Care to Spelunk Your Soul?

There are a number of ways to think about therapy. I shared one of them, a walk in your neighborhood, in my last blog. Another picture I have used in describing therapy is spelunking, that is, cave exploration. Maybe you've done some caving yourself. Most of us haven't. But you likely have at least seen video footage of cavers walking, dropping, or crawling down into the earth to discover a whole world that is unknown to those of us who prefer to stay on top of the dirt and rocks, not under them (like me for instance). But the idea is fascinating as a metaphor for therapies that seek to understand what is going on below the surface of our visible behaviors.

We have each been shaped and molded by our past experiences into the relational beings that we are today. While we can't actually change our past, we can modify how we think about our own histories, how we cast ourselves in our personal narratives. Such modifications frequently help us get unstuck and enable us to move on down the river of growth, maturity, and healing. Sometimes, to truly understand what propels us we need to go below ground--do some deeper exploration.

Thus, the caving metaphor. I believe therapy can be likened to spelunking in a couple of important ways. First of all, therapy involves a collaborative exploration of our own lives. Caving is always a collaborative effort where explorers are linked together by critical safety ropes. It isn't something you do alone unless you have taken leave of your senses. Crazier still would be dropping into some crevasse solo with little or no previous experience. A therapist functions as an experienced guide that will go with you and help you safely explore important and unknown parts of yourself, both positive and negative. The second part of the metaphor, then, is the likeness of hidden caverns to those parts of ourselves that exist underground, below the surface of our conscious awareness. It is often in these dark and hidden places that we are unconsciously instigating mystifying decisions that baffle us and lead us to engage in such seemingly nonsensical endeavors like self-sabotage or compulsively seeking and securing relationships with toxic people.

So, it might just be helpful to find out what metaphoric stalactites, stalagmites, and underground rivers await the shine of your flashlight down in those deep and unlit places of the mind and soul. It could change--for the better--the trajectory of the rest of the story that you call your life. I have plenty of extra batteries!

Copyright John D. Deyo, M.A., LMFT 2009