Introduction
Shoulder pain after a car accident can be incredibly frustrating—especially when the doctors say everything should have healed. For some, the pain lingers long after the body has recovered. What if that pain isn’t only physical, but also tied to unresolved memories of the accident?
Distressing memories often remain in the form of mental imagery, frozen in our system. These memories can show up as emotions, thoughts, and even physical discomfort. Logosynthesis® offers a gentle, structured way to identify and release the energy bound in these frozen memories, creating space for relief and healing.
In this post, I share Morgan’s experience of working with me to ease shoulder pain that had persisted for three years after her accident. Through the Logosynthesis® Basic Procedure, she was able to uncover and shift the hidden distress beneath the pain—opening the door to more peace, calm, and freedom of movement.
Connecting with the distress
Morgan has been experiencing a sore right shoulder since an accident 3 years ago. The pain was interfering with her work because she wasn’t able to lift her arm above shoulder height without significant pain. I asked her if she would like me to guide her to explore this using Logosynthesis®, and she was new to the model and curious. I agree to guide her using the Logosynthesis® Basic Procedure, explaining that we work in layers with the memories or mental imagery that arises, usually in layers.
Morgan tells me that at the time of the accident, the doctor told her that it would take 6-12 months to heal and recommended waiting for 6 months before starting physiotherapy. She eventually went for physio, and it helped with mobility, but her shoulder was still sore.
“It starts to get sore when I stretch my arm straight out. When I lift above my head, there is pain and it pops. I joke that it’s ‘snap, crackle, pop’”
I ask her to go back to the accident and to allow herself to experience it in her memory.
“What are the thoughts?”
She tells the story of the accident and how, when she called her ex, he didn’t come to help her. She was angry. Morgan had no one else to call and so she drove 30 minutes to the hospital in a standard truck.
“What are the emotions?”
She pauses. She has already told me she was angry, but as she connects, she recognizes another emotion. Panic!
“What do you feel in your body?”
She points to her chest area.
At this point, she has connected with the thoughts, emotions and physical sensations, so I ask her to rate the level of distress on a scale of 0-10, with 0 being no distress and 10 being maximum distress. She rates it a 10.
I ask her to stay with this distress for a moment and notice the space around her. An image of the scene of the accident is in front of her.
Applying the Logosynthesis® sentences
I offer her the three Logosynthesis® sentences, allowing pauses after each sentence, to shift this image of the scene of the accident. For Morgan, the pauses between each sentence are not long. At the end of the third pause, she looks at me and smiles, and I invite her response.
“Peace. Calm.”
I ask her to again rate the level of distress on the scale of 0 to 10.
“0”
She lifts her arm and notices:
“There is some tension when lifting but no pain … no popping.”
Although we could leave the work here, we have time for a second cycle of the Logosynthesis® Basic Procedure. I ask her to explore the tension, and she indicates that some popping returns.
“What is the tension?”
She replies: “I can’t do what I used to do.”
“Notice the space around you. What do you see? What do you hear?” I guide.
“I see an image of me sitting on my porch.”
So I offer another set of the Logosynthesis® sentences for this image. After the first sentence, she smiles and says she feels calm. After the second sentence, she says she noticed heat in her shoulder, and it calmed. And after the third sentence, she says, “Peace.”
At this point, we sit quietly.
“I am calm.”, she offers.
Closing the session
I don’t always use the fourth Logosynthesis® sentence, but in this case I ask her to repeat aloud after me: “I attune all my systems to this new awareness.”
Two days later, I sent her a message to check in about her shoulder.
“Thanks for thinking of me. It’s good. I’ve been putting to practice what you said and taught me. I realized I am carrying some anger and hurt still from my breakup. Almost 2 years out from it.”
In Logosynthesis®, we address what is bothering the client. The work can uncover layers, and the client can work with these layers at their own pace. We don’t aim to fix but rather guide a shift to relieve distress.
Overview of the work
Morgan’s experience illustrates how Logosynthesis® can help shift the energy frozen in distressing memories, leading to tangible relief from physical symptoms like shoulder pain. By working in layers—thoughts, emotions, and physical sensations—this approach doesn’t aim to “fix” but guides a client toward greater ease and freedom of movement. Each session is unique, and the process can uncover deeper layers at the client’s pace, supporting lasting change and enhanced well-being.
Note:
This session is shared with permission, and identifying details have been changed to respect privacy. It is presented as session notes so that professionals in guided change can follow the flow of the process, while those curious about Logosynthesis® can gain a sense of what is involved in a session. Each session is unique to the individual, and the experience described here is not intended as a prescription or guarantee of results. Logosynthesis® work is not a substitute for medical or other professional care and can be integrated with other treatments.