. And when tightness, what kind of tightness could that
tightness be?
More developing.
C18: [Pause.] It’s difficult to explain.
T18: And when rapid, shallow breathing and tightness, and it’s difficult to explain, does it have a size
or a shape?
This specialist question aims to develop the form of ‘it’ so the client can ‘explain’.
C19: [Client holds left forefinger with right hand.] It’s like a finger is grabbed and pressure is applied –
I have a picture – it’s of a jubilee clip tightening around a hose.
He answers with a metaphor for the binding pattern. The ‘ing’ indicates the ongoing nature of
the symptoms.
T19: And a jubilee clip tightening around a hose. So when jubilee clip is tightening around hose, where
does that tightening come from?
Asks for the source of the ‘tightening’ relationship.
C20: A screwdriver.
T20: And what kind of screwdriver is that screwdriver?
Developing the form of the new symbol.
C21: Flat-bladed with a plastic handle.
T21: And is there anything else about that flat-bladed plastic-handled screwdriver that’s tightening
jubilee clip?
Honours the detail. Using ‘that’ rather than ‘a’ names Screwdriver and Jubilee Clip and gives
them an identity.
C22: The handle is yellow.
T22: And handle is yellow. And when flat-bladed screwdriver is tightening jubilee clip around hose,
what would yellow plastic handle like to do?
Requests the intention of the symbol rather than the client.
C23: Undo it.
T23: And can it undo it?
Checks if intention can be enacted.
C24: There’s a conflict.
T24: And there’s a conflict. And when screwdriver would like to undo jubilee clip and there’s a
conflict, what kind of conflict could that conflict be?
Identifies the binding pattern that keeps the metaphor from changing – the conflict between two
intentions.
C25: There’s a fear about undoing the clip. It’s an unknown risk.
Since the risk is ‘unknown’ how can it be calculated?
T25: And when there’s a fear about undoing the clip, and it’s an unknown risk, what kind of unknown
could that unknown be?
Asking client to notice the nature of the other half of the conflict.
C26: Is somebody going to be disappointed at the result?
T26: And is somebody going to be disappointed at the result? And when there’s a fear about undoing
jubilee clip, where could that fear be?
Locating the symbol named ‘fear’.
C27: In the chest again [touches chest with left hand].
 The same as C1 and C14. Do we detect a nonverbal pattern?
T27: And in the chest again. And is that the same or different as vulnerable in the chest?
Checks it is the same pattern.
C28: No difference. They’re the same.
T28: So fear and vulnerable are the same. And screwdriver is tightening jubilee clip round hose. And
screwdriver wants to undo jubilee clip, and there’s fear of undoing jubilee clip – is somebody
going to be disappointed at the result? And as screwdriver is tightening jubilee clip, and fear of
unknown risk, and vulnerable in chest, and screwdriver is tightening, and screwdriver wants to
undo jubilee clip, what happens next?
Having acknowledged all the components and relationships of the pattern – bringing the whole
pattern into awareness – the client is invited to notice how he responds to this kind of conflict.
C29: A feeling of helplessness.
T29: And a feeling of helplessness. And when helplessness, is there anything else about that
helplessness?
C30: [Shrugs shoulders.] No.
A helpless response to helplessness?
T30: And no. And helplessness. So when there’s a conflict and helplessness, what needs to happen for
screwdriver to undo clip?
Enquiring if the client knows what conditions are necessary to resolve the conflict.
C31: A person has to do it [pause]. And that person is me.
T31: And a person has to do it and that person is you. And what kind of person is that person who has
to do it?
Asking for the attributes of ‘that person’ starts to develop the new symbolic perception.
C32: Not afraid. Confident, comfortable with myself. Congruent. Well-balanced. Focused [pause]. In
harmony.
T32: And not afraid, confident, comfortable with yourself. Congruent. Well-balanced. Focused. In
harmony. And when in harmony what kind of harmony is that harmony?
Concentrating on developing the attributes of the resource.
C33: With people, with nature, with myself. With the good and bad things in life.
T33: And when harmony with people, with nature, with yourself, and with the good and bad things in
life, that’s harmony like what?
Invites a conversion to symbolic form.
C34: A truly balanced person. It reminds me of a TV show and the Master from Kung Fu.
T34: And a truly balanced person, the Master from Kung Fu. And what kind of Master is that Master?
More developing of the resource symbol.
C35: He has answers to life. A deep understanding of himself, nature, his place in the world. He can be
an example, a guide.
T35: And he can be an example and a guide. And he has answers to life, and a deep understanding of
himself, and nature, and his place in the world. And when he has a deep understanding of
himself, where could that deep understanding come from?
Invites client to locate the source of the resource.
C36: A large part from himself. And some external. But mostly it comes from within.
T36: And some external but mostly from within. And whereabouts within does deep understanding
come from?
Asks for a more specific location of the resource and invites the client to embody it.
C37: The head. The brain. And all the senses.
T37: And when deep understanding comes from the head, the brain and all the senses, is there anything
else about where deep understanding comes from?
Which way to go? Don’t know. Ask ‘is there anything else?’ so that the client sets the direction.
C38: It includes emotional things – I picture a heart.
T38: And what kind of heart is that heart?
Developing attributes of the symbol within a symbol.
C39: A mature heart.
T39: And a mature heart. And is there anything else about the mature of that heart?
Developing the ‘mature’ attribute which is complementary to that of ‘young boy’.
C40: It’s had lots of experience. It’s red. It’s a picture of a heart, but it doesn’t look like a real one.
T40: And when red mature heart has had lots of experience, what happens to a person who has to undo
jubilee clip that’s tightening?
Specialist question to discover the relationship between the resource and the conflict.
C41: I feel like the pupil. I’ve not reached the level of maturity required
An indication that a secondary bind is operating..
T41: And when you feel like the pupil and you’ve not reached the level of maturity required, is there
anything else about the level of maturity required?
Developing the attributes of the new bind.
C42: It’s not to do with age. It’s to do with upbringing and principles and thought processes. I don’t
think I’ve had the upbringing [pause]. I’ve only started to grow over the last few years.
‘Grow’ is a naturally-changing process and potential resource.
T42: And you don’t think you’ve had the upbringing and you’ve only started to grow over the last few
years. And what needs to happen to grow to the level of maturity required?
Asks client to identify the conditions necessary for him to become the person who can undo
Jubilee Clip.
C43: I wonder if I can ever achieve it. There’s an element of doubt. I’m looking for an external
experience [laughs]. Like an exam!
A key moment as the pattern has repeated. (Presumably the client realises the situation of the boy
and the adult correspond – he still needs to pass an exam!)
T43: And you’re looking for an external experience to reach the level of maturity required. And what
kind of exam could that exam be?
Invites client to identify attributes of the potentially redeeming exam.
C44: A very difficult exam.
T44: And a very difficult exam. And is there anything else about a very difficult exam?
C45: I haven’t got the background to sit it. I’m inadequate to take the exam.
Another part of the organisation of the bind is revealed (see Figure 7.4 for a description of the
paradox).
T45: And when you haven’t got the background, and you’re inadequate to take the exam, what kind of
inadequate could that inadequate be?
C46: My childhood upbringing. Not being exposed to intellectual stimuli. I didn’t grow as fast as I
might. Everything seems to come late.
T46: And everything seems to come late. And when you didn’t grow as fast as you might, is there
anything else about not growing as fast as you might?
We’re not sure who is saying what about whom. So we opt for the all-purpose question, ‘And is
there anything else?’
C47: I’ll have to prove myself more than once.
A further knot in the bind.
T47: And when you’ll have to prove yourself more than once, how many times will you have to prove
yourself?
C48: Twice, to be his equal.
How many times did mother read the letter?
T48: And twice, to be his equal. And what kind of twice could that twice be?
C49: It’s like running round a track and I have to overtake him twice.
The ‘ing’ indicates the ongoing-ness of the bind as does the recurring motif ‘round’ (C7 and
C19).
T49: And like running round a track and you have to overtake him twice. And running and running.
And you’ll have to prove yourself more than once. And you have to overtake him twice. And as
you’re running round that track and you have to overtake him twice, what kind of him could he
be?
Lots of repetition of running and twice-ness encourages the client to embody the pattern and
identify the ‘him’ he has to overtake twice.
C50: My ideal me.
T50: And your ideal me. And as you’re running round that track and you have to overtake your ideal
me twice, what happens as you grow?
Preserves the name ‘me’ and invites client to explore the relationship between these two
symbolic processes. (Can he grow enough to overtake ‘me’ twice?)
C51: It changes the situation.
T51: And as you grow it changes the situation, and then what happens?
The first indication of a change is evolved ...
C52: The gap widens. The more I grow the more the gap widens.
... only to reveal a secondary bind. (Note the metaphor is similar to a mother distancing herself.)
T52: And the gap widens. And the more you grow the more the gap widens. And the more you grow
the more the gap with your ideal me widens. And the more you’re running round a track, the
more the gap widens [pause]. And then what happens?
Honours the bind and moves time forward to discover the effects of the pattern.
C53: It’s a no-win situation.
T53: And it’s a no-win situation. And is no-win situation the same or different as helplessness?
Checks assumption about isomorphic nature of pattern.
C54: It’s the same.
 Now we’ve been round the pattern twice!
T54: And no-win and helplessness are the same. And when no-win is the same as helplessness, that’s
no-win and helplessness like what?
Asks for a metaphor for the whole pattern of organisation.
C55: It’s like I have to keep climbing a mountain that gets higher the more I climb.
The nature of the double bind is captured in a single metaphor.
T56: And when you have to keep climbing a mountain that gets higher, where did the have to of that
have to keep climbing a mountain come from?
Asks for the source of the ‘have to’ that keeps the pattern repeating.
C57: Not wanting to see a look of failure. Wondering ‘Am I good enough?’. [Touches chest with left
hand.]
Nonverbal pattern repeats. He started with ‘wanting confidence’ but his doubts keep him running
round a no-win pattern which means he can’t be confident.
T57: And not wanting to see a look of failure. And wondering ‘Am I good enough?’ [Pause.] And
would red, mature heart that’s had lots of experience and deep understanding be interested in
going to young boy who’s not wanting to see a look of failure?
Time to test the interest of the resource in going to ‘young boy’ with all his vulnerability, fear
and not wanting to disappoint.
C58: [Long pause.]Yes.
T58: And yes. And can that red, mature heart go to that young boy?
Testing the ability of the resource symbol to enact its interest.
C59: Yes.
T59: And as red, mature heart that’s had lots of experience and deep understanding goes to that young
boy [pause], what happens next?
Introduces the two symbols and asks for the effects.
C60: He feels life again.
First mention that he had not been feeling life. We ask him to move time forward to evolve the
change.
T60: And as he feels life again, then what happens?
C61: The race becomes enjoyable.
The result is that the relationship between runner and race changes.
T61: And as the race becomes enjoyable and he feels life again, then what happens?
C62: Confidence returns.
Yes. Just what he asked for in C1.
T62: And confidence returns. And when red, mature heart that’s had lots of experience and deep
understanding goes to that young boy and he feels life again and the race becomes enjoyable and
confidence returns, what happens to a mother who’s just read a letter twice?
However, the new landscape has yet to develop a mature form so we accumulate all the changes
so far and invite the client to notice if the changes have spread to ‘mother’.
C63: She expresses it’s a learning process, not a failure. She’s comfortable with him.
Two relationships change: mother and exam, and mother and son.
T63: And she’s comfortable with him. And it’s a learning process. And when mother is comfortable
with him, what happens next?
Maturing the effects of the change.
C64: The boy has a different view. A sense of security. Looking forward to life.
Ah ha. A double change. And remember the significance of ‘looks’ (C3–C4).
T64: And looking forward to life. And a sense of security. And a different view. And what kind of view
is that different view?
Maturing by developing the attributes of the changed perceiver.
C65: A wholly confident view. Congruent. Balanced [pause]. In harmony.
The attributes of the Master have transferred to the boy.
T65: And when young boy has a wholly confident view, congruent, balanced, in harmony what would
he like to do first?
Maturing by enacting an intention.
C66: Take the exam again.
T66: And can he take the exam again?
C67: Yes, and he passes.
A change to the original sequence.
T67: And he takes the exam again and passes. And what happens next when he passes the exam?
Evolving the change.
C68: He begins growing into a Master.
T68: And as he begins growing in to a Master, what kind of growing is this growing into a Master?
A new, naturally-evolving process is matured. ‘This’ acknowledges the difference with the other
growing which could not overtake his ideal self.
C69: Aware of the world around him. Understanding his place in life. Enjoying the process.
The boy’s whole relationship with the world and life is changing.
T69: And aware, and understanding his place in life, and enjoying the process. And is there anything
else as he begins growing into a Master?
More developing and use of ‘as’ to evolve.
C70: It’s also being able to interact with people – for their benefit.
Yet more relationships change.
T70: And when able to interact with people for their benefit, what kind of interact with people is that?
C71: I feel comfortable and at ease. Almost part of them.
Compare this with the ‘waiting to be exposed’ (C1).
T71: And when you feel comfortable and at ease and almost part of them, where do you feel that
comfortable and ease?
Developing by asking for location.
C72: [Smiles and touches chest.] In here again!
Where before he felt ‘vulnerable’, now he feels ‘comfortable’.
T72: And in here again. And what kind of in here is that in here?
More developing and embodying.
C73: Totally relaxed.
T73: And when totally relaxed and comfortable and at ease and almost part of them, what kind of part
of them could that part of them be?
Maturing continues because there are some symbols unaccounted for.
C74: Being an influence on their lives. Up-building of productive relationships [pause]. Maybe even
intimate.
The up-down motif (C3, C4, C35, C41, C42) now applies to relationships and a new resource
‘intimate’ spontaneously appears.
T74: And an influence on their lives, and up-building productive relationships, maybe even intimate.
And what kind of intimate could that intimate be?
Developing the new resource.
C75: [Long pause.] Could you ask me that question again?
Where did the client’s attention go?
T75: And an influence on their lives. And up-building productive relationships, maybe even intimate.
And what kind of intimate could that intimate be?
C76: There’s no comfort zone and no barrier.
More changes. This time to previously unmentioned spatial configurations.
T76: And when there’s no comfort zone and no barrier, what is there, when there’s no comfort zone
and no barrier?
Not a standard clean question. Invites client to attend to the new metaphor landscape.
C77: [Long pause.] Love.
T77: And love. And what kind of love is that love?
Love returns (C7) in a new way and is developed.
C78: Sublime love.
T78: And sublime love. And where does that sublime love come from?
Asks for the source of the resource.
C79: Here again [touches chest with left hand].
Sublime love is now located in the place of vulnerability.
T79: And here. And when sublime love comes from here, that’s sublime love like what?
Invitation to convert to metaphor.
C80: Even consider giving your life for another.
Instead of a symbol he describes a symbolic act.
T80: And even consider giving your life for another. And when sublime love from here, what happens
to jubilee clip and screwdriver?
Checks if changes have spread to the original symbols.
C81: They disappear.
They have.
T81: And when they disappear, where do they disappear to?
Yes but where to?
C82: They evaporate. They’re atomised.
 Now the client knows.
T82: And jubilee clip and screwdriver evaporate, atomised [pause]. And then what happens?
More evolving.
C83: They are part of the universe.
T83: And when jubilee clip and screwdriver are part of the universe, what happens next?
Just making sure.
C84: The child becomes the Master. Wholeness pervades [long pause]. He’s undoing jubilee clips for
other people [pause]. He’s a Master at doing it [laughs]. I feel like I’ve stopped climbing [very
long pause]. Thank you.
The child ‘becomes’ the Master and attention shifts from ‘he’ to ‘I’. His relationship with jubilee
clips has transformed and so has the pattern of organisation.
T84: And now you’ve stopped climbing ... and the child has become the Master ... a Master at undoing
jubilee clips for other people ... take all the time you need ... to get to know about sublime love ...
and intimate relationships ... and feeling comfortable and at ease ... being able to interact with
people ... part of them ... and now you’ve stopped climbing ... you can get to know even more
about balance ... and harmony ... and confidence ... and being a Master at undoing jubilee clips
for others [pause]. And take all the time you need over the next few days and weeks ... to
discover ... what ... happens ... next.
Time to encourage the new landscape’s organisation to further consolidate.
[When leaving, the client added:]
For the last few years I’ve been asking myself, ‘Am I doing what I want to do or is it time to
look for something new?’ But I kept getting blanks. Now I know what my mission is: helping
others to undo their jubilee clips. [And we all laughed.]

Lozenge Transcript
C1: I started a relationship recently but there’s insecurity about the relationship. It’s “too good to be
true.” I find it difficult to enjoy the relationship as I get very anxious when I am not with her. I
overwhelm her. I have to hold back. I’m waiting for her to say “I can’t take it any more.” I was
last in a relationship three years ago which I managed to sustain for 2 weeks. When I fall in love
I get the feeling of anxiety – I feel almost ill – so maybe I engineer the collapse of the
relationship so I can manage the anxiety. It gets worse because I’m aware of the effect. I’ve had
to pull back from the brink a couple of times.
How many layers are there to this binding pattern? Two at least. A secondary bind is apparent
because his awareness that the primary bind – it is difficult for him to enjoy being with her and
he gets anxious when he is not – causes more anxiety.
T1: And what would you like to have happen?
A desired outcome.
C2: I’ve got to give her room to love me back.
T2: And you’ve got to give her room to love you back. And when you’ve got to give her room to love
you back, is there any-thing else?
C3: A feeling that I’ve got to love her as much as I can because she’s not going to be around for that
long. It’s like I’ve got to eat all the sweets today even though there will be plenty more to-
morrow. “It’s too good to be true.” I don’t believe it will be there tomorrow. I’m not meant to be
 happy, it’s not for me. Love brings me happiness but I can’t handle happiness and joy. It’s as if I
have to live my life in the darkness.
Further description of the tangled web of cause-effect relationships reveals the pervasiveness of
this binding pattern – it extends to ‘my life’.
T3: And when you’ve got to eat all the sweets today, and you’re not meant to be happy and you have to
live your life in the darkness, is there anything else about that darkness?
So much complex information so soon that we simply select the last metaphor mentioned.
C4: I don’t ever remember having been happy. I don’t feel I’ve ever had permanent happiness –
sustained happiness. I felt very alone as a child. I don’t feel I was ever happy. It’s just a feeling
within me now.
T4: And you don’t feel you were ever happy. And when it’s just a feeling within you now, what kind
of feeling could that feeling be?
Developing the attributes of the feeling.
C5: A sad feeling.
T5: And a sad feeling. And when a sad feeling, where is that sad feeling?
Asks for the location.
C6: In my stomach.
T6: And in your stomach. And when sad feeling is in your stomach, whereabouts in your stomach?
C7: Here [touches stomach].
T7: And sad feeling is here. And when sad feeling is here, is there anything else about that sad feeling?
More developing of attributes.
C8: A feeling sick and nauseous. I can feel it now. I feel very anxious. I hate this feeling.
T8: And you hate this feeling of sick and nauseous and very anxious. And when you feel sick and
nauseous and very anxious, does sick and nauseous and very anxious have a size or a shape?
Inviting feeling into form.
C9: A hand’s-span width [makes gesture with right hand].
T9: And a hand’s-span width. And when [replicates gesture], that’s like what?
Invitation to convert to metaphor.
C10: Like a lozenge.
T10: And like a lozenge. And what kind of lozenge could that lozenge be?
Developing the symbol.
C11: Dark, purple with black and it’s oozing negative emotions. I feel if I could get rid of the lozenge
I’d be ok.
Further developing the symbol.
T11: And if you could get rid of the lozenge you’d be ok. And when lozenge is dark, and purple with
black and it’s oozing negative emotions, is there anything else about that dark, purple, black,
oozing lozenge?
C12: It’s like a black or purple sponge, with liquid seeping out, acid burning me up.
Classic Stage 2 questions have enabled the client to identify an anxious-making, negative-
emotion oozing, acid-burning metaphor. Now we direct the client’s attention to the source of the
symbol.
T12: And a black or purple sponge, with liquid seeping out, and acid burning you up. And when liquid
seeping out, where does that liquid come from?
C13: A permanent store, a secret store replenishing itself and it never runs out. When nothing seeps out
I feel ok. (I’m glad you two are not psychiatrists or you’d be writing out the Section Order right
now!)
T13: [Laugh.] And when nothing seeps out and you feel ok, what happens to lozenge?
Invites client to attend to the relationship between ‘feel ok’ and ‘lozenge’.
C14: It’s always in there, even when I was a baby. It started off like that [holds up thumb and forefinger
of right hand, fingers not quite touching]. Now it’s taking up more and more space.
Note all the references to time in C13 and C14: ‘permanent’, ‘never’ ‘always’, ‘started’ and
‘now’.
T14: And it started off like that [repeat gesture]. And it’s always in there, even when you were a baby.
And where could [repeat gesture] have come from before it was in baby?
As he is reviewing the history of the metaphor, we continue to move time back by asking for a
prior source of lozenge.
C15: It travelled down the umbilical cord into me.
T15: And when it travelled down the umbilical cord into you, where did it come from?
Tracing back the source of lozenge.
C16: It was given to my mother by my father.
T16: And it was given to your mother by your father. And what kind of father is that father?
Develops the new symbol.
C17: He resented her. [Blows a breath out.] He was angry with her and he didn’t let her know he was
giving her the lozenge.
T17: And when he was angry with her and he didn’t let her know he was giving her the lozenge, where
did his didn’t let her know he was giving her the lozenge come from?
Asks what motivated ‘father’ to keep ‘mother’ in the dark about the ‘lozenge’.
C18: A feeling of frustration that no matter what he does he can’t shake off the shackles of
unhappiness. He has to sneak it into her during intercourse. I can’t handle this any more.
Is this meta-comment aimed at us?
T18: And you can’t handle this any more. And when he can’t shake off the shackles of unhappiness,
where do those shackles come from?
Don’t know, but the metaphor is a repetition of ‘I can’t handle happiness’ (C3). We
acknowledge the comment and keep to the process.
C19: Dark distant past which I don’t know about. He has been dragging them around on his hands and
knees. They are attached to his ankles. Something is being pulled along behind him and it’s
heavy.
We note that the client will probably need to find out about ‘dark distant past’ at some time,
because he has said ‘I have to live my life in the darkness’ (C3) ...
T19: And shackles are attached to his ankles. And when shackles are attached to ankles and something
heavy is being pulled along behind, how far is that something behind?
... and in the meantime we ask about what he is now attending to – the ‘something’ being pulled
along behind.
C20: Ten feet. Like a huge, massive boulder of unhappiness.
T20: And a huge, massive boulder of unhappiness is being pulled along ten feet behind. And what
happened just before those ankles were shackled?
Directs attention to the event which preceded the shackling.
C21: He was free to crawl around as a baby. They were put on by my grandfather, to stop him crawling
away, but he forgot to take them off the baby.
T21: And he was free to crawl around. And shackles were put on by a grandfather who forgot to take
them off baby. And where did his forgot to take them off baby come from?
(How come ‘grandfather’ forgot?)
C22: He died and no one else noticed.
T22: And he died and no one else noticed. And what kind of grandfather put shackles on a baby?
Developing the nature of the symbol ‘grandfather’.
C23: Mean and vindictive.
T23: And mean and vindictive. And when grandfather is mean and vindictive, and puts shackles on
ankles of baby, where does his mean and vindictive come from?
C24: From me.
Given the information has been moving back in time inter-generationally, this answer is
unexpected and confusing. But we stay true to the process by developing the attributes of ‘me’.
T24: And what kind of you is a you where grandfather’s mean and vindictive comes from?
C25: “You’re old enough.”
T25: And “you’re old enough.” And when “you’re old enough,” how old is old enough?
Specialist developing question.
C26: 18 and I can’t handle it.
The same metaphor as C3, C18.
T26: And 18 and you can’t handle it. And when you can’t handle it, then what happens?
A moving time forward question invites him to identify the effect of not being able to handle ‘it’.
C27: Thank God I got rid of it [pause], but there seems to be another one floating around.
T27: And when there seems to be another one floating around, where is that other one?
Developing the new symbol.
C28: [Laughs.] There is only the one – and that’s in me. There’s a mirror image of the lozenge. I’m
seeing it in my hand and it’s big and I’m being shown the future and it’s going to kill me – I’m
being shown it as a warning. So I passed it back to my grandfather.
The client explains the apparent paradox of receiving lozenge through his genealogy and giving
it to his grandfather.
T28: And you passed the one and only lozenge back to your grandfather. And where did it come from
before grandfather ever had it?
But how did grandfather get the lozenge in the first place? A modified clean question invites the
client to find out.
C29: (Long pause.) Been floating around in time for thousands of years.
The motif of a very long time returns (C13, C14).
T29: And it’s been floating around in time for thousands of years. And it’s been floating around for
 thousands of years like what?
Invites the ‘floating’ relationship between ‘lozenge’ and ‘time’ into form.
C30: Like a parasite looking for a host.
T30: And like a parasite looking for a host. And when a parasite’s looking for a host, what kind of
parasite is that parasite that’s been floating around for thousands of years?
Developing attributes.
C31: Lonely, looking for a home and love and warmth and comfort, saying “I’m really friendly” but
when it goes into someone it seeps out the acid. It has to get rid of it and it doesn’t mean to hurt.
‘Lonely’ last appeared in C4 and ‘acid’ in C12. The client is spontaneously modelling the
metaphor’s inherent logic.
T31: And it doesn’t mean to hurt. And it’s lonely, looking for a home and love and warmth and
comfort. And it’s friendly but it has to get rid of the acid. And where could that acid have come
from?
C32: The beginning of time.
Indicates we are approaching the original source.
T32: And the beginning of time. And when the beginning of time, what kind of time is the beginning of
time?
C33: A huge black sphere. Huge black spherical sponge that one day exploded and it created billions of
lonely lozenges. It became the lozenge.
The defining moment when lozenge came into being.
T33: And a huge black spherical sponge exploded and created billions of lonely lozenges. And what
happened just before that huge black spherical sponge exploded?
C34: Behind it was a sun shining from behind and it got so hot it exploded and that let all the light
through and suddenly there was light.
(Shining son?) After 12 moving time back questions (since T23) the client is attending to a time
before the entire pattern began – when there was ‘light’.
T34: And when all the light is let through and suddenly there’s light, what kind of light is that light?
Developing the new resource symbol.
C35: The sun is bringing light and love and warmth and happiness and calmness and I want to just sit
and bask in the warmth of the sun, so the more sun I get the smaller the lozenge gets. [Eyes
closed, face upturned, smiling.]
Presumably ‘I’ has introduced itself to the ‘sun’ and is basking. In this context at least, he seems
able to ‘handle’ happiness and love.
T35: And the more sun you get the smaller the lozenge gets. So take all the time you need to just sit,
and bask in the warmth of that sun, that’s bringing light, and love, and warmth, and happiness,
and calmness.
[Long pause until a noticeable movement of the client’s body.]
And as you bask in the warmth of that sun, would that sun that brings light, and love, and
happiness, and calmness be interested in going to shackles on a baby’s ankles?
As changes are occurring spontaneously, we utilise the clear cause and effect relationship (the
more sun ‘I’ gets the smaller the lozenge gets), and honour the ‘long time’ motif by saying “so
take all the time you need ...” and then just wait. Then we test the interest of the ‘sun’ to continue
 spreading the changes.
C36: Certainly.
T36: And can that sun go to those shackles?
C37: Certainly
T37: And as that sun goes to those shackles then what happens?
Introducing the two symbols ...
C38: They melt and disappear.
... results in more changes.
T38: And as they melt and disappear, then what happens?
Maturing the latest changes.
C39: The baby can crawl and stand and play.
T39: And the baby can crawl and stand and play. And as baby can crawl and stand and play, then what
happens?
Further evolving the change.
C40: All the lozenges disappear.
T40: And all the lozenges disappear. And when all the lozenges disappear, they disappear to where?
Discovering the whereabouts of the lozenges helps bring the new landscape into form.
C41: The sun. They are absorbed by the sun, gently, without pain, into the light.
T41: And when lozenges are absorbed by the sun, gently, without pain, into the light, are lozenges
lonely?
Checking if the changes have affected the attribute ‘lonely’ (C4, C31).
C42: No.
T42: And when lozenges are absorbed by the sun, then what happens?
More evolving.
C43: A baby grows up to be a happy person and he can take his time.
T43: And baby grows up to be a happy person and he can take his time. And then what happens when
father has intercourse with mother?
Checking if the changes have spread to ‘father’ and ‘mother’ (C18).
C44: There is just happiness.
T44: And there is just happiness. And when there is just happiness, what travels down the umbilical
cord into you?
This non-standard clean question spreads the effects of ‘just happiness’.
C45: Sunlight.
T45: And sunlight. And then what happens?
More evolving.
C46: Just happiness.
T46: And when just happiness and sunlight, and just happiness, what happens to sad feeling in your
stomach?
Checking if changes have spread to stomach (C5–C8)
C47: My lozenge has gone! All I can say is ‘just happiness’.
T47: And your lozenge has gone. And does just happiness have a size or a shape?
Developing the form of the symbol called ‘just happiness’.
C48: A big warm glow, happiness, peace and calm.
T48: And when there is a big warm glow, happiness, peace and calm, what happens to insecurity about
the relationship and overwhelming her?
Checking if the changes have influenced the original conditions (C1).
C49: It just goes. Like sunshine on both of them.
T49: And then what happens?
C50: They go forward together, relaxed, confident, no anxiety, no worries, enjoying being, peace,
tranquillity, comfort.
T50: And as they go forward together, relaxed and confident with no anxiety and no worries, what
needs to happen for you to handle all the enjoying being and peace and tranquillity and comfort
and happiness?
The ‘as’ continues to evolve the changes and the question checks that the client knows the
conditions necessary for him to continue to ‘handle’ the changes (C3, C18, C26).
C51: I need to get out into the sun.
T51: And where are you when you need to get out into the sun?
Developing the new landscape by locating the perceiver.
C52: Living in a dungeon where no light comes in.
Developing the new context.
T52: And when living in a dungeon, what kind of dungeon is that dungeon where no light comes in?
C53: It’s my basement flat where I’ve been since 1979.
T53: And when your basement flat is a dungeon where you’ve been since 1979, what’s the first thing
that needs to happen for you to get out into the sun?
Evolving by identifying conditions necessary for him to continue to ‘handle happiness’.
C54: I need to empty it.
T54: And you need to empty it. And what is the first thing you will empty in your flat?
C55: The lozenges! [Long pause.] I’m going home and opening the front door and saying “Ok buddy,
time to go.”
T55: And you’re saying “time to go.” And do lozenges want to go?
Checking if the intention of lozenges matches the intention of ‘I’.
C56: Yes [long pause]. They want to get out.
T56: And lozenges want to get out. And can lozenges get out?
Checks if lozenges are able to enact their intention.
C57: I’ll see them float out the door. I’ll go around the flat and check they’ve all gone.
T57: And you’ll see them float out the door. And when they’ve all gone, where have they gone to?
Identifying the location of lozenges in the new landscape.
C58: To the sun.
The lozenges go home (C34).
T58: And when lozenges have gone to the sun, then what happens?
 Even more evolving.
C59: [Very long pause, then looks up and around room.] There’s space here [touches stomach]. Things
seem different.
This contrasts with when lozenge was ‘taking up more and more space’ (C14) in the place
indicated by the same nonverbal (C7).
T60: And now there’s space and things seem different, can you give her room to love you back and
enjoy the relationship?
Checks if changes have spread to the client’s original outcome (C2).
C60: [Nods. Tears in eyes.]
T61: And is there anything else you need now that there is space and things seem different?
Twelve months after this session the client called to say he was getting married – not to the
woman referred to in the transcript, but to another woman with whom he had “fallen in love in a
different way.”
C61: [Long pause.] No. I’m feeling very weird. It’s amazing what I came out with.
 – Summary of David Grove’s Clean Language
The Function of Clean Language
• To acknowledge the client’s experience exactly as they describe it.
• To orient the client’s attention to an aspect of their perception.
• To send the client on a quest for self-knowledge.

The Four Components of Clean Language

FULL 3-PART SYNTAX
And [client’s words/nonverbals].
And when/as [client’s words/nonverbals],
[clean question]?

VOCAL QUALITIES
When using client-generated words, match the way they speak those words.
When using therapist-generated words, s-l-o-w d-o-w-n your speed of delivery and use a
consistent, rhythmic, poetic and curious tonality.

NONVERBALS
Reference the client’s nonverbal metaphors, either by replicating, gesturing to, or looking at a
body expression; or by replicating a nonverbal sound.
Reference the client’s perceptual space, with hand gestures, head movements and looks that are
congruent with the client’s perspective of the location of their material and imaginative symbols.

CLEAN QUESTIONS
Basic Developing Questions

IDENTIFYING
And is there anything else about [client’s words]?
And what kind of [client’s words] is that [client’s words]?

CONVERTING
And that’s [client’s words] like what?

LOCATING
And where is [client’s words]?
And whereabouts [client’s words]?
Moving Time Questions

FORWARD
And then what happens?
And what happens next?
 BACK
And what happens just before [client’s words]?
And where could [client’s words] come from?
Specialised Questions

OPENING
And what would you like to have happen?

ENTRY VIA A:
CONCEPT
And how do you know [abstract concept]?
LINE OF SIGHT
And where are you going when you go there [gesture and/or look along line of sight]?
METAPHOR MAP
[Look at map.] And where are you drawn to?

IDENTIFYING ATTRIBUTES:
SIZE OR SHAPE
And does [X] have a size or a shape?
NUMBER
And how many [X’s] could there be?
AGE
And how old could [symbolic perceiver] be?
And what could [symbolic perceiver] be wearing?

LOCATING SYMBOLS:
DISTANCE
And how far {is} [symbol’s address]?
DIRECTION
And in which direction is/does [symbol’s movement]?
INSIDE/OUTSIDE
And is [symbol’s name] {on the} inside or outside?
PERCEIVER
And where is [perceiver] [perceiving-word] {that} from?

IDENTIFYING RELATIONSHIPS:
GENERAL
And is there a relationship between [X] and [Y]?
FORM
And is [X] the same or different as/to [Y]?
TIME
And when/as [event X] what happens as/to [Y]?
SPACE
And what’s between [X] and [Y]?
INTENTION
And what would [X] like to have happen/to do?
And would [Y] like [intention of X]?
And what needs to happen for [X] to [intention of X]?
And can [X] [intention of X]?
INTRODUCING
And would [resource X] be interested in going to [symbol / context Y]?
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Psychotherapy, Irvington, New York, 1989.
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Seminars, Eldon MO, 1988.
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MO, 1989.
Grove, David J., Resolving Feelings of Anger, Shame and Fear, (Video, audio tape set and workbook),
David Grove Seminars, Eldon MO, 1989.
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Eldon MO, 1991.
Grove, David J., Reweaving a Companionable Past, (Audio tape set and workbook), David Grove
Seminars, Eldon MO, 1992.
Grove, David J., And Death Shall Have No Dominion, (Audio tape set and workbook), David Grove
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University Press, New York, 1995.
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 – Index
Page numbers in e-books vary according to user settings and type of e-reader. They do not correspond
to the page numbers in the index of the original printed book. We therefore have not included an index
in this addition. However, with over 500 entries our index provides a detailed summary of the book’s
content. Researchers who want to use the original index with their e-readers search facility can
download a PDF of the original index at:
http://cleanlanguage.co.uk/articles/attachments/Index_to_Metaphors_in_Mind.pdf
 – About the Authors
Penny Tompkins and James Lawley are co-developers of Symbolic Modelling and leading authorities
on the use of client-generated metaphor for personal and professional development. They have had
numerous articles published which are available on their web site.
They are practising psychotherapists registered with the United Kingdom Council for Psychotherapy
(UKCP) since 1993. Together they train worldwide and supervise therapists, counsellors, coaches,
managers, consultants and teachers in the use of Symbolic Modelling.
Previously Penny was co-managing director of a manufacturing company in the oil industry, and James
was a senior manager in the telecommunications business. They use this experience when they coach
managers and executives to become more self-aware and to develop their ability to think systemically.
They also facilitate teams in the use of Clean Language and metaphor so they can model and learn from
themselves. They are married, and when they are not travelling they live in England.
They are available for:
• Training Symbolic Modelling
• Private client sessions
• Executive coaching
• Supervision
• Team development
• Using metaphor with large groups
• Modelling in organisations
• Seminars, conferences and workshops
Video available: A Strange and Strong Sensation is a training video of a complete Symbolic Modelling
client session with on-screen annotation. There is a full transcript and unique 3-perspective explanatory
booklet available to download.
For more information please email [email protected]
The Developing Company www.cleanlanguage.co.uk
1 We recognise that technically all words represent concepts. However we maintain that in practice
there is an experiential distinction between words which are processed sensorially, conceptually or
symbolically. For example, whether the word ‘mother’ refers to the person who is ‘my mother’, or
to the concept of ‘a mother’, or to the symbolic ‘Mother Earth’, makes all the difference.

2 See Bibliography for works by Julian Jaynes, Mark Johnson, George Lakoff, David Leary, Andrew
Ortony, and Steven Pinker.

3 George Lakoff and Mark Johnson, Metaphors We Live By, p. 5.

4 This is close to Gene Combs and Jill Freedman’s definition. They “use the word ‘symbol’ to refer to
the smallest units of metaphor – words, objects, mental images, and the like – in which a richness
of meaning is crystallized.” Symbol, Story and Ceremony, p. xiv.

5 Carl Jung, Man and his Symbols, p. 3.

6 In Man and His Symbols, Carl Jung calls this potency a symbol’s ‘numinosity’: “[A symbol’s]
relationship to the living individual. Only then do you begin to understand that their names mean
very little, whereas the way they are related to you is all-important.” (p. 88)

7 Gregory Bateson, in Daniel Goleman, Vital Lies, Simple Truths, p. 7: The pattern which connects is a
‘metapattern,’ a pattern of patterns. … the right way to begin to think about the pattern which
connects is as a dance of interacting parts, secondarily pegged down by various sorts of physical
limits and by habits, and by the naming of states and component entities.

8 George Lakoff, Women, Fire, and Dangerous Things, p. 389.

9 ‘Educational Uses of Metaphor’ in Metaphor and Thought, edited by Andrew Ortony, p. 622.

10 George Lakoff and Mark Johnson, Metaphors We Live By, p. 158.

11 We were first introduced to this idea by Richard Bandler and John Grinder, The Structure of Magic
I: “The most pervasive paradox of the human condition which we see is that the processes which
allow us to survive, grow, change, and experience joy are the same processes which allow us to
maintain an impoverished model of the world … [and] block our further growth.” (p. 14)

12 This is a similar exercise to one presented by John McWhirter in his talk entitled “Modelling
Thinking” at the Association for NLP conference, London, 5 July 1998.
13 Mark Johnson, The Body in the Mind, makes it clear that metaphor and embodiment depend on each
other:
Through metaphor, we make use of patterns that obtain in our physical experience to organise
our more abstract understanding. Understanding via metaphorical projection from the concrete to
the abstract makes use of physical experience in two ways. First, our bodily movements and
interactions in various physical domains of experience are structured, and that structure can be
projected by metaphor onto abstract domains. Second, metaphorical understanding is not merely
a matter of arbitrary fanciful projection from anything to anything with no constraints. Concrete
bodily experience not only constrains the “input” to the metaphorical projections, but also the
nature of the projections themselves, that is the kinds of mappings that can occur across
domains. (p. xv)

The centrality of human embodiment directly influences what and how things can be meaningful
for us, the ways in which these meanings can be developed and articulated, the ways we are able
to comprehend and reason about our experience, and the actions we take. Our reality is shaped
by the patterns of our bodily movement, the contours of our spatial and temporal orientation, and
the forms of our interactions with objects. (p. xix)

14 Steven Pinker, How The Mind Works, pp. 354-357.

15 Aniela Jaffe´, ‘Symbolism in the Visual Arts’ in Carl Jung’s Man and his Symbols, p. 257.

16 See John Grinder and Richard Bandler, Structure of Magic II.

17 Julian Jaynes, The Origin of Consciousness: “Moreover, things that in the physical-behavioral world
do not have a spatial quality are made to have such in consciousness. Otherwise we cannot be
conscious of them. … You cannot, absolutely cannot think of time except by spatializing it.” (pp.
59-60)

18 Daniel Dennett, Consciousness Explained, p. 107: “The Cartesian Theatre is a metaphorical picture
of how conscious experience must sit in the brain.” Dennett shows how the Cartesian Theatre
exists as an object of heterophenomenology (in the mind) but not an object of real phenomenology
(in the brain) because there is a:

… distinction between the spatial location in the brain of the vehicle of experience, and the
location ‘in experiential space’ of the item experienced. In short we distinguish representing
from represented, vehicle from content. We have grown sophisticated enough to recognise that
the products of visual perception are not, literally, pictures in the head even though what they
represent is what pictures represent well: the layout in space of various visible properties. (p.
131)
19 See Ian Robertson, Mind Sculpture.

20 Carl Jung, Memories, Dreams, Reflections, pp. 250-252.

21 Fritjof Capra, The Web of Life:

The new concept of cognition, the process of knowing, is thus much broader than that of
thinking. It involves perception, emotion, and action – the entire process of life. In the human
realm cognition also includes language, conceptual thinking, and all the other attributes of
human consciousness. … The Santiago theory [of Maturana and Varela] provides, in my view,
the first coherent scientific framework that really overcomes the Cartesian split. Mind and matter
no longer appear to belong to two separate categories but are seen as representing merely
different aspects, or dimensions, of the same phenomenon of life. (p. 170)

22 George Lakoff and Mark Johnson, Metaphors We Live By, p. 6.

23 Karl Pribram, ‘From Metaphors to Models: the Use of Analogy in Neuropsychology’, in Metaphors
in the History of Psychology, edited by David Leary, p. 79.

24 In The Structure of Magic I, Richard Bandler and John Grinder discuss the idea of “a model of our
model of our world, or, simply, a Meta-model” (p. 24) and pay homage, like many before and
since, to Alfred Korzybski and his famous dictum “the map is not the territory.”

25 We recognise not influencing is an impossible outcome since the observer by simply observing
inevitably influences the person being observed. However this does not affect the desire of a
modeller to not influence.

26 Steven Pinker, How the Mind Works, p. 21.

27 The field of NLP (Neuro-Linguistic Programming) was established as a result of several modelling
projects conducted by Richard Bandler and John Grinder. They, in collaboration with Judith
DeLozier, Leslie Cameron-Bandler, David Gordon, Robert Dilts and others, did much of the
original work to codify the process of modelling sensory and conceptual domains. See
‘Introducing Modelling to Organisations’ at cleanlanguage.co.uk/articles/articles/120/ or Robert
Dilts’ Modelling with NLP for further references. The only systematic methodology for modelling
metaphors and symbolic perceptions that we know of is our development of David Grove’s
approach.

28 We borrow the term “bring forth a world” from Humberto Maturana and Francisco Varela’s theory
of cognition which Fritjof Capra summarises in The Web of Life, p. 260: “Cognition, then, is not a
representation of an independently existing world, but rather a continual bringing forth a world
 through the process of living. The interactions of a living system with its environment are
cognitive interactions, and the process of living itself is a process of cognition.”

29 George Lakoff and Mark Johnson in Metaphors We Live By say:

Understanding our experience in terms of objects and substances allows us to pick out parts of
our experience and treat them as discrete entities or substances of a uniform kind. Once we can
identify our experiences as entities or substances, we can refer to them, categorize them, group
them, and quantify them – and, by this means, reason about them. (p. 25)

Also, we appreciate there are ‘higher’ forms of consciousness which transcend and include views of the
universe based on separate things, events and people, and that these sometimes, albeit rarely, occur
during psychotherapy. As these experiences are typically described in metaphor, they too are
amenable to Symbolic Modelling. For a clear introductory description of these higher states we
recommend The Essential Ken Wilber.

30 Fritjof Capra, The Web of Life, p. 98.

31 David Grove, And Death Shall Have No Dominion, p. 9. This is one reason why David Grove says,
“Clean Language is information-centered. It is neither client nor therapist-centered.” See ‘The
Philosophy and Principles of Clean Language’ at www.cleanlanguage.co.uk/articles/articles/38/.

32 There are some overlaps between Symbolic Modelling and Eugene Gendlin’s Focusing process:
[Focusing] is a process in which you make contact with a special kind of internal bodily
awareness. I call this a felt sense. A felt sense is usually not just there, it must form. You have to
know how to let it form by attending inside your body. When it comes, it is at first unclear,
fuzzy. By certain steps it can come into focus and also change. A felt sense is the body’s sense of
a particular problem or situation. (p. 10)

Symbolic Modelling differs from Focusing in that: (a) it incorporates awareness other than “felt”
and “inside” the body; (b) it explicitly makes use of autogenic metaphors; and (c) it uses Clean
Language.

33 David Grove, personal communication.

34 Arthur Koestler, The Act of Creation, p. 178.

35 Ernest Rossi, The Psychobiology of Mind-Body Healing, p. 53 (Rossi’s emphasis).

36 Win Wenger and Richard Poe in The Einstein Factor, describe how the technique of ‘Image
Streaming’ can “condition your mind … and improve your performance in virtually all aspects of
mental ability, including memory, quickness, IQ, and learning capacity”. (back cover).
 There are enough similarities between Image Streaming and Symbolic Modelling to believe that
any benefits derived from Image Streaming would also accrue to long-term Symbolic Modelling
clients. The primary differences relate to Symbolic Modelling: (a) being designed as a
therapeutic process; (b) using Clean Language; (c) facilitating the self-modelling of the
organisation of the image stream; and (d) making use of non-visual modalities.

37 Fritjof Capra, The Web of Life, p. 98.

38 Chapter 2 of Ken Wilber’s Sex, Ecology, Spirituality, provides a comprehensive summary of

“twenty basic tenets (or conclusions) that represent what we might call ‘patterns of existence’ or
‘tendencies of evolution’ or ‘laws of form’ or ‘propensities of manifestation’” characteristic of
self-organising systems. (p. 32)

39 We recognise ‘level’ is a metaphor which helps us conceive of an intangible pattern in nature (or in
our perception of nature, if you prefer). And that once there are levels, the metaphor inevitably
extends to ‘higher’ and ‘lower’ levels. As long as we remember that these are metaphors, and that
all metaphors bestow advantages and disadvantages, we can use them as useful distinctions. In Sex,
Ecology, Spirituality, Ken Wilber emphasises that levels may be metaphors but they are not
arbitrary:

A level … is established by several objective criteria: by qualitative emergence (as explained by

Popper); by asymmetry (or “symmetry breaks,” as explained by Prigogine and Jantsch); by an
inclusionary principle (the higher includes the lower, but not vice versa, as explained by
Aristotle); by developmental logic (the higher negates and preserves a lower, but not vice versa,
as explained by Hegel); by a chronological indicator (the higher chronologically comes after the
lower, but all that is later is not higher, as explained by St. Gregory). (p. 55)

40 Ken Wilber, Sex, Ecology, Spirituality:

Reality is not composed of things or processes; it is not composed of atoms or quarks; it is not
composed of wholes nor does it have any parts. Rather, it is composed of whole/parts, or holons.
This is true of atoms, cells, symbols, ideas … There is nothing that isn’t a holon (upwardly and
downwardly forever). (p. 33)

41 Ken Wilber, A Brief History of Everything:

A molecule transcends and includes atoms. Transcends, in that it has certain emergent or novel
or creative properties that are not merely the sum of its components. This is the whole point of
systems theory and holism in general, that new levels of organisation come into being, and these
new levels cannot be reduced in all ways to their junior dimensions – they transcend them. But
they also include them … So, transcends and includes. (p. 31)

In Sex, Ecology, Spirituality, Ken Wilber also says: “This does not mean that every transcendence
necessarily includes every predecessor in every detail, but simply that each transcendence builds
 upon some of the fundamental features of its predecessor(s).” (p. 530)

42 For example, “I’m beside myself” indicates two, or possibly three perceivers (‘I’, ‘my’, ‘self’)
perceiving from different locations. David Grove realised the importance of perceiver location
after he began exploring the then bizarre notion: When people dissociate and fragment, where do
they dissociate and fragment to? He found that some of the client’s ‘essence’ ‘went to’ very
specific places which had great symbolic significance for them. Thereafter certain perceptions
were always perceived from, or influenced by, those locations. Thanks also to Steve Briggs for
helping clarify our ideas about perceivers and their ‘point of perception’ (his term for the location
from where a perception is perceived).

43 Fritjof Capra, The Web of Life, p. 81.

44 The higher the level, the more significant; the lower the level, the more fundamental: “More
significant … because more of the universe is reflected or embraced in that particular wholeness
… More fundamental, because everything above it depends upon it for its existence.” Ken Wilber,
Sex, Ecology, Spirituality, p. 63. By this definition symbols are more fundamental, relationships
and patterns are more significant and patterns of organisation are more significant still.

45 For a full account of this example see ‘Nexus – A Client’s Dilemma’ at

cleanlanguage.co.uk/articles/articles/48/.

46 Fritjof Capra, The Web of Life, p. 154.

47 Gregory Bateson, Steps to an Ecology of Mind, p. 452. Bateson adds in Mind and Nature,: “The
interaction between parts of mind is triggered by difference, and difference is a nonsubstantial
phenomenon not located in space or time.” (p. 97)

48 Fritjof Capra, The Web of Life:

A living system is determined in different ways by its pattern of organization and its structure
[form]. The pattern of organization determines the system’s identity (i.e. its essential
characteristics); the structure, formed by a sequence of structural changes, determines the
system’s behaviour … However, rather than being determined by outside forces, [change] is
determined by the organism’s own structure – a structure formed by a succession of autonomous
structural changes. Thus the behaviour of the living organism is both determined and free. (p.
215)

49 Brian Goodwin, How the Leopard Changed its Spots:

The relevant notion for the analysis of evolving systems is that of dynamic stability. A necessary
(though by no means sufficient) condition for the survival of a species is that its life cycle be
dynamically stable in a particular environment. This stability refers to the dynamics of the whole
 cycle, involving the whole organism as an integrated system which is itself integrated into a
greater system which is its habitat. (p. 165)

50 David Grove refers to such binding patterns as “replicating mechanisms” because they perpetuate
themselves. He says, In the Presence of the Past, p. 22, “A set of symptoms from an earlier
experience reproduce themselves in the adult over and over again. This replication is the same as
mitotic cell division.”

51 Ken Wilber, Sex, Ecology, Spirituality, p. 61.

52 The Essential Ken Wilber, pp. 141-142.

53 The idiosyncratic nature of binding patterns means that no one, least of all the client, can know in
advance what will emerge when a bind is transformed. This is why, no matter how painful a
binding pattern may be, clients tend to hold on to them for dear life – better the devil they know
than to step into the unknown and risk breakdown. Even when a client is willing to trust the
unknown, they may have little idea how to take the required leap of faith.

54 Gregory Bateson, Mind and Nature, p. 109.

55 Ken Wilber, Sex, Ecology, Spirituality, p. 54.

56 Robert Dilts, ‘Identity and Evolutionary Change’, Workshop Manual, February, 1999.

57 In David Grove’s early work he identified seven therapeutic operations: “Separation; Individuation;
Maturation; Solution; Recombination; Proclamation; and Splitting” which typically happen in that
order, Healing The Wounded Child Within, p.38. The first four loosely correspond to our Stages 1
to 4, and the last three are included within Stage 5.

58 David Grove, Healing The Wounded Child Within, p. 5.

59 Bart Kosko, Fuzzy Thinking quotes Lotfi Zadeh, the originator of the term ‘fuzzy’:
As the complexity of a system increases, our ability to make precise and significant statements
about its behavior diminishes until a threshold is reached beyond which precision and
significance (or relevance) become almost mutually exclusive characteristics … a corollary
principle may be stated succinctly as, “The closer one looks at a real-world problem, the fuzzier
becomes its solution.” (p. 148)

60 These principles have been influenced by some of the ‘Presuppositions of NLP’. These were derived
 from studying outstanding psychotherapists such as Milton Erickson, Virginia Satir, Fritz Perls and
others. They may not have held these presuppositions consciously – they just acted as if they did.
See Robert Dilts’ Strategies of Genius, Volume 1, pp. 305-307.

61 David Grove and Basil Panzer, Resolving Traumatic Memories, pp. 8-10.

62 One of the ways language influences is by orienting or directing the attention of the listener. This is
a far from simple process for two reasons. First, much of the attention-directing capacity of
language is not in the words, but in the presuppositions, voice qualities and nonverbal aspects.
Second, language can only trigger a response that is already specified by the listener’s mind-body
system. From this perspective, communication is a property of the system and not a conduit from
speaker to listener. See Michael Reddy, ‘The Conduit Metaphor’ in Metaphor and Thought, edited
by Andrew Ortony; and Humberto Maturana and Francisco Varela, The Tree of Knowledge,
Chapter 9.

63 David Grove and Basil Panzer, Resolving Traumatic Memories, p. 21.

64 There are a further 20 or so specialist questions which we list in the Appendix, and describe in
Chapters 5–8.

65 An alternative construction of the ‘full’ syntax is:

And [client words]. And [clean question], when/as [client words]?
e.g. And you’d like to have more energy because you feel very tired. And is there anything else
about that more energy you’d like to have when you feel very tired?

66 The exception is ‘So’ which is occasionally used to start Clean Language sentences, especially when
‘backtracking’ and ‘accumulating descriptions’.

67 Audio taped workshop in The Lake District, England, November 1997.

68 George Lakoff and Mark Johnson, Metaphors We Live By: “Almost any change in a sentence –
whether a change in word order, vocabulary, intonation, or grammatical construction – will alter
the sentence’s meaning, though often in a subtle way.” (p. 136) This is why in Clean Language
staying clean takes precedence over the rules of English grammar. If a client says, “All my soldiers
is lined up neat” a clean response would be “And all your soldiers is lined up neat. And when
soldiers is lined up neat, is there anything else about those soldiers lined up neat?”

69 Mark Johnson in Moral Imagination says:

In order for an account of events to become a story it must pass beyond a mere succession of
events in serial order to become a “configuration.” What is required is a synthesis of parts into a
 unified whole with a certain structure, one which, as Aristotle was first to note, “has a beginning,
middle, and an end” … [This] structure is an instance of an even more basic recurring
imaginative pattern – the SOURCE-PATH-GOAL schema – that structures much of our bodily
movement and perception, and that is present in our understanding of temporal processes (via the
metaphor of TIME IS A MOVING OBJECT). (p. 166)

NLP has a similar, although more tightly defined concept of a sequence called a strategy. Robert
Dilts, in Changing Belief Systems with NLP, says that a strategy is “A set of explicit mental and
behavioural steps used to achieve a specific outcome. In NLP, the most important aspect of a
strategy is the representational systems used to carry out the specific steps” (p. 220). Note that in
this sense ‘outcome’ does not necessarily mean desirable result; people have plenty of strategies
that consistently get them results which they, and others, do not want. Another example of a
sequence identification technique is the Game Strategy elicitation from Transactional Analysis
(see Stewart and Joines, TA Today). This process can be used to identify the client’s ‘macro’
sequences of behaviour within the predetermined metaphor of a psychological game.

70 If the client gets the “more energy” she wants, this will only enable her to repeat the pattern more
often or more intensely, rather than to resolve it. Thus, as often happens, the client’s proposed
solution will perpetuate the problem. (See Paul Watzlawick, Munchhausen’s Pigtail, p. 204.) Once
she came to realise this, she could turn her attention to other, more productive ways of organising
her metaphors.

71 David Grove and Basil Panzer, Resolving Traumatic Memories, pp. 9-13. Milton Erickson also
explained the value of trance: “The induction and maintenance of a trance serves to provide a
special psychological state in which the patient can reassociate and reorganize his inner
psychological complexities and utilize his own capacities in a manner in accord with his own
experiential life. … Therapy results from an inner resynthesis of the patient’s behavior achieved by
the patient himself. (Quoted by Ernest Rossi, The Psychobiology of Mind-Body Healing, p. 88)”

72 Humberto Maturana and Francisco Varela, The Tree of Knowledge, p. 166. See also Robert Dilts,
Roots of NLP, p. 53 of Part II: “Because all behavior, microscopic or macroscopic, is a transform
of internal neurological processes, it will carry information about those processes. All behavior
then is in some way a communication about the internal neural organisation of an individual.”

73 Quoted in Gregory Bateson, Steps to an Ecology of Mind, p. 137.

74 See our interview, “And What Kind of a Man is David Grove?” in Rapport 33, Autumn 1996, p. 21,
and at cleanlanguage.co.uk/articles/articles/37/.

75 There is a similarity between this aspect of David Grove’s approach and that of Ernest Rossi
described in The Symptom Path to Enlightenment.
76 Edward Hall, The Silent Language, p. 158.

77 David Grove workshop, ‘A Sense of Place’, London 1997.

78 David Grove workshop, ‘A Sense of Place’, London 1997.

79 Sometimes a client’s metaphor landscape retains its overall configuration irrespective of the external
environment. Other metaphor landscapes adjust themselves to the physical surroundings. And
some clients are attracted to certain items, shapes or patterns because of the correspondence with
symbols in their landscape – irrespective of their location.

80 See Ernest Rossi, The Psychobiology of Mind-Body Healing, Chapter 3, and Robert Dilts, Tim
Hallbom and Suzi Smith, Beliefs: Pathways to Health and Well-Being, Chapter 4.

81 Although lines of sight as described by David Grove, and NLP eye-accessing cues noted by Richard
Bandler and John Grinder in Frogs into Princes, p. 25 differ, they do not necessarily conflict, but
rather they acknowledge different aspects of subjective experience. Bandler and Grinder suggest
that eye movements are systematically indexed with the process of creating or remembering
images, voices, sounds, emotional responses and body sensations. In a later development Bandler
uses the metaphor of a “globe with latitude and longitude lines” surrounding a person for recording
the ‘sub-modality’ of location (Design Human Engineering™ Manual, 1993, Section One, p. 3).
This is similar to Grove’s mapping of lines of sight except for how each of them perceives the
information. For Bandler, “Experience is represented, coded and stored at the Sub-Modality level”
(Section Four, p. 3). His globe acts as a three-dimensional container for defining the content-free
sub-modality of location of any perception. Grove on the other hand, is interested in the symbolic
nature of the content along a line of sight.

82 Personal communication from psychotherapist Philip Harland.

83 See ‘Nexus – A Client’s Dilemma’ at cleanlanguage.co.uk/articles/articles/48/.

84 Caroline Myss defines ‘symbolic sight’ as “the ability to use your intuition to interpret the power
symbols in your life.” Anatomy of the Spirit, p. 57.

85 David Grove has a more spontaneous approach. Sometimes he begins by asking questions of the
client’s most overt metaphor, while at other times he uses a completely unexpected cue such as the
client catching their breath. He may even start the process before the client is ready by asking
about a line of sight, as he did with Penny’s tissue box example in Chapter 4. And sometimes he
just waits until a cue “begs to be asked a question”.
86 See Petruska Clarkson on the implications of psychotherapy outcome research ‘Beyond Schoolism’
in Dialogue, Issue 1, no. 1, February 1998.

87 David Grove, Resolving Traumatic Memories, p. 15.

88 Philip Harland has developed a useful way of recording clients’ first words. See ‘The Mirror-model:
a guide to reflective questioning’, Rapport 42, Winter 1998, pp. 8-16, and at
cleanlanguage.co.uk/articles/articles/95/.

89 Richard Bandler and others have coded some of these distinctions as ‘sub-modalities’, the finer
gradations of the visual, auditory and kinesthetic sensory modalities (see Using Your Brain for a
Change).

90 These examples are based on Charles Faulkner’s ANLP Conference Presentation (London, 1999).
See also Cecile Carson’s ‘The Vestibular (VS) System in NLP’ in Leaves Before The Wind, edited
by Charlotte Bretto and others.

91 David Grove, Healing The Wounded Child Within, p. 19.

92 If waiting does not produce more information, you have the choice of:
• Directing their attention to a symbol they do know about.
• Asking ‘And when you don’t know, is there anything else?’
• Asking ‘And what kind of don’t know is that don’t know?’
• Asking ‘And how do you know you don’t know?’
Knowing there is an absence of information is information about an absence. Each ‘don’t know’
response may have a different meaning for the client. And if this means they have entered the
land of the unknown, it is a land full of learning and possibility.

93 For some clients, words themselves are symbols, either in the form of an image of the word or via an
internal voice. If this is the case, you continue as usual by inviting them to develop the form and
location of the words.

94 Although clients display much nonverbal information related to emotions, feelings and other
sensations, many of these (e.g. blushing) are not easy for the therapist to reference cleanly.
However, if a client is obviously having an emotional response and does not refer to it, you can ask
‘And what is happening?’.

95 See ‘Nexus – A Client’s Dilemma’ at cleanlanguage.co.uk/articles/articles/48/.

96 Gregory Bateson in Mind and Nature, p. 15: Without context, words and actions have no meaning at
all. This is true not only of human communication in words but also of all communication
whatsoever, of all mental process, of all mind, including that which tells the sea anemone how to
grow and the amoeba what he should do next.

97 In the world of metaphor, rather than thinking in the traditional psychological terms of ‘association’
or ‘dissociation’, it is more useful to consider ‘where is the perceiver perceiving from’, and ‘what
is their means of perceiving’ (as the perceiver will always be ‘associated’ into a symbolic form,
and perceiving from a place in perceptual space).

98 See Strategies of Genius, Volumes I–III by Robert Dilts for examples of how creative people like
Aristotle, Einstein and Walt Disney made use of multiple perceptual positions.

99 Once the client has an awareness of a perceiver that is engaged in the act of perceiving, its form can
be developed. This process will produce a symbolic representation of the perceiver. But who is
perceiving the symbol of the perceiver? It is self-reflective consciousness all the way down.

100 David Grove, Healing the Wounded Child Within, p. 19.

101 Although it is unusual, an apparently benevolent symbol may turn out to have an unwanted or
restrictive function once it, or the context, has been fully developed. It is likely that how and when
this shift takes place will itself be symbolic of what happens in the client’s life. We have also
witnessed examples of a resource in one session ceasing to be one in the next. In these rare cases a
‘de-resourcing’ higher level pattern was operating (see Chapter 8).

102 See George Lakoff and Mark Johnson, Philosophy in the Flesh, p. 31-32.

103 Guy Claxton in Hare Brain, Tortoise Mind, details scientific evidence showing that people base
decisions on patterns they are unconscious of having detected. We are also grateful to John
Grinder for showing that there are signals that let people know they have detected a pattern before
they are conscious of the content of the pattern. (“Pattern Detection” workshop, London, 1998.)

104 For a technical description of presuppositions in language see Richard Bandler and John Grinder,
The Structure of Magic I, pp. 211-214.

105 David Grove often uses this example to show how metaphors can have an antibody-like effect.
Note that the change from the knot being in the client’s stomach to tying a perpetrator’s hands may
be a very welcome translation. It is unlikely to be a transformation because the knot is still tying
and at this stage little has changed in the organisation of the metaphor landscape (Chapters 2 and 8
explain these terms).
106 The ‘Circles of Excellence’ exercise – modified from Charlotte Bretto, A Framework for
Excellence (Formats 11-12) is available in ‘Change Your Thinking – Change Your Life with NLP’
at cleanlanguage.co.uk/articles/articles/111/.

107 We first realised the construction and value of this clean question while observing psychotherapist
Teresa Sherlock at work.

108 The standard opening question (And what would you like to have happen?) is a particular
formulation of this question with ‘you’ being a specific example of ‘X’.

109 In those days, the ‘11-plus’ was an examination taken by 11-year olds who, if they passed went to
Grammar school and if they failed went to Secondary Modern school. A child’s chance of going to
university largely depended on which type of school they attended. Thus the 11-plus not only
segregated children by academic ability, it also had a major bearing on a child’s future and self-
image.

110 We would have asked the same question in the same manner even if the intention appeared ‘bad,
negative or destructive’. If the client had said screwdriver wants to crush hose into pulp, we would
have honoured the symbol’s desire by asking “And can it?”. Our thinking is, if a symbol wants to
annihilate another symbol, how come it hasn’t? Whatever has prevented the annihilation from
happening will likely be a resource whose form can be developed. Also see Chapter 8, Approach
E.

111 Ken Wilber, Sex, Ecology, Spirituality, p. 54.

112 Ken Wilber in Sex, Ecology, Spirituality, p. 58 makes: “… the distinction between depth and span,
or the distinction between vertical richness and horizontal reach. We have two different scales
here: a vertical scale of deep versus shallow, and a horizontal scale of wide versus narrow …
evolution is not bigger and better, but smaller and better (greater depth, less span).” In
psychotherapeutic terms this means you cannot determine the effect of a change by the amount of
affect.

113 Ken Wilber, Sex, Ecology, Spirituality, pp. 60–61 (his emphasis). He further clarifies the
distinction in a footnote, p. 531:
Of course, both translation and transformation actually deal with whole/parts (there are only
holons); but transformation deals with emergent holons that subsume those of its predecessors,
and thus is “more holistic.” The wholes of the previous level are now parts of the senior level, so
that “whole units” of the previous translation are now “parts” of the new.

114 Ken Wilber, Sex, Ecology, Spirituality, p. 63.

115 Ken Wilber, A Brief History of Everything, p. 40: Evolution has a broad and general tendency to
move in the direction of: increasing complexity, increasing differentiation/integration, increasing
organisation/structuration, increasing relative autonomy, increasing telos. … evolution meanders
more than it progresses.

116 Ken Wilber, Sex, Ecology, Spirituality, p. 63: “Holons do not evolve alone, because there are no
alone holons … this principle is often referred to as coevolution.” And p. 66 “The micro is in
relational exchange with the macro at all levels of its depth.”

117 A resource symbol might not be applied immediately for two reasons: the appropriate symbol in
need has yet to be identified; or there is a symbol in need but it is not an appropriate time to
introduce the resource (if, for example, the organisation of a pattern is not clear). An example of
the latter is Jubilee Clip where the Kung Fu master’s red mature heart was discovered at C38 but
was not introduced to the young boy until T57.

118 Ken Wilber, Sex, Ecology, Spirituality, p. 76, calls binds “stick points” and notes that it is only
because evolution has a direction and develops that the process can get stuck or repeatedly
diverted: “The psyche, for better or for worse, is going somewhere, and that is why the process can
get stuck, why it is fraught with frustration, arrest, fixation, stick points, logjams. If the mind
weren’t going somewhere, it could never get stuck, never get “sick”. And these “stick points” can
only be understood in terms of the mind’s omega point, of where it wants to go.”

119 By our definition “damned if I do, and damned if I don’t” is not a double bind. It is a single bind
because there is only one level of bind – whatever the client does they are damned. A double bind
would require a further bind at a higher level, precluding escape from the primary bind, such as,
“And terrible things happen to people who reject damnation.” (Also see note 123.)

120 R. D. Laing, Knots, p. 30.

121 R. D. Laing, Knots, p. 32.

122 Paul Watzlawick, Munchhausen’s Pigtail, p. 203.

123 Gregory Bateson (and others) in Steps to An Ecology of Mind, pp. 206–207, defines the “necessary
ingredients for a double bind situation” as:
1. Two or more persons.
2. Repeated experience.
3. A primary negative injunction.
4. A secondary injunction conflicting with the first at a more abstract level, and … which
threatens survival.
 5. A (possible) tertiary negative injunction prohibiting the victim escaping from the field.
6. Finally, the complete set of ingredients is no longer necessary when the victim has learned to
perceive his universe in double bind patterns. Almost any part of a double bind sequence may
then be sufficient to precipitate [the symptoms].
Note that by the time the “victim” reaches No. 6 they are double binding themselves without the need
for outside assistance.

124 “Current reality” comes from Robert Fritz, The Path of Least Resistance, p. 139. We have
wondered how much of the success of Alcoholics Anonymous and other 12 Step Programs is due
to the very first of the 12 Steps: “I admit I am powerless over alcohol and my life has become
unmanageable.” In our language, the alcoholic is accepting that their binding pattern is
unresolvable (given their current pattern of organisation), as a prelude to change.

125 Client-therapist transcripts often seem to have a logic and a flow in retrospect that is rarely evident
at the time. At this point in the session we had no idea where the process was heading (which is
isomorphic with the nature of helplessness and no-win). We took comfort from knowing that when
clients become aware they are responding within their binding pattern (i.e. that they are
experiencing ‘it’ right now) an opportunity for transformation arises.

126 Although the client will probably respond to developing/concentrating by ‘shifting down a level’ to
a metaphor/symbol’s constituent parts, they may ‘shift horizontally’ to an isomorphic
metaphor/symbol or spontaneously ‘jump’ to a different place in the landscape. In the latter case,
they usually find value in what happens just before their attention jumps.

127 We are grateful to Caitlin Walker for demonstrating the effectiveness of this approach and how it
can be enhanced by simultaneously indicating nonverbally where each symbol is located in the
client’s perceptual space.

128 We borrow the term “operational closure” from Humberto Maturana and Francisco Varela
although we use it in a wider sense than their definition: “Metacellular systems … have
operational closure in their organisation: their identity is specified by a network of dynamic
processes whose effects do not leave that network.” The Tree of Knowledge, p. 89.

129 David Grove has developed a process he calls ‘Inter-Generational Healing’(see his article ‘Problem
Domains and Non-Traumatic Resolution through Metaphor Therapy’ at
cleanlanguage.co.uk/articles/articles/4/). Having facilitated hundreds of clients he noted a general
pattern to the sequence of their journeys back in time:
Personal history >> Parent’s history >> Inter-generational history >> Social history >> History
of the land >> New cosmology.

130 Steve and Connirae Andreas, ‘Selecting a Resource to Anchor’, Anchor Point, Volume 14, No. 7,
July 2000.
131 How long does a transformation have to last for it to be a transformation? In One Taste, Ken
Wilber discusses ‘peak’, ‘plateau’ and ‘permanent’ transformations (pp. 314–321). A short-lived
peak experience is still a transformation while it lasts. It provides a direct experience of what is
possible. This registers in the client’s neurology and acts as a beacon during future dark nights of
the soul.

132 This format is a favourite of David Grove. It is common for him to improvise a ten minute
entrancing ‘rap’ which recapitulates a multitude of changes that may have taken place over many
sessions.

133 See Chapter 18 of Solutions by Leslie Cameron-Bandler for a description of the NLP technique
‘future pacing’, which ‘anchors’ changes in the session to expected future events in the client’s
life.

134 David Grove calls this process ‘parking’. In the Presence of the Past, p. 57.

135 For a description of how a client uses writing, see ‘Using Writing to Explore Issues through
Metaphor’ at cleanlanguage.co.uk/articles/articles/52/.

136 ‘Exemplar’ and ‘acquisition’ are terms used by David Gordon and Graham Dawes who offer
excellent training in their own type of modelling. See experiential-dynamics.org.

137 Thanks to Tony Buckley for his contribution to this modelling project.

138 See Dee Berridge at www.metaphormorphosis.co.uk.

139 Quotations are from personal communication with Diane Divett and her Refocussing training
manual, CCC Publications, Auckland, 1998.

140 Some of these approaches have evolved out of a method devised by Arun Hejmadi and Patricia
Lyall, ‘Autogenic Metaphor Resolution’, in Charlotte Bretto and others, Leaves Before the Wind.

141 Christine Westwood, ‘Healing Unresolved Trauma Through Meta-Aromatherapy’ in Positive

Health, April 1998. Reproduced at cleanlanguage.co.uk/articles/articles/66/.

142 Simon Stanton in ‘Using metaphors in IT training’, Rapport 37, Autumn 1997.
143 Caitlin Walker’s work with NIP has been presented in a video entitled “Working with Imagery and
Metaphor in Creativity,” produced in 1999 by the Open University for their MBA course. See the
web sites of NIP, www.nipltd.com and Training Attention, www.trainingattention.co.uk.
 Table of Contents
Title Page
Foreword by David Grove
Acknowledgments
Introduction
Chapter 1 Metaphors We Live By
Chapter 2 Models We Create By
Chapter 3 Less is More: Basic Clean Language
Chapter 4 Clean Language Without Words
Chapter 5 Stage 1: Entering the Symbolic Domain
Chapter 6 Stage 2: Developing Symbolic Perceptions
Chapter 7 Stage 3: Modelling Symbolic Patterns
Chapter 8 Stage 4: Encouraging Conditions for Transformation
Chapter 9 Stage 5: Maturing the Evolved Landscape
Chapter 10 Outside and Beyond
– Three Annotated Transcripts
– Summary of David Grove’s Clean Language
– Bibliography
– Index
– About the Authors
Footnotes