Communicating With the Subconscious Through Imagery

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Patients can be taught how to interact with their subconscious to gain insight into possible causes and solutions for their psychological issues. As a first step in this process, we set up one or two methods through which the subconscious can answer, “Yes,” “No,” or “I don’t want to say.”

Individual Finger Motion

The patient is instructed to leave one of their hands alone, and not move it on purpose. I then suggest that the subconscious can raise one finger to indicate “Yes,” another finger to indicate “No,” and a third finger to indicate, “I don’t want to say.” Once it is established which finger is which, I proceed to ask questions.

This method is often referred to as “ideomotor signaling,” and works with about 75 percent of my pediatric patients.

Muscle Strength Testing

The patient is instructed to flex their arm while placing their elbow on an armrest. I explain that their job is to keep the arm flexed as best as possible throughout our interactions and to resist my pulling their arm down.

I then demonstrate that when the subconscious thinks “Yes,” the arm stays strong and flexed, when the subconscious thinks “No,” the arm becomes weak and will unflex fully when I pull on it, and when the subconscious doesn’t want to say, the arm becomes partially unflexed.

While this method works with nearly every patient, its disadvantage is that it involves my active pulling of the arm. Thus it becomes more likely that I will inadvertently influence the response. An influenced response may not represent how the patient truly feels and thus may move the therapy in the wrong direction. On the other hand, from a therapeutic standpoint, it may not matter whether I have influenced the response if it is helpful for making progress with the therapy.

Three Questions

Once the subconscious responses are established, I ask three questions:

• Are you willing to help the patient? If the answer is no, I ask whether the subconscious knows how to help the patient. I also ask if the patient would like to be helped by the subconscious. If the subconscious response is that it does not know how to help, I offer to teach it to do so, and it usually becomes agreeable to help. If the subconscious says the patient does not want its help, we discuss why this might be and whether the patient is willing to change their mind.
• Is there something that’s bothering the patient of which they are unaware? I ask this question because many of my patients present with physical complaints that result from thoughts and feelings that are suppressed because they can cause distress when considered consciously. If the response is yes, we address possible reasons with the subconscious at later sessions.
• Do you have any advice for the patient? If the subconscious says yes, I ask if they are willing to give this advice now. If yes, I tell them to go ahead. If the subconscious says it does not have advice, or if doesn’t want to share it at that time, I encourage it to give some advice so that the patient can learn how to listen to themselves. Further, I add that the advice can come in the form of a thought, an image, or feelings.

Note that the last sequence of questions leads to an open-ended invitation that can be answered in the patient’s mind. Thus, the therapy does not have to be driven and perhaps overly influenced by the clinician’s “Yes” or “No” questioning.

Interpreting Images From the Subconscious

Often, the subconscious responds with a thought detailing concrete advice such as, “You need to get more sleep.” However, almost as often, the subconscious responds with an image, such as a tree, a beach ball, a graded test, or an airplane.

I suspect that the reasons the subconscious chooses to communicate with imagery include:

• Imagery arises from different parts of the brain than language. Thus, it may provide different information than can be accessed through words.
• Perhaps the subconscious utilizes imagery, including through dreams, because historically communication through imagery developed before the use of language.
• Imagery can evoke strong emotions more quickly than words.
• Complex ideas can be conveyed through a single image, from which a familiar adage arises: A picture is worth a thousand words.
• The many possible meanings for an image allow the clinician and patient to interpret the image in a way that is most applicable to a patient’s situation.
• Interpretation of imagery often requires the involvement of both the clinician and the patient, which prompts patients who doubt their ability to help themselves to become more confident in the resultant interpretation and advice.

The first question I pose to the subconscious once the patient reports an image is, Did you put the image into the patient’s mind? If the answer is no, I suggest the patient disregard the image and ask the subconscious if it is willing to give its advice again.

As I start forming hypotheses regarding the meaning of an image, I invite the patient to propose ideas as well. This form of brainstorming can increase rapport. The patient’s input often becomes crucial in reaching an interpretation that appears relevant. During this part of the process, we can check in with the subconscious by asking, Are we on the right track? Or, Are we on a wild goose chase?

For example, an image of a tree might represent a metaphor that suggests that the patient should be strong or steadfast in the face of adversity. Alternatively, it might refer to recalling that the patient has strong roots. Or, it could be a reminder that the patient should take in energy in order to help others, just as a tree takes energy from the sun and produces fruit.

Unconscious Essential Reads

What Is the Unconscious Mind?

How Our Actions Reveal More Than We Realize

A girl saw an image of a beach ball, which helped her recall and start dealing with a traumatic event that occurred on a beach when she was much younger. Sometimes, the image is more obvious, such as seeing a test marked with an "A," which turned out to mean that the patient needed to study harder to achieve better grades.

When the patient and I feel that the image has been interpreted adequately, I always conclude by asking the subconscious, Did we correctly understand the advice given through the image? Is there more that we need to understand from the image? If so, we keep questioning.

The Takeaway

Imagery can provide information that may not be easily conveyed with words and thus can broaden the foundation for therapeutic work. Such imagery can be evoked through interactions with the subconscious.