Metaphors are effective therapeutic tools because they connect to action words, allowing a client's embodiment and agency to be explored within dialog. Drawing on embodied, enactive, and ecological ideas, the authors propose a dialogical-enactive account in which metaphors are used to enact change in systemic collaborative therapy. Rather than requiring explicit performances, metaphoric engagement stays within linguistic dialog as an act of participatory sense-making. Two examples with adolescents illustrate how enacting metaphors in shared communication helps clients connect to action and explore their own agency. Talking is seen as a form of doing, unfolding through embodied interaction.
Imagination and metaphor understanding in children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) are often seen as deficits within a standard linguistic framework. This paper argues instead for an embodied and enactive account, which views imagination and metaphor as grounded in bodily interaction and lived experience. A case study from a systemic therapeutic session with a child with ASD illustrates how metaphors emerge through embodied engagement. The authors conclude that this perspective reveals previously overlooked imaginative strengths in children with ASD and suggests interactive interventions—such as those involving physical movement and shared activities—to support metaphor comprehension and imaginative skills.