Individual Counseling

Road Map Metaphor

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Metaphors can be useful to ground complicated concepts. The best teachers use metaphors all the time. We are going to develop a metaphor in this article to talk about therapy.

The metaphor is a road map. A map acts as a guide with various routes to get you to your destination, but it doesn’t tell you where to go. That’s for you to decide. The value of the map is that your awareness dramatically increases about your options. It’s more difficult to get lost and ultimately you save a lot of time. You will probably eventually reach your destination without one but not without a significant amount of distress and anxiety, and you’ll get lost many times.

I have my ideas about which route is the best, but obviously there are multiple ways to get to the same place and you can choose yours based upon your constitution and unique situation. Some want to take the scenic view. Some are in a huge hurry. Some want to get there as safely as possible on roads that are widely known and recognized. Others want to forge their own paths. It is not my place as a counselor to decide which route you should take.

The value of going to counseling with a knowledgeable psychologist is that the road map of your life becomes more clear. You get to bracket the decisions you make about your life within world renowned psychological theories. The more clear, accurate, and detailed the map is the better chance you will have to reach your destination.

Ultimately, the road map metaphor helps us remember that you are the one doing the driving, and you are the one who gets to choose the route. A good counselor’s job is to provide you with the best possible map.

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