Trauma doesn’t live in the event, it lives in the body. This is one of the most powerful insights from Dr. Peter Levine, the creator of Somatic Experiencing, a body-based approach to healing trauma. Levine compares trauma to Medusa, the mythical creature whose gaze turned people to stone. It’s a striking image that speaks volumes about what trauma can feel like, paralyzing, overwhelming, and deeply embedded in our nervous systems.
In Greek mythology, the hero Perseus defeats Medusa not by looking at her directly, but by using his shield as a mirror. Levine uses this story as a metaphor for healing: when we try to confront trauma head-on, we may become frozen or retraumatized, just like those who gazed into Medusa’s eyes. Instead, healing must be approached symbolically, with curiosity, patience, and care. Like Perseus, we need tools and strategies to navigate overwhelming internal experiences without becoming trapped by them.
Levine’s theory emphasizes that trauma is not about the objective details of what happened, but about how the nervous system responded. When faced with threat, our body prepares to fight or flee. But if escape isn’t possible, it shifts into freeze, a shutdown state where energy meant for survival becomes trapped. In animals, this energy is discharged naturally, through shaking, trembling, or movement. In humans, it often gets stuck. The result? Anxiety, chronic tension, numbness, or a sense of disconnection from the body.
Somatic Experiencing works by helping people gently reconnect with those bodily sensations and complete the interrupted survival responses, often through small, titrated steps. The process isn’t about rehashing the story, but about listening to the body’s impulses and allowing them to unfold safely. This is why this method is not only gentle but also deeply respectful of each person’s inner pacing.
So where do metaphors and symbolic techniques come in?
Symbolic language, such as art, helps bypass the rational mind and speak directly to the emotional and unconscious parts of the psyche. When clients feel overwhelmed or stuck in analysis, creative approaches like storytelling, imagery, movement, drawing, or guided visualization can open new doors. They offer safe distance, invite imagination, and help access feelings that may be hard to name.
In trauma therapy, these tools are especially powerful. Trauma often shuts down verbal processing. Symbolic and body-based techniques can bridge the gap, allowing clients to express and transform their experience without having to “look directly” at what’s too painful.
Just as Perseus used his shield to face the unfaceable, therapy can offer symbolic tools that allow clients to engage with their trauma in a way that feels manageable and empowering. Through gentle, creative, and body-informed work, we help restore the natural rhythm of the nervous system, and with it, the person’s sense of agency, vitality, and connection.
