While supervising an intern, I used Storytelling TherapyTM to help her overcome an obstacle in the treatment of her client. Supervision is not therapy, per se. However, the context of supervision and of psychotherapy is similar because the intern seeks the knowledge and wisdom of the supervisor's experience to benefit her work.
The intern had insisted the client understand his thoughts and behavior, but found the client "resistant" to "seeing what he was doing." The obstacle was a common theme for the intern.
As the intern's personal and psychological conflicts had entered the context of the supervision, and some form of intervention was indicated. The complication, however, is that the supervisor should not practice psychotherapy on an intern. At times, this can be a difficult, yet necessary, boundary to respect.
Storytelling Therapy emerges as an excellent resource. It can convey essential messages toward the intern's personal and supervisory needs without crossing the boundary of practicing psychotherapy on her.
I suggested that the direct, confrontational approach was doing little for the client and exhausting her in the process. I told the following story to the intern because I wanted her to overcome her wish to confront the client when confrontation was contraindicated. Second, I wanted to give the intern an alternative method of therapy that she could use to accomplish the therapeutic goals she and her client had jointly worked out.
Bear in mind the primary objective of this story was to help the intern overcome her obstacles in becoming a better therapist, not to address the therapeutic needs of the client. The main message of this story was to communicate to the intern that an implied and metaphorical approach can be a good alternative when the confrontational approach fails.
The Subjugation of A Ghost
"A husband whose wife was on her death bed, granted her the wish that he wouldn't get involved with another woman after her death. The dying wife said that if he broke his promise, she would return as a ghost and make his life miserable.
"But sure enough, after a mourning period of 90 days, the husband met another woman. As time went on, they decided to become married. Soon after the decision, the man became plagued by the ghost of his deceased wife. He couldn't sleep because the ghost visited him every night reminding him of his promise. And clever too, was this ghost. The ghost knew everything he thought, felt and did throughout the day. Desperate, the man sought the counsel of the Zen master of the village.
" 'Your deceased wife has returned as a ghost,' observed the Zen master. 'Whatever you say or do, whatever you give to your bride to be, the ghost knows. She must be a very wise ghost. Really, you should admire such a ghost! Next time she appears, bargain with her. But be strong, because she's tough. Put a bag of soybeans on the night stand. When she appears, tell her that she knows so much that there is nothing you can hide from her. Tell her you will break the engagement if she can answer just one question. Then reach in the bag and grab a large handful of soybeans. Ask her the exact number of soybeans you hold in your hand. If she cannot answer, you will know the ghost is a figment of your imagination and will trouble you no longer.'
"That night, when the ghost appeared, the man complemented the ghost, told her that she knew everything, and made the bargain.
" 'Indeed,' replied the ghost. 'I know you went to see the Zen master today.'
"The man reached into the bag and grabbed a handful of soybeans. 'How many soybeans do I hold in my hand?' he asked.
"The ghost disappeared and troubled him
no more."
(Paraphrased from Ross, Nancy Wilson,
The Subjugation of a Ghost in
The World of Zen, Vintage Books, New
York, 1960, pages 82-83).
By telling the story to the intern, I communicated several messages both literal and implied:
- Joining with the client will help decrease resistance. If the Zen Master had told the man in the story that the ghost was simply a figment of his imagination, resistance would have been increased.
- Complementing the client's skills of resistance as tools of survival will help the therapeutic relationship; confronting them as an impediment to therapeutic progress or unwittingly showing annoyance will not.
- The direct, confrontational approach exhausted the therapist and did little for the client. In this case it influenced the client to dig in deeper to resist therapy even more.
- If frustrated with a client, get some help. This is honorable and time tested.
- Caring too much can harm the therapeutic process.
- Telling a nonthreatening story can be a good way to decrease resistance.