There is a cultural limitation in our society to express ourselves through graphic art, despite the fact that many of us have a natural inclination to drawing and painting.
In this sense, mandalas are proposed as a challenge to overcome the atavistic fears of finding ourselves through art.
It is not necessary to “know” artistic theory or have special “talents”. The Mandalas are a Psychotherapeutic Art Therapy resource and as such it has Objectives, Therapeutic Framework, and a Process.
ARTETHERAPY
- Discipline specialized in accompanying, facilitating and enabling a significant change in the person through the use of various artistic means: attending to their creative process, the images it produces and the questions and answers they raise. It differs from other disciplines that use elements artistic, such as art education, because it uses materials, techniques, the artistic process and the work itself, for Psychotherapeutic purposes.
What is not Art Therapy
- It is not occupational therapy It is not reeducation It is not ergotherapy It is not sociotherapy It is not a projective test It does not make a diagnosis It is not emotional therapy It does not look for catharsis at the moment of creation
goals
- Express difficult-to-speak feelings Increase self-esteem and confidence Develop healthy confrontational skills Identify emotional blocks In summary: Communication Self-knowledge, Personal growth.
Therapeutic Frame
The Triangular Relationship
Art Therapist - Work – Patient
They establish a contrast in relation to traditional verbal therapies, where treatment takes place between two components:
Therapist and patient, who maintain primarily verbal communication. Art therapy introduces a new agent: the visual-plastic work done by the patient. This third presence alters the client-therapist relationship and the traditional role attributed to both figures.
The process of transfer and countertransference between the patient and the Art Therapist is affected by the existence of something concrete that can be used, discussed and acts as a mediator.
Therapeutic Approaches
There are three therapeutic approaches in a Therapeutic Art session, depending on the goals set for the therapy and the type of people who attend it.
- - Manager:
The art therapist structures the work session, determining activities or themes to develop, materials or techniques with which the patient can create.
- - Non-executive:
The art therapist is not involved in the actions of the patient, leaving him free to choose, materials, techniques and the theme or themes with which he will develop his artistic process.
- - Semi-executive:
Basic guidelines are given which must be completed by the patient. The instructions are minimal so that the patient has the option to complete
Boarding Techniques
• individual
It works with a single patient, exclusively attending to their own subjectivity and needs.
- Group
The group work modality maintains therapeutic objectives.
The inclusion of a patient in a group depends on specific criteria, for which it is necessary to have a series of previous interviews.
Workshop
The workshops are group, can be convened from a particular topic and have a modality by which each participant works on their own issues with a slogan offered to the entire group.
Techniques
- The techniques do not focus on the aesthetic value of artistic work, but on the therapeutic process Techniques from the plastic arts are used, but it is not necessary to have prior artistic knowledge In Art Therapy, the therapist does not interpret the patient's art work, but is the latter who gradually unfolds and discovers the meanings of his images. ” (Nosovsky, 2008, p. 17).
MANDALAS
- The Transpersonal value of mandalas lies in their ability to activate internal mechanisms of consciousness and being that allow us to express potentially creative content, order them and give them meaning. The word mandala comes from Sanskrit and means "circle". It is also defined as "Sacred circle", "magic ring", "wheel", "center", "that which is the essence"… Despite the oriental origin of the word, mandalas existed and exist in all civilizations and cultures.
Examples of these mandala or mandaloid configurations, often with spiritual intent:
- the mandorla (almond) of medieval Christian artThe labyrinths on the pavement of the Gothic churchesthe stained glass rose windows in the churchesthe chacanas of the Andean countries. Chacana means in Quechua ladder or bridge, (in Aymara: pusi chakani, 'the one with the four bridges') "Andean cross" or "square cross". Tibet
This universality of the mandala figures is due to the fact that the concentric shapes suggest an idea of perfection (of equidistance with respect to a center) and that the perimeter of the circle evokes the eternal return of the cycles of nature. of mandalas that differ in construction, design, and use.
Thus, there are different ways to make mandalas, from painting the templates of the books to coloring them and that can be a playful and even therapeutic moment
And work a Mandala for Psychotherapeutic purposes
Ludic TEMPLATES) See PDF)
- A mandala is basically a work within a circle, it can vary in color and design, but basically it is made up of a center, the four cardinal points, and the signs or symbols that make it up. The center of the circle is the central point of Identification, from which a series of shapes emanate that may be repetitive, geometric and organic, may contain recognizable images or not, but with meaning for the person who is creating them.The figures can be concrete or abstract and always have symbolic content At a therapeutic level, they are used to balance the rational and creative hemispheres, since the geometric figures in a mandala are captured by our logical side, and the colors and drawings by our creative side.
At the Psychotherapeutic level
- It focuses on the importance of the creative process, above the artistic process, that is, it is not about creating a famous work of art, nor abiding by rigid rules. What is really important is that during the process the unconscious content, emotions, association of thoughts…, and that the final product has meaning for who makes it, the work being a reflection of what happens inside.
The parts of a mandala.
A mandala has three basic parts:
- The central point, the irradiation of that point, the outer circular limit.
The designs are very varied, but with some constant elements a center and cardinal points contained in basic shapes: circles, triangles, squares and rectangles arranged in a certain symmetry
Construction of mandalas
- -The basic thing for the construction of a mandala is the creation of a CIRCLE, framed in a SQUARE.
