Who's afraid of the big bad wolf? Confronting wife abuse through folk stories

Because many world folk stories describe wife abuse with remarkable insight, these stories are useful in addressing the sensitive issues that arise when counseling battered women. Following the views of Milton Erickson and Joan Laird about the importance of stories as a therapeutic tool, techniques were developed in a regional Coalition for Battered Women in North Carolina to use folk stories as an aid in redefining problems, increasing self-esteem, decreasing resistance, and encouraging alternative solutions to difficult situations. A case study of the use of a story in a battered women's support group session illustrates the value of folk stories in the counseling process. On the basis of experience to date, additional uses of the stories to help abused women are suggested.