101 Healing Stories for Kids and Teens

GEORGE W. BURNS is a clinical psychologist and Director of the Milton H. Erickson Institute of Western Australia. He is also a trainer of therapists and the author of 101 Healing Stories: Using Metaphors in Therapy (Wiley), Nature-Guided Therapy, and coauthor of Standing without Shoes: Creating Happiness, Relieving Depression, Enhancing Life.

• Acknowledgments, xvIntroduction, xviiWhat This Book Offers, xviiA Word or Two about Words, xixOral versus Written Stories, xixThe Structure of This Book, xxStory 1 A Story of the Story, xxiiiPART I EFFECTIVE STORYTELLING FOR KIDS AND TEENS, 1Chapter 1 The Magic of Metaphor, 3Why Tell Healing and Teaching Stories to Kids and Teens?, 3A Brief History of Teaching Tales, 4How Stories Inform, 5How Stories Educate, 6How Stories Teach Values, 7How Stories Discipline, 8How Stories Build Experience, 9How Stories Facilitate Problem-Solving, 10How Stories Change and Heal, 11When Not to Speak in Stories, 13Chapter 2 Guidelines for Effective Storytelling, 15Ten Guidelines for Effective Storytelling, 16Six Guidelines for the Storyteller’s Voice, 25Chapter 3 Tools and Techniques, 30Books as a Source of Healing Stories: Bibliotherapy, 30Drama as a Source of Healing Stories, 32Videos or DVDs as a Source of Healing Stories: Videotherapy, 33Puppets, Dolls, and Toys as Metaphor, 35Play as Metaphor, 36Humor as Metaphor, 38Experiential Metaphors, 39Child-Generated Metaphors, 41Collaborative Tales, 42To Discuss or Not to Discuss?, 43PART II HEALING STORIES, TEACHING STORIES, 45Chapter 4 Enriching Learning, 47Story 2 Kids Can Make a Difference: A Kid Story, 47Story 3 Kids Can Make a Difference: A Teen Story, 49Story 4 Feed What You Want to Grow, 50Story 5 Look after Yourself, 52Story 6 Come up Laughing, 53Story 7 It’s in the Way You Do It, 54Story 8 Making the Most of What You Are Given, 55Story 9 Doing What You Can, 56Story 10 Seeking Happiness, 58Chapter 5 Caring for Yourself, 61Story 11 Soaring to New Heights: A Kid Story, 62Story 12 Soaring to New Heights: A Teen Story, 64Story 13 Recognizing Your Abilities, 66Story 14 Let Joe Do It, 68Story 15 Discovering Your Specialness, 70Story 16 The Importance of Accepting Compliments, 72Story 17 What You Give Is What You Get, 74Story 18 Good, Not Perfect, 75Story 19 Be Yourself, 76Story 20 Increasing Self-Awareness, 78Chapter 6 Changing Patterns of Behavior, 81Story 21 Facing Fears: A Kid Story, 82Story 22 Facing Fears: A Teen Story, 84Story 23 See for Yourself, 86Story 24 Learning to Think for Yourself, 88Story 25 Build on What You Are Good At, 90Story 26 Learning New Tricks, 92Story 27 A Gesture That Changed a Whole Suburb, 95Story 28 Making a Difference, 96Story 29 Changing Patterns of Behavior, 97Story 30 I’m Not Afraid Anymore, 99Chapter 7 Managing Relationships, 102Story 31 Caught in the Middle: A Kid Story, 103Story 32 Caught in the Middle: A Teen Story, 104Story 33 Making and Maintaining Friendships, 106Story 34 The Four Faithful Friends, 107Story 35 Negotiating a Solution, 108Story 36 New Friends, 110Story 37 Finding Tenderness, 112Story 38 Going Inside, 114Story 39 Putting Yourself in Someone Else’s Place, 116Story 40 Making and Keeping Friends, 118Chapter 8 Managing Emotions, 121Story 41 Heightening Pleasure: A Kid Story, 122Story 42 Heightening Pleasure: A Teen Story, 123Story 43 Having Fun, 125Story 44 Cultivating Contentment, 127Story 45 Nailing Down Anger, 129 Story 46 Helping with Humor, 131Story 47 Flying off the Handle, 132Story 48 Learning to Laugh, 133Story 49 Change Your Posture, Change Your Feelings, 135Story 50 Expressing Emotions Congruently, 136Chapter 9 Creating Helpful Thoughts, 139Story 51 Managing Grief: A Young Kid Story, 139Story 52 Managing Grief: A Kid Story, 141Story 53 An Act of Kindness, 142Story 54 Things May Not Be What They Seem, 144Story 55 Positive Reframing, 145Story 56 Thoughts Determine Feelings, 146Story 57 Finding Exceptions to Problems, 147Story 58 Learning to Use What You Have, 149Story 59 Learning to Discriminate, 150Story 60 Awakening Confidence, 152Chapter 10 Developing Life Skills, 155Story 61 Facing a Moral Dilemma: A Kid Story, 156Story 62 Facing a Moral Dilemma: A Teen Story, 157Story 63 Learning about Rules, 159Story 64 Sometimes Terrible Things Happen, 160Story 65 Accepting What You Have, 162Story 66 Taking Responsibility, 163Story 67 Making Decisions, 165Story 68 Taking a Different View, 167Story 69 Overcoming Fear, 168Story 70 The Secrets of Success, 170Chapter 11 Building Problem-Solving Skills, 173Story 71 Overcoming Adversity: A Kid Story, 174Story 72 Overcoming Adversity: A Teen Story, 175Story 73 Collaborative Problem-Solving, 177Story 74 Thinking through a Problem, 178Story 75 Solving a Problem, 180Story 76 Acceptance, 182Story 77 Learning to Share, 184Story 78 Tending to the Neglected, 185Story 79 Taking Control, 187Story 80 Creating a Wish, 189Chapter 12 Managing Life’s Challenging Times, 193Story 81 Blowing Away Pain: A Kid Story, 194Story 82 Managing Pain: A Teen Story, 195Story 83 Beating a Bully, 196Story 84 I Am Only Nine, 198Story 85 Coping with Illness, 199Story 86 Finding Solutions, 201Story 87 Facing Challenges, 203Story 88 Getting Back on Your Feet, 204Story 89 Facing Thoughts of Suicide, 206Story 90 Learning to Care for Yourself, 208Chapter 13 Kids’ Own Healing Stories, 211Story 91 The Ghost Who Learned to Scare, 212Story 92 Girl, 213Story 93 Days to Come, 214Story 94 Mary-Jane’s Story, 216Story 95 Sally’s Problem, 218Story 96 My Life, 220Story 97 My Life Story, 221Story 98 Rock Your Way out of It, 222Story 99 When There Is Nothing I Can Do, 223Story 100 Lucy Mac’s Story, 225PART III CREATING YOUR OWN HEALING STORIES FOR KIDS, 227Chapter 14 How Can I Use Metaphors Effectively?, 229Potential Pathways for Effective Metaphor Therapy, 229Potential Pitfalls in Effective Metaphor Therapy, 234Chapter 15 Where Do I Get the Ideas for Healing Stories?, 240Metaphors Built on a Basis of Evidence, 240Metaphors Built on Heroes, 242Metaphors Built on Imagination, 243Metaphors Built on Therapeutic Strategies, 244Metaphors Built on an Idea, 246Metaphors Built on a Child’s Own Story, 247Metaphors Built on Humor, 249Metaphors Built on Cross-Cultural Tales, 250Metaphors Built on Client Cases, 251Metaphors Built on Everyday Experiences, 252Guidelines for Using Personal Life Stories, 253Chapter 16 How Do I Plan and Present Healing Stories?, 255The PRO-Approach, 255Make an Outcome-Oriented Assessment, 256Plan Your Metaphors, 258Present Your Metaphors, 262Stop, Look, and Listen, 264Ground the Story in Reality, 264Chapter 17 Teaching Parents to Use Healing Stories, 266Stories for Parents and Parenting, 266Some Values of Teaching Parents to Use Metaphors, 268Steps for Teaching Parents Storytelling, 270An Example of Effective Parental Storytelling, 271Helping Parents Build Storytelling Skills, 274. . . And the Story Continues, 275 Story 101 Will You Be My Teacher?, 277Resources, References, and Other Sources of Metaphoric Stories, 279Index, 295