Body mapping

Domain VIII · Creative & expressive arts therapies · Jane Solomon · 2002 · Cape Town, South Africa

What it is

What it is: body mapping is a facilitated arts-based method, not a stand-alone psychotherapy with its own theory. A partner (or the facilitator) traces a life-size outline of the person's body on large card, paper or canvas, and the person fills it in, exercise by exercise, with colour, symbols,…

Format

• There is no fixed session count. Versions differ widely, and the time available decides how many layers you can do and how fully the map is painted.
• Preparation and consent. Goal: recruit, screen and agree the terms. Explain the purpose, the materials and any possible public showing before starting, and record consent to recording and photography. Arrange a private room big enough for floor work, which can be locked between sessions.

Who practises it, and how they are trained or regulated

• Do not move into trauma layers while a participant is still dysregulated from the previous one. Check in and offer breaks first.
• Professional frame. No regulated profession or credential exists for body mapping. Solomon is an artist ("I'm not trained as a therapist") and always works alongside a trained counsellor. Gunn requires facilitators with prior trauma experience and, where possible, a clinical psychologist on hand. TICAH's ideal team has convenors, artists, a counsellor and support staff. When a psychotherapist uses it inside therapy,…

Questions to explore with your client

• What drew you to it, and what are you hoping it will change?
• Is there physical contact? Was it explained beforehand, and do you feel free to say no or stop at any point?
• 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?
• 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

• Perfectionism. Map time running out for people who work slowly.
• Conflict that has not been resolved. Address it before the circle.
• Homework not done. Do it together at the start of the next session; never shame.
• Writing your own interpretation into the key. The rule is: the maker's words only.
• A facilitator's edit that drifts from the maker's meaning. Check it back with them.

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.