Metaphor and Imaginal Psychology: A Hermetic Reflection provides the first full-length exploration of the significance of metaphor in post-Jungian psychology. Its portrayal of the mythological figure of Hermes as a personification of metaphor marks an original contribution to the field of metaphor studies. After a 2,500-year exile from philosophy and related areas of study, beginning with Plato’s ejection of the poets from the ideal city-state, metaphor is today experiencing a season of renewal. Among the fields where its significance as a way of seeing, thinking, and feeling has been especially prominent is archetypal psychology, perhaps the most philosophically attuned of psychological disciplines. Approaching the work of James Hillman and other key archetypal psychologists from a poststructuralist perspective, Metaphor and Imaginal Psychology draws insightful comparisons between archetypal psychology and the deconstructive philosophy of Jacques Derrida, a principle theorist of metaphor’s philosophical resurgence. By linking two disciplines that might at first appear as strange bedfellows, Metaphor and Imaginal Psychology underscores the influence of metaphor in reason and emotion, and makes a compelling case for the Mercurial ethos of our postmodern world. Aside from representing essential reading for therapists and theorists working in post-Jungian studies, the book will appeal to readers, students and scholars of literary criticism, psychology, philosophy and mythology.

Kevin William Grant examines the cognitive processes that produce metaphors in psychotherapy. The "I-Ching Task" is the measure of metaphor production applied in this research inquiry. Two cognitive processes are hypothesized to be necessary for the production of a metaphor. The first hypothesized cognitive process is sensory-imaginal processing, where attention is concentrated into one's internal experiencing and sensory awareness to form sensory impressions or sensory images. The second type of processing is called integration-synthesis processing, and this is hypothesized to work in parallel with sensory-imaginal processing. Integration-synthesis processing functions to combine conflicting or contradictory elements into an integrated whole. Metaphor is the meeting point of these processes, and all of them are important in the production of metaphor in psychotherapy. Revised and updated from the first edition published in 1991.

Olds examines the role of metaphor and models in psychology, science, and religion and argues the case for systems theory as a contemporary unifying metaphor across domains, with particular emphasis on clarifying its potential for psychology.

Arguing that psychologists and their predecessors have invariably relied on metaphors in articulation, the contributors to this volume offer a new "key" to understanding a critically important area of human knowledge by specifying the major metaphors.

First published in 1995. Routledge is an imprint of Taylor & Francis, an informa company.

When therapists hear patients talk of feeling "imprisoned," "burning with rage," "trapped," or "unequipped," they are witnessing manifestations of the symbolic attitude, the hallmark of all depth psychology. Most clinicians naturally respond to and use metaphors, but they often fail to understand the full potential of metaphoric images. This volume, in addressing the transforming power of metaphor, demonstrates how clinicians can deepen the therapeutic encounter.