A Depressive Case Report: Using Metaphor and its Changing Meaning throughout the Psychotherapy Process

The psychotherapeutic discourse provides researchers a fruitful content to investigate the theoretical properties of metaphors. In the current article, metaphorical expressions were explored through a clinical case report. The male patient who applied to our clinic with depressive complaints was chosen for this investigation. “A boy throwing stones” was a very comprehensive metaphor which interacted with the various aspects of the treatment process. The expressions and functions of the selected metaphor were explained in the six-stage model. The change in metaphor throughout the treatment process was analyzed with the help of voice records and session notes. At the early stages of the sessions, “a boy throwing stones” was perceived as furious, harmful and disturbing. However, in the following sessions, the qualities of the metaphor had dramatically changed. The patient stated that a boy might want to warn him about some threats and protect him from adverse outcomes. In conclusion, consistent with the positive changes in the depressive symptoms, the content of the metaphor had also changed