Use of metaphor

The use of metaphor is expressing an abstract experience that words cannot reach by way of an image. A person often cannot describe a feeling directly, but when they say "it is as if I am talking to a wall" or "the ground beneath my feet is slipping," that experience suddenly becomes visible. The clean language approach developed by David Grove suggests exploring the client's metaphor in the client's own words, without spoiling it with the coach's interpretation. Metaphor is a door opening onto a depth that logic cannot reach. The coach opens space for the client to explore their own image and often sees that a solution, too, lies hidden within that image.