Cicadas and Healing: Nature-Inspired Lessons for Emotional Development

I've been trained to listen for the loud, shrill call of cicadas once summer hits each year in Texas. It’s how I know the ground has warmed just enough for them to emerge from their long slumber, a rest that can last anywhere from a single year to seventeen, depending on the particular type of cicada's rhythm. They often go unseen, but they make their presence known through sound and through the brittle exoskeletons they leave behind. These small remnants tell the story of where they’ve been and what they’ve outgrown. Cicadas are slow, elusive creatures, offering gentle lessons to anyone willing to pay attention. In my therapeutic work, I often reflect on how nature mirrors the inner workings of humanity. In this piece, we’ll explore what cicadas teach us about emotional development, honoring life’s natural cycles, and creating space for meaningful transformation, especially in seasons of change, grief, or self-discovery.

On a walk with a client, we came across this cicada actively leaving behind it's old body and stepping into a new form. It is vulnerable as it leaves it's protective past shell, but also beautiful and a symbol of hope for many that witness it's journey.

Cycles Beneath the Surface

Cicadas spend most of their lives underground, unseen and unheard. For years, sometimes more than a decade, they grow quietly beneath the surface, preparing for a brief but powerful emergence. When they finally come up, it’s not subtle. Their arrival is loud, disorienting even, with a collective buzz often compared to a lawn mower or jackhammer. It can feel overwhelming, especially when you don’t know the story behind the sound.

Similarly, many of us hold stories that have hidden themselves deep within for a variety of reasons. Whether it's because they didn't feel safe to share, they weren't fully understood by the body or mind, or simply needed time to develop and take shape. All kinds of formative stories live quietly beneath the surface, showing signs of peeking through when they are ready to be seen. For example, in teens, these hidden stories may begin to surface during times of transition, particularly after a move, during puberty, or following a loss.

The cicada models to us that just because we don't see something happening in real time, doesn't mean that there isn't movement at all. Sometimes sitting with parts of self in a quiet, unassuming way leads to undeniable breakthroughs when the time and conditions are right. When the environment feels safe enough, those deeper parts begin to rise. What often comes next is the beginning of expression, a voice that was once buried slowly making its way into the light.

The Power of the Cicada's Song

When cicadas emerge, they come not just to be seen but to be heard. Their song is instinctual and unrehearsed. It fills the air with presence, connection, and purpose. For them, it is a call to life in the here and now, an invitation to be known. It is what keeps them thriving for generations to come.

In a similar way, when our inner stories begin to surface, they don’t always arrive as clear words. Sometimes they come through behaviors, emotions, or body signals that feel confusing or disorienting. Sometimes, when a child, teen, or adult begins to express their inner world, it may not come out in words right away. It might show up as irritability, anxiety, withdrawal, or bursts of emotion that don’t yet make sense. But like the cicada’s call, these moments are a form of communication. They are how the nervous system says, “I need attention here.”

Rather than rushing to quiet these signals, we can learn to listen with curiosity. They have something important to share with us after all. As stories begin to take shape through what we notice, say, and do, we begin to experience ourselves in new ways. Naming and honoring these expressions lays the foundation for real transformation and growth becomes possible, not just on the surface, but in the deeper layers of the self.

Emerging with New Form

When cicadas rise to the surface, they leave behind the outer shell that once protected them. The exoskeleton, essential for their development, becomes something they shed in order to grow. Left clinging to trees and blades of grass, these empty shells tell a familiar story of change. They mark the moment when something internal became too large to stay hidden. They are both a release and a record of what came before.

We also carry structures that once helped us. Protective ways of thinking, feeling, or behaving often develop in uncertain times, offering a sense of safety when we needed it most. Some common examples seen in my office are people-pleasing tendencies, emotional suppression, or perfectionism. Over time, though, these same strategies can begin to feel too small or too tight. As we start to outgrow them, we may not always have the language to describe what is shifting. Still, the body holds the clues. There may be tension, restlessness, or a sense that something no longer fits. When met with support and presence, it becomes more possible to loosen the grip on what we no longer need. Like the cicada, we begin to step into a new form. We remain who we are, but with more space to move and be.

Therapy for Growth, Healing, and Emotional Regulation

As a therapist, I often work with individuals navigating moments of transition. Whether it’s a teenager learning to regulate emotions without their phone, a high-performing adult rethinking their worth, or a family working through grief and communication ruptures, the process of transformation is slow, felt with the body, brain, and spirit, and inherently relational.

If you or your child are moving through a season of change, whether it’s a life transition, emotional overwhelm, or just a sense that something old no longer fits, I’d be honored to support you. You can get started by filling out the contact form here to schedule a consultation or learn more about how I can help. I look forward to hearing from you!

I specialize in therapy for children, teens, families, and high-performers in Austin, Texas and online across Texas. My work is grounded in interpersonal neurobiology, somatic awareness, and attachment-focused care.therapy for emotional regulation, therapy for teens in Austin, child and teen therapist Austin, somatic therapy for children, therapy for transitions and life changes, family therapy Austin, grief and emotional healing, nervous system regulation therapy, relational therapy Austin, child therapist near me, support for emotionally sensitive kids, trauma-informed therapy Austin, adolescent counseling Austin