26 Aug 2025

The Prison Metaphor: Finding Freedom from Long-Standing Behaviours

In Process-Based Behaviour Therapy (PBBT), one of the most challenging aspects of change is working with long-standing behaviour patterns. These behaviours can feel immovable, not because clients simply "refuse to change," but because they cannot fully appreciate their own sense of passivity or lack of control within the pattern itself.

When therapists address these behaviours directly, clients often hear judgment or criticism, even when none is intended. That is why, in PBBT, we work with metaphors; powerful tools that allow clients to see their own experience more clearly, without defensiveness or shame. One metaphor that has proven particularly effective is what we call The Prison Metaphor.

Why the Prison Metaphor?

The metaphor highlights two key therapeutic moves:

Validation – These behaviours make sense. They are part of the client’s identity, and acknowledging that truth creates safety in the therapeutic space.
Expansion – At the same time, the metaphor opens the door to a broader perspective: recognising that even when behaviours feel familiar and safe, they may also keep us trapped.

By weaving these two elements together - validation and expansion - we can loosen the grip that long-standing behaviours hold.

The Prison Metaphor

"Imagine you’ve been in prison for many years for a crime you know you didn’t commit. Over time, the anger at the injustice fades. Instead, you focus on freedom, dreaming about it every night. Finally, one day, the prison gate opens, and you are told you can leave.

You step out empty-handed, ready to begin again. Yet, almost immediately, you notice how much you had adjusted to prison life. It was safe, predictable, familiar. To your surprise, you find yourself missing it. You stop walking and turn back. You know you could always go back, it’s a safety net of sorts, but if you re-enter, you know you will never leave again.

Then you remember all those nights you dreamt of freedom. You feel the injustice again, deep in your bones, and you turn away. The world outside feels vast, strange, uncertain. You don’t know where to start. The best thing to do now is to run. Run as fast as you can, without looking back, until you are far enough away from the safety of prison. Because no matter how nostalgic it feels, prison is still prison. Safety can be a trap."

Why Running Matters

The running element is crucial. It transforms the metaphor from a story of passivity into one of empowerment. It captures both the fear of stepping into new and uncertain spaces and the vitality of movement toward freedom.

Clients often resonate deeply with this image. They see their old behaviours not as "bad habits" to be judged, but as prisons that once offered safety. From there, they can imagine what it means to choose freedom, even if it feels risky, even if it requires courage, even if the safest thing seems to be standing still.

Want to learn more?

Join us for an informational webinar on the Professional Diploma in Process-Based Behaviour Therapy (PBBT).

Date: 1st September
Time: 16:00 (Irish Time)

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