Nature Metaphors as Therapeutic Tools
Metaphors have a powerful ability to illustrate abstract ideas.
I absolutely love using metaphors with clients to discuss more complex human experiences in order to add a visual and contextual layer from which to understand these experiences, most often being our relationship to our thoughts and emotions.
Unsurprisingly, many of the metaphors I use relate to nature, which I view as the ultimate teacher.
Here are three nature metaphors to utilize as therapeutic tools:
Our Thoughts and Emotions as the Weather:
Envision yourself as the sky. The weather represents your thoughts and emotions. The weather comes and passes through without your control—thunderstorms, clouds, rain, etc. However, it always passes, and you, the sky, remain.
I absolutely love this metaphor to help encapsulate the distinction between our identity and our external behaviors, thoughts, and emotions.
Anger as a Volcano
Imagine strong emotions, like anger, as lava in a volcano. The more you try to push them down and keep them contained, the more pressure is created, which may end up in an explosion of emotion, or harden into resentment.
With this metaphor I like to explore with clients how to “release pressure” in smaller bursts, so that there is a more continuous release of emotion in smaller portions, versus the emotions being released in harmful ways, or even hardening into denser emotions over time which are more difficult to access.
Our Brain as a Ski Slope:
Imagine your brain as a ski slope. If you’ve been reacting to a situation with a certain behavior long enough, the grooves in the snow will become so deep that the only way to ski down the mountain would be to go down the same paths. This same concept applies to the neural pathways in our brain. In order to learn a new behavior, you may have to work harder at first. You may have to stop, take off your skis, and walk over the groove in order to create a new path. You may have to do this over and over again, and wait for several winters to cover the old grooves with fresh snow for the new grooves to become the deeper paths.
Neuroplasticity is a powerful mechanism through which our brain’s neural networks and connections can begin to rewire and reorganize themselves. I like to discuss this concept with clients not only to infuse psychoeducation about neuroscience, but also to instill hope in the process of creating change in our lives.
Over time I like to equip my clients with a “suitcase of tools” so that they can pull out whichever tool/metaphor they need at any given moment and any given place. Working with a therapist to start learning and utilizing tools is a great place to start your journey of self-development. Please get in touch with our Client Care Coordinator at Root to Rise to book an appointment with one of our therapists today!
With gratitude,
Atalie Abramovici, LMFT
