Therapeutic Use of Metaphors in Medical English Scenario Writing: A Case Study of Nervous System Writing by Three Medical Majors in Xinxiang Medical University

For future doctors, it is quite common to use metaphors in therapy. In the therapy process, one goal for therapists is to develop metaphors that can present the client’s problem as a solution. The solution metaphors should be as close as possible to the client’s own language. Here, metaphors can be seen as a tool to provide explanations to and communicate with clients. Therefore, to cultivate students’ use of metaphors in therapy, after watching and analyzing a video of the nervous system, students are required to write short essays according to the given scenario. Students are allowed to use metaphorical sentences in their essay. The analysis of these sentences shows that structural metaphors, orientational metaphors, and ontological metaphors were used in their writing. The scenario writing exercise not only improved students’ metaphoric competence but also provided them with a new approach for their future career.