Quarantined adolescents: a naturalistic and existential approach through the use of metaphors

Journal title IPNOSI
Author/s Maddalena Ionata
Publishing Year 2023 Issue 2023/1
Language Italian Pages 12 P. 49-60 File size 228 KB
DOI 10.3280/IPN2023-001004
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This work is intended to offer a brief reflection on the emotional and psycho-logical impact observed in young patients during the first national lockdown to counter the spread of COVID-19 in Italy. A theoretical framework will be present-ed that draws on Viktor Frankl’s existential vision and Milton Erickson’s natural-istic approach. Following, two clinical cases will be presented with a particular look at the metaphors brought by young patients in therapy. In the pandemic context, metaphors have been a powerful tool that has allowed many teenagers to narrate what they were experiencing. In some cases, this represented a protective factor that prevented the risks associated with home confinement and social isolation. Specifically, the clinical cases are intended to illustrate how a therapeutic use of metaphors according to Milton Erickson’s method has transformed the quarantine experience of young patients into a new horizon of meaning.

Keywords: hypnosis, metaphor, adolescence, Covid-19, Viktor Frankl, Milton Erickson.

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Maddalena Ionata, Adolescenti in quarantena: un approccio naturalistico ed esistenziale attraverso l’uso di metafore in "IPNOSI" 1/2023, pp 49-60, DOI: 10.3280/IPN2023-001004