Of Mice and Metaphors

Jerrold R. Brandell, Ph.D., BCD is Distinguished Professor and Coordinator, Doctoral Concentration in Clinical Scholarship, Wayne State University School of Social Work (Detroit), where he has taught since 1992.  He has held visiting professorships at the Zurich Höchschule für Angewandte Wissenschaften (Switzerland), Lund University (Sweden) and the University of Canterbury (New Zealand), and has led workshops and lectured widely on clinical topics in the United States and abroad. A practicing child, adolescent, and adult psychotherapist, and psychoanalyst, he is the author or editor of twelve books, including Countertransference in Psychotherapy with Children and Adolescents (1992). Psychodynamic Social Work (Columbia, 2004), and Essentials of Clinical Social Work (2014). He is the (Founding) Editor of Psychoanalytic Social Work, and also serves on several other editorial boards. Recognized as a distinguished practitioner by the National Academies of Practice, he maintains a part-time practice in psychoanalysis and psychotherapy in Ann Arbor, Michigan.

• A Prefatory NotePrologueChapter 1: Stories and Reciprocal Storytelling in Dynamic Child PsychotherapyChildren′s Stories: An Overview of the LiteratureWhat Is Reciprocal Storytelling?When Is Reciprocal Storytelling Useful and with Which Patients?Eliciting the Child′s StoryThe Lesson or MoralPoststory DiscussionThe Therapist′s Role in the Storytelling ProcessWhat Are the Most Important Components of Children′s Stories?Which Theoretical Frameworks Are Compatible with Reciprocal Storytelling?The Case of TonySummaryDiscussion QuestionsChapter 2: Autogenic Stories, Projective Drawings, and the Clinical Assessment ProcessThe Case of SeanThe Case of RobertThe Case of DavidThe Case of CarlUsing Squiggle Drawings in Conjunction with Diagnostic StoriesThe Case of DannyThe Case of AnnieThe Case of DerekStories Used for Evaluative PurposesSummaryDiscussion QuestionsChapter 3: Narrative and Historical Meaning in Child PsychotherapyHistorical and Narrative Discourse: Theoretical PerspectivesClinical Assessment in Child Psychotherapy: The Cultivation and Synthesis of "Data"The Narrative Discourse in Child PsychotherapyAutogenic Stories: Royal Road to the Child′s NarrativeThe Case of JedSummaryDiscussion QuestionsChapter 4: Applications to Special Clinical Issues and Problems of ChildhoodThe Case of Sean, Revisited: Responding to an Environmental CrisisThe Case of Naima: Severe Separation Anxiety in a 7-Year-Old Transracial AdopteeThe Case of Roberta: Depletion Depression in a Biracial ChildStorytelling with a Borderline Child: Therapeutic ConsiderationsThe Case of HarrySummaryDiscussion QuestionsChapter 5: The Unfolding of the Narrative in the Psychotherapy of a Traumatized 10-Year-Old BoyTreatment ConsiderationsThe Case of NathanSummaryDiscussion QuestionsChapter 6: Transference Dimensions of the Storytelling ProcessHistorical and Contemporary PerspectivesThe Case of Mattie: Illustration of a Selfobject TransferenceCountertransference PhenomenaSummaryDiscussion QuestionsChapter 7: Secrecy and Trauma: An Adopted Child′s PsychotherapyPertinent HistoryBruce’s Treatment Begins"The Snake That Came Out of the Hole""The Ghost with a Conscience""The Boy Who Felt Like a Ghost""The Bird That Never Laughed"Countertransference Themes in Bruce′s TreatmentConclusion and Further ReflectionsDiscussion QuestionsChapter 8: What Else Can Stories Tell Us? Using Children′s Metaphorical Communications as a Measure of Therapeutic ProgressThe Case of JohnSummaryDiscussion QuestionsEpilogueAppendixReferencesIndexAbout the Author

"Of Mice and Metaphors: Therapeutic Storytelling with Children by Jerrold R. Brandell is a fascinating presentation on the use of storytelling as a powerful tool in psychodynamic therapy with children. Using an economy of words that are strongly supported by literature and empirical evidence and illustrated with actual case studies and vignettes, Brandell offers not just an explanation but a how-to guide."