Metaphorical language in signaling psychopathological experiences

Clinical evaluations of psychopathological experiences are usually based on factual information such as the presence, duration, and manifestation of symptoms, which are more often than not represented using literal language. While metaphors are widely recognized by therapists as important signposts of client emotions, thoughts, and implicit thinking patterns, the role they play in signaling clinical symptoms received much less attention. This paper explores how the study of symptom-related metaphor use can deepen our understanding of the diversity in psychopathological experiences. Based on two case studies of trauma interviews, this chapter discusses how quantitative and qualitative metaphor usage patterns may reveal the severity of a mental health disorder and the clinical presence of symptoms. By juxtaposing semi-structured interview data and psychometric data, Study 1 shows how trauma victims with the same clinical symptom tend to metaphorize their experiences in convergent ways and how the patterns differ across individuals with different symptoms. Study 2 illustrates how trauma victims above the diagnostic threshold of acute stress disorder metaphorize their psychopathological experiences with distinct conceptual resources. The findings highlight the role of metaphors in representing diversified psychopathological experiences and the relevance of metaphor analysis to more inclusive, client-centered healthcare.