Allegories, fables, myths, legends, and other time-honored forms of storytelling have been used since the beginning of recorded history to convey important values and moral precepts to the young. Storytelling comes naturally to children, and also offers them an unparalleled means through which they may express the fantasies, anxieties, and conflicts of their inner lives.

In Of Mice and Metaphors, Second Edition, psychoanalyst and child treatment specialist Jerrold R. Brandell introduces a variety of dynamic strategies for therapists to understand and incorporate a child’s own creative story-narrative into an organic and reciprocal treatment process leading to therapeutic recovery and healing. Engaging case histories encompassing a wide spectrum of childhood problems and emotional disorders are used to illustrate complex, effective strategies that include actual clients’ stories and the author’s response to their narratives.