Where are the metaphors taking us?

“It’s hard for me to open up to people,” admits 29-year-old Evgenia. “I went to see a psychologist, but I couldn’t bring myself to talk. Then he laid out a stack of cards with landscapes and offered to consider them. Some I liked, I put them aside. The psychologist asked why I chose these. Gradually, I began to talk … “These cards are special, not playing and not fortune-telling.

“They are called metaphorical or associative,” explains psychologist, director of the Genesis publishing house Ekaterina Mukhamatulina, “because the images presented on them become a visible metaphor for our values, fears, desires, or are associated associatively with our inner experience. Another name is therapy cards, because psychologists use them in their work.

individual meaning

The photo shows an evening deserted street, lit by rare lanterns. “This is an image of loneliness,” says 32-year-old Anna, “and so I wander through life alone, without companions, and it’s already starting to get dark, and this scares me.” 45-year-old Ivan perceives the same image in a completely different way: “The work day ends, and you can finally relax, walk around the city, and no one will pull me,” he explains his choice.

Metaphorical cards are not a psychological test, although, as in many tests, the mechanism of psychological projection is also involved in working with them. What is the difference?

“The set of all possible results was included in the test even before we started its implementation,” explains the creator of several decks of metaphorical cards, psychologist Galina Katz. – After passing the test, we eventually get a ready conclusion about our character, abilities or condition, it already depends on the purpose of the test. It’s different with cards. The choice of this or that card in itself does not say anything. There are no ready-made results here, there is a process: we assume, make adjustments, reflect and gradually delve into the meaning.

This path can be done independently or together with a psychologist, whose task in this case is to move along with us, without looking ahead.

Reduce anxiety

Almost everyone who comes to a psychologist for the first time experiences anxiety to one degree or another. It is not easy to immediately trust another person, moreover, so far unfamiliar. It is not easy to talk about issues that are scary or embarrassing. It is much easier to start by discussing the picture, because then you can stay in the shadows for a while. Talk not about yourself, but about the image and control the measure of your frankness. This is especially valuable for those who find it difficult to be in the spotlight.

“Many are preparing for an unpleasant or difficult conversation with a psychologist, and looking at pictures is a simple activity in which no one can fail, so the tension quickly subsides,” says Galina Katz.

Cards can be used at any time when the client is experiencing anxiety and there is a need to help him feel safe.

Find a path to important topics

Few people know in advance what result they would like to achieve in the course of psychotherapy. Some are brought into the office by a vague feeling of dissatisfaction. What is its cause, where did it come from and what exactly would you like to change in life – these questions can be the beginning of psychotherapeutic work. Taking a deck in your hands at this moment, you can pick up the symbolic images “as it is now” and “as I want it to be”, making them visible.

“We live in a visually oriented culture,” emphasizes psychologist Galina Katz, “so visual images are easier to perceive and serve as a starting point for conversation. If we listened to music more, perhaps we could turn to melodies. But we tend to look. That’s why we offer pictures that spark the imagination.”

Metaphorical cards help not only at the beginning of psychological work. They allow taboo or difficult topics to be discussed, such as violence or incest.

“Many clients find it easier to show the appropriate card than to put into words what happened to them,” notes Galina Katz.

For example, a client cannot say aloud: “my father beat me,” but she chooses a card with a waved hand. Then, with the help of a psychologist, he finds the strength to describe everything that happened. So, thanks to metaphorical cards, the ban on speaking is lifted, and feelings finally find their expression.

For different purposes

Some people like cards with specific images (house, apple), others prefer to work with abstract images. Preferences depend on habits of thought and perception. Psychologists often offer the client several sets to choose from. For example, a deck of two parts: larger cards depict different bodies, male and female, in home or formal clothes or naked, and smaller cards are placed … heads. You can select a body and attach different heads to it. Or vice versa.

It turns out strange, sometimes fantastic combinations – on a woman’s body, dressed in a dressing gown, a curly black head. These hybrid beings make sense in the context of the client’s psychological life. “The head can symbolize the mind or conscience,” explains Galina Katz, “and the body can symbolize desires, physical life.”

There are other sets of cards, such as a deck suitable for talking about childhood. On one card, a child holds both parents by the hands; on the other, he looks out from under the lid of a large chest. These decks are suitable for both adults and children. Especially for children, decks with large, bright and simpler drawings have been created. They help children learn social skills: to be friendly; to ask questions; asking someone to stop if they do something unpleasant…

There is a “cope deck” (“cope” in English “overcoming”), created to work with injuries. It is divided into two parts: half of the cards depict traumatic situations, such as physical injury. The second half shows different resources to overcome: support from friends, creativity. They can be used to talk about how we usually deal with difficult situations, and to find new opportunities that have not yet been exploited.

How to choose

If we select metaphorical cards for ourselves, for reflection, meditation or discussion with friends, then the choice depends on the goal and on our taste. Everything matters here – the theme (for example, the “Windows and Doors” set is suitable for thinking about the way you interact with the outside world, and “Ways-Roads” – for understanding life paths), and the color scheme, and even matte cards or glossy.

“Gloss is perceived by many as something more joyful and optimistic,” notes Ekaterina Mukhamatulina, “but there are those for whom it symbolizes detachment, it is, as it were, “an alien life.” Now in the publishing house “Genesis” you can buy some sets in two versions, matte and glossy. However, professionals prefer matte, they are more suitable for psychological work.

What if we’re going to see a psychologist? “In this case, you need to choose not cards, but a specialist who works with them,” emphasizes Galina Katz. “The cards themselves are only an aid, they are not a method of psychotherapy, but only its tool.” At the same time, they are universal, they are used by psychologists who practice a variety of approaches, from Jungian to cognitive.