Abstract Summary
This talk shows the crucial and varied role of metaphor in the experience of three different kinds of illnesses: chronic pain, schizophrenia and cancer. The practical implications of research on metaphor and illness are also discussed, with particular reference to the ‘Metaphor Menu for people living with cancer’.
Abstract :
Metaphor is central to how we make sense of and communicate our experiences. This is particularly the case with subjective and sensitive experiences such as illness. In this talk I introduce three collaborative projects that explore the role of metaphor in the experience of different illnesses: a study of the effects of the use of visual metaphors in clinical consultations about chronic pain1; an analysis of the metaphors used by people with a diagnosis of schizophrenia to describe their experiences of hallucinatory voices2; and a corpus-based study of metaphors used by people with cancer to talk about their illness3. All three projects involve interdisciplinary research teams and interactions with clinical practitioners. I show how, in all three cases, the insights provided by metaphor analysis are leading to a better understanding of the lived experience of patients, with practical implications for better interventions and support. I will discuss particularly the ‘Metaphor Menu for people living with cancer’ – a resource for patients that resulted from research findings and from interactions with different groups of stakeholders in cancer care.
References
http://www.ucl.ac.uk/slade/research/projects/pain-speaking-the-threshold, Slade School of Art, London.
http://blogs.ucl.ac.uk/language-voice-hearing/, University College London.
http://wp.lancs.ac.uk/melc/, Lancaster University.
