Mandala work

Domain VIII · Creative & expressive arts therapies · C. G. Jung, Joan Kellogg · 1916

What it is

Mandala work is a family of art-based procedures, not one manualised therapy. The client makes, colours or chooses images organised around a circle, usually a pre-drawn circle on paper. The clinician then uses the image to support self-regulation and reflection, and in the MARI tradition also as a…

Format

• No published phased protocol exists for mandala work as a whole. The structure below combines the formats the sources describe. Phase labels and the criteria for moving between phases are.
• Formats the sources describe

Who practises it, and how they are trained or regulated

• Single regulation task: colour a pre-designed mandala, or draw freely inside a circle, for about 20 to 30 minutes. Lab studies used 20 minutes (Curry & Kasser), and the review literature reports 20 to 30. One 10-minute study showed no benefit.
• MARI assessment session: a free mandala drawing, then card selections, then counsellor feedback on the Great Round. It can be repeated over treatment to track shifts. Use only after MARI training.
• Introduction and regulation (sessions 1 to 3): low-demand structured colouring, or a free circle drawing with no interpretation. Goals: comfort with materials, a calmer state, a baseline image. Move on when the client tolerates the task without marked distress or performance anxiety, and shows some curiosity about their image.

Questions to explore with your client

• What drew you to it, and what are you hoping it will change?
• Does it involve intense or unusual breathing? Have you been told about the medical conditions for which that is not advised?
• Is it a group, retreat or community? How do they respond if someone wants to leave or raises a concern?
• How do you and the practitioner understand what is happening, in spiritual or cultural terms? Is that a source of comfort, worry, or both?
• Does it use a device, heat, cold, water or a physical procedure? Has a medical professional checked that it is safe for you?
• Who runs it, and what training or registration do they hold?
• What actually happens in a session or meeting, and how often?
• What does it cost, and is there pressure to commit to more?
• How do you feel afterwards, in the hours and days that follow?
• Does it fit with, or clash with, the work we do here?

What practitioners of it watch for

• comparing skill, peer interpretation, and pressure to share.
• music that evokes memories or grief unexpectedly. Check in and stop if needed.
• labelling a client as "in Fragmentation". Use stage language only if the client finds it meaningful.
• therapist projection. Keep your own associations as questions. Signs it is working: the client offers personal meanings without prompting.
• colouring used to avoid processing that is needed, and distress that does not come down (then use your standard grounding and safety planning).

When to involve someone else

• New or worsening physical symptoms, or advice to stop or change prescribed medication: involve the client's doctor or prescriber.
• Signs of coercion, isolation from family and friends, escalating costs or secrecy: discuss openly and consider safeguarding.
• A crisis or thoughts of suicide: follow your crisis protocol. In the US, call or text 988; in the UK and Ireland, Samaritans on 116 123.

Drawn automatically from the guide's own sections. Stay curious: neither endorse nor dismiss what the client values, and check anything that matters against the full guide and its sources. Not medical advice.