101 Healing Stories for Kids and Teens: Using Metaphors in Therapy

A comprehensive guide to understanding and using storytelling in therapy with kids and teens.

Stories can play an important and potent role in therapy with children and adolescents-helping them develop the skills to cope with and survive a myriad of life situations. In many cases, stories provide the most effective means of communicating what kids and teens might not want to discuss directly.

101 Healing Stories for Kids and Teens provides straightforward advice on using storytelling and metaphors in a variety of therapeutic settings. Ideal for all who work with young people, this unique resource can be combined with other inventive and evidence-based techniques such as play, art, music, and drama therapies as well as solution focused, hypnotic, and cognitive-behavioral approaches. Offering guidance for new clinicians and seasoned professionals, George Burns's critically acclaimed work delivers a unique combination-information on incorporating storytelling in therapy, dozens of ready-made stories, and tips for creating original therapeutic stories.

Innovative chapters include:

• Guidance for effective storytelling
• Using metaphors effectively
• Where to get ideas for healing stories
• Planning and presenting healing stories
• Teaching parents to use healing stories

In addition, 101 Healing Stories for Kids and Teens includes dozens of story ideas designed to address a variety of issues, such as:

• Enriching learning
• Teaching self-care
• Changing patterns of behavior
• Managing relationships, emotions, and life challenges
• Creating helpful thoughts
• Developing life skills and problem-solving techniques

Table of Contents

Acknowledgments, xv

Introduction, xvii

• What This Book Offers, xvii
• A Word or Two about Words, xix
• Oral versus Written Stories, xix
• The Structure of This Book, xx
• Story 1 A Story of the Story, xxiii

PART I EFFECTIVE STORYTELLING FOR KIDS AND TEENS, 1

1. The Magic of Metaphor, 3
• Why Tell Healing and Teaching Stories to Kids and Teens?, 3
• A Brief History of Teaching Tales, 4
• How Stories Inform, 5
• How Stories Educate, 6
• How Stories Teach Values, 7
• How Stories Discipline, 8
• How Stories Build Experience, 9
• How Stories Facilitate Problem-Solving, 10
• How Stories Change and Heal, 11
• When Not to Speak in Stories, 13
2. Guidelines for Effective Storytelling, 15
• Ten Guidelines for Effective Storytelling, 16
• Six Guidelines for the Storyteller?s Voice, 25
3. Tools and Techniques, 30
• Books as a Source of Healing Stories: Bibliotherapy, 30
• Drama as a Source of Healing Stories, 32
• Videos or DVDs as a Source of Healing Stories: Videotherapy, 33
• Puppets, Dolls, and Toys as Metaphor, 35
• Play as Metaphor, 36
• Humor as Metaphor, 38
• Experiential Metaphors, 39
• Child-Generated Metaphors, 41
• Collaborative Tales, 42
• To Discuss or Not to Discuss?, 43

PART II HEALING STORIES, TEACHING STORIES, 45

4. Enriching Learning, 47
• Story 2 Kids Can Make a Difference: A Kid Story, 47
• Story 3 Kids Can Make a Difference: A Teen Story, 49
• Story 4 Feed What You Want to Grow, 50
• Story 5 Look after Yourself, 52
• Story 6 Come up Laughing, 53
• Story 7 It?s in the Way You Do It, 54
• Story 8 Making the Most of What You Are Given, 55
• Story 9 Doing What You Can, 56
• Story 10 Seeking Happiness, 58
5. Caring for Yourself, 61
• Story 11 Soaring to New Heights: A Kid Story, 62
• Story 12 Soaring to New Heights: A Teen Story, 64
• Story 13 Recognizing Your Abilities, 66
• Story 14 Let Joe Do It, 68
• Story 15 Discovering Your Specialness, 70
• Story 16 The Importance of Accepting Compliments, 72
• Story 17 What You Give Is What You Get, 74
• Story 18 Good, Not Perfect, 75
• Story 19 Be Yourself, 76
• Story 20 Increasing Self-Awareness, 78
6. Changing Patterns of Behavior, 81
• Story 21 Facing Fears: A Kid Story, 82
• Story 22 Facing Fears: A Teen Story, 84
• Story 23 See for Yourself, 86
• Story 24 Learning to Think for Yourself, 88
• Story 25 Build on What You Are Good At, 90
• Story 26 Learning New Tricks, 92
• Story 27 A Gesture That Changed a Whole Suburb, 95
• Story 28 Making a Difference, 96
• Story 29 Changing Patterns of Behavior, 97
• Story 30 I?m Not Afraid Anymore, 99
7. Managing Relationships, 102
• Story 31 Caught in the Middle: A Kid Story, 103
• Story 32 Caught in the Middle: A Teen Story, 104
• Story 33 Making and Maintaining Friendships, 106
• Story 34 The Four Faithful Friends, 107
• Story 35 Negotiating a Solution, 108
• Story 36 New Friends, 110
• Story 37 Finding Tenderness, 112
• Story 38 Going Inside, 114
• Story 39 Putting Yourself in Someone Else?s Place, 116
• Story 40 Making and Keeping Friends, 118
8. Managing Emotions, 121
• Story 41 Heightening Pleasure: A Kid Story, 122
• Story 42 Heightening Pleasure: A Teen Story, 123
• Story 43 Having Fun, 125
• Story 44 Cultivating Contentment, 127
• Story 45 Nailing Down Anger, 129
• Story 46 Helping with Humor, 131
• Story 47 Flying off the Handle, 132
• Story 48 Learning to Laugh, 133
• Story 49 Change Your Posture, Change Your Feelings, 135
• Story 50 Expressing Emotions Congruently, 136
9. Creating Helpful Thoughts, 139
• Story 51 Managing Grief: A Young Kid Story, 139
• Story 52 Managing Grief: A Kid Story, 141
• Story 53 An Act of Kindness, 142
• Story 54 Things May Not Be What They Seem, 144
• Story 55 Positive Reframing, 145
• Story 56 Thoughts Determine Feelings, 146
• Story 57 Finding Exceptions to Problems, 147
• Story 58 Learning to Use What You Have, 149
• Story 59 Learning to Discriminate, 150
• Story 60 Awakening Confidence, 152
10. Developing Life Skills, 155
• Story 61 Facing a Moral Dilemma: A Kid Story, 156
• Story 62 Facing a Moral Dilemma: A Teen Story, 157
• Story 63 Learning about Rules, 159
• Story 64 Sometimes Terrible Things Happen, 160
• Story 65 Accepting What You Have, 162
• Story 66 Taking Responsibility, 163
• Story 67 Making Decisions, 165
• Story 68 Taking a Different View, 167
• Story 69 Overcoming Fear, 168
• Story 70 The Secrets of Success, 170
11. Building Problem-Solving Skills, 173
• Story 71 Overcoming Adversity: A Kid Story, 174
• Story 72 Overcoming Adversity: A Teen Story, 175
• Story 73 Collaborative Problem-Solving, 177
• Story 74 Thinking through a Problem, 178
• Story 75 Solving a Problem, 180
• Story 76 Acceptance, 182
• Story 77 Learning to Share, 184
• Story 78 Tending to the Neglected, 185
• Story 79 Taking Control, 187
• Story 80 Creating a Wish, 189
12. Managing Life?s Challenging Times, 193
• Story 81 Blowing Away Pain: A Kid Story, 194
• Story 82 Managing Pain: A Teen Story, 195
• Story 83 Beating a Bully, 196
• Story 84 I Am Only Nine, 198
• Story 85 Coping with Illness, 199
• Story 86 Finding Solutions, 201
• Story 87 Facing Challenges, 203
• Story 88 Getting Back on Your Feet, 204
• Story 89 Facing Thoughts of Suicide, 206
• Story 90 Learning to Care for Yourself, 208
13. Kids' Own Healing Stories, 211
• Story 91 The Ghost Who Learned to Scare, 212
• Story 92 Girl, 213
• Story 93 Days to Come, 214
• Story 94 Mary-Jane's Story, 216
• Story 95 Sally's Problem, 218
• Story 96 My Life, 220
• Story 97 My Life Story, 221
• Story 98 Rock Your Way out of It, 222
• Story 99 When There Is Nothing I Can Do, 223
• Story 100 Lucy Mac's Story, 225

PART III CREATING YOUR OWN HEALING STORIES FOR KIDS, 227

14. How Can I Use Metaphors Effectively?, 229
• Potential Pathways for Effective Metaphor Therapy, 229
• Potential Pitfalls in Effective Metaphor Therapy, 234
15. Where Do I Get the Ideas for Healing Stories?, 240
• Metaphors Built on a Basis of Evidence, 240
• Metaphors Built on Heroes, 242
• Metaphors Built on Imagination, 243
• Metaphors Built on Therapeutic Strategies, 244
• Metaphors Built on an Idea, 246
• Metaphors Built on a Child?s Own Story, 247
• Metaphors Built on Humor, 249
• Metaphors Built on Cross-Cultural Tales, 250
• Metaphors Built on Client Cases, 251
• Metaphors Built on Everyday Experiences, 252
• Guidelines for Using Personal Life Stories, 253
16. How Do I Plan and Present Healing Stories?, 255
• The PRO-Approach, 255
• Make an Outcome-Oriented Assessment, 256
• Plan Your Metaphors, 258
• Present Your Metaphors, 262
• Stop, Look, and Listen, 264
• Ground the Story in Reality, 264
17. Teaching Parents to Use Healing Stories, 266
• Stories for Parents and Parenting, 266
• Some Values of Teaching Parents to Use Metaphors, 268
• Steps for Teaching Parents Storytelling, 270
• An Example of Effective Parental Storytelling, 271
• Helping Parents Build Storytelling Skills, 274
• . . . And the Story Continues, 275
• Story 101 Will You Be My Teacher?, 277

Resources, References, and Other Sources of Metaphoric Stories, 279

Index, 295

"George Burns is a highly experienced clinician with the remarkable ability to create, discover, and tell engaging stories that can teach us all the most important lessons in life. With 101 Healing Stories for Kids and Teens, he strives especially to help kids and teens learn these life lessons early on, providing them opportunities for getting help and even learning to think preventively."
- Michael D. Yapko, PhD | Author of Breaking the Patterns of Depression and Hand-Me-Down Blues

"George Burns takes the reader on a wonderful journey, balancing metaphor, good therapeutic technique, and empirical foundations during the trip. Given that Burns utilizes all three aspects of the Confucian story referred to in the book-teaching, showing, and involving-readers should increase their understanding of how stories can be used therapeutically."
- Richard G. Whiteside, MSW | Author of The Art of Using and Losing Control and Working with Difficult Clients: A Practical Guide to Better Therapy