Therapy with a Map

Book excerpt: A therapeutic relationship is a web of interactions, tasks and processes in space and time. It is not easy to stay aware of the relationship in the thick of talking and trying to help someone; but doing so boosts flexibility and enables deeper formulation. A therapist who can attend not only to a specific therapeutic model, but also to relational factors underlying all therapy, has a far greater chance of enabling change. Therapy with a Map sets out a therapeutic process of talking accompanied by visual conversation maps set down in real time on paper. Like all maps, these help us to find our way, notice when we are lost, track our route and survey the wider landscape. The book uses mapping to introduce the tools and concepts of Cognitive Analytic Therapy (CAT), along with other relational, conversational and narrative approaches. By mapping patterns of thinking and relating, therapists can help clients to develop self-understanding, solve problems, and take away a freer, more self-aware relationship with themselves in the world.