George W. Burns 
101 Healing Stories for Kids and Teens 
Using Metaphors in Therapy

A comprehensive guide to understanding and using storytelling in
therapy with kids and teens

‘George Burns is a highly experienced clinician with the remarkable
ability to create, discover, and tell engaging stories that can
teach us all the most important lessons in life. With 101 Healing
Stories for Kids and Teens, he strives especially to help kids
and

teens learn these life lessons early on, providing them
opportunities for getting help and even learning to think
preventively.’

-Michael D. Yapko, Ph D | Author of Breaking the Patterns of
Depression and Hand-Me-Down Blues

‘George Burns takes the reader on a wonderful journey, balancing
metaphor, good therapeutic technique, and empirical foundations
during the trip. Given that Burns utilizes all three aspects of the
Confucian story referred to in the book-teaching, showing, and
involving-readers should increase their understanding of how
stories can be used therapeutically.’

-Richard G. Whiteside, MSW | Author of The Art of Using and Losing
Control and Working with Difficult Clients: A Practical Guide to
Better Therapy

‘A treasure trove for parents and for professionals in the
child-development fields.’

-Jeffrey K. Zeig, Ph D | Director, The Milton H. Erickson
Foundation

Stories can play an important and potent role in therapy with
children and adolescents-helping them develop the skills to cope
with and survive a myriad of life situations. In many cases,
stories provide the most effective means of communicating what kids
and teens might not want to discuss directly.

101 Healing Stories for Kids and Teens provides straightforward
advice on using storytelling and metaphors in a variety of
therapeutic settings. Ideal for all who work with young people,
this unique resource can be combined with other inventive and
evidence-based techniques such as play, art, music, and drama
therapies as well as solution focused, hypnotic, and
cognitive-behavioral approaches. Offering guidance for new
clinicians and seasoned professionals, George Burns’s latest work
delivers a unique combination-information on incorporating
storytelling in therapy, dozens of ready-made stories, and tips for
creating original therapeutic stories.

Innovative chapters include:

* Guidance for effective storytelling

* Using metaphors effectively

* Where to get ideas for healing stories

* Planning and presenting healing stories

* Teaching parents to use healing stories

In addition, 101 Healing Stories for Kids and Teens includes dozens
of story ideas designed to address a variety of issues, such
as:

* Enriching learning

* Teaching self-care

* Changing patterns of behavior

* Managing relationships, emotions, and life challenges

* Creating helpful thoughts

* Developing life skills and problem-solving techniques

About the author

GEORGE W. BURNS is a clinical psychologist and Director of the Milton H. Erickson Institute of Western Australia. He is also a trainer of therapists and the author of 101 Healing Stories: Using Metaphors in Therapy (Wiley), Nature-Guided Therapy, and coauthor of Standing without Shoes: Creating Happiness, Relieving Depression, Enhancing Life.