How to Unlock Emotional Healing Through Symbolic Imagery

A client recently said to me, “I’m used to psychotherapy, and the session with you was so much different than that.” From his tone, I could sense his scepticism about my methods that utilise all our senses and visual imagery. It made me pause and reflect: Could his expectations of traditional talk therapy hold him back? If he firmly believes that this approach is the only path to healing, how can I help him unlock the full potential of our sessions?

I weighted 2 these options:

1. Adapt my approach to align with his belief system and stay within the realm of traditional talk therapy.
2. Challenge his perception gently, introducing him to the benefits of approaches like symbolic imagery, and see if he can embrace something outside his past experiences.

Both paths have their merits and downsides. Staying within the comfort zone of talk therapy would likely build trust and maintain rapport, allowing him to feel safe. Over time, this could yield good results, though likely at a slower pace. The second option—challenging his belief—could risk that rapport. But, if he embraced the full scope of therapeutic methods I use, I knew we could achieve results that were deeper, faster, and longer-lasting.

Why am I so confident in this?

Because language is a wonderful and powerful tool, but images are the mind’s native language.

Symbolic imagery has a unique ability to access the subconscious mind, where so much of our emotional and psychological landscape resides, such as emotions, memories, core beliefs, and even traumas. Unlike language, which relies on conscious thought and logic, symbols and images speak directly to the heart of our being. They express the inexpressible and allow us to explore the depths of our experience in ways that words simply can’t.

Through symbolic imagery, our minds communicate with us in their natural language—through images, metaphors, and sensations. These are not random constructs but deeply personal representations of our internal world. Neuro-Linguistic Programming, for example, teaches us that tapping into these representations can unlock profound healing and transformation.

When a client can’t find the words to describe a feeling, I’ll ask them, “If you could give it a colour, what colour would this feeling have? What shape?” And suddenly, a door opens. Once we have an image to work with, the possibilities expand.

Trauma, for instance, often leaves behind sensory or visual imprints, like snapshots frozen in time. When we work with these imprints through imagery, we can uncover hidden layers of emotion, understand them, and begin to reframe them.

Here’s how it works:

• Accessing Internal Representations: Emotions often connect to vivid internal images. By identifying these, we bring unconscious patterns to the surface and make them accessible for healing.
• Utilizing Submodalities: Once the image is clear, we can explore its qualities—its size, color, brightness, or movement—and begin to shift and manipulate these elements. This creates a new emotional response.
• Pattern Interrupts and Reframing: Symbolic imagery allows us to break unhelpful mental patterns and replace them with empowering narratives. We rewrite our story and with that our response to it. This brings profound shifts and healing.

When we engage with symbolic imagery, we bypass verbal barriers and tap directly into the subconscious, where so much of our healing begins. It’s like speaking the mind’s native language—opening up pathways for emotional release and self-discovery.

Healing is not a one-size-fits-all journey. For this client, taking the leap from his expectations of talk therapy to the realm of symbolic imagery could feel daunting. But the potential it unlocks, the awareness, empowerment, and the ability to rewrite the stories that shape us absolutely is worth it.

Through this process, we not only uncover the stories our minds are telling—we also realize that we have the power to rewrite them. Are you ready to rewrite yours?