Core Techniques in Art Therapy — Clay, Collage, Mandalas, Digital Art and the Evidence

Choose techniques to fit the goal

The same technique works differently depending on the client and the goal. Seen through the Expressive Therapies Continuum from Chapter 2, clay is strong at the kinesthetic/sensory level, collage at the cognitive/symbolic level and mandalas at the perceptual level. Choosing a technique is less about “what shall we make” than “what experience does this person need right now?”

Clay: working with hands and body

Sholt and Gavron (2006) reviewed the literature on clay work in art therapy and psychotherapy and summarised its therapeutic qualities as follows.

• Touch and movement: pressing, pounding and rolling awaken bodily sensation. Feelings that are hard to reach in words sometimes come out through the hands.
• Three dimensions and changeability: forms can be made, destroyed and remade, giving a sense of safety and control — “it can be undone.”
• Regression and expression: the soft texture can evoke early childhood sensations and help deep emotional expression, which is also why it needs careful handling.

Clay is also used for grounding. A client swept up in trauma memories may find that attending to the clay’s temperature and weight helps bring them back to the here and now. For clients who are sensitive to sensation or dislike sticky textures, however, it can be unpleasant, so therapists adjust by offering tools (rolling pins, carving tools) or firmer clay.

Collage: choosing images to build a story

Landgarten (1993) systematised magazine photo collage — cutting out and pasting magazine photographs — as an assessment and treatment tool. Its strengths include:

• Less pressure to draw: without the worry of “I can’t draw,” clients can express themselves by choosing existing images.
• Choice as self-expression: which pictures draw them and which they discard reveals values and interests.
• Building a story: arranging images into a narrative linking past, present and future connects to the work of rewriting one’s own story.

There are also trademarked methods such as SoulCollage (Frost, 2001), in which people make collage cards for different facets of themselves. Such methods are widely used for self-exploration, but few studies have yet tested their effects.

Mandalas: drawing and colouring in a circle

Since Jung linked mandalas with the integration of the psyche (see Chapter 1), drawing or colouring inside a circle has been common in art therapy.

Curry and Kasser (2005) first gave university students an anxiety-inducing task, then had them spend 20 minutes either (1) colouring a mandala, (2) colouring a plaid pattern or (3) drawing freely on blank paper. The mandala and plaid groups showed greater drops in anxiety, while the free-drawing group did not. This suggests that focusing on a structured pattern may work like meditation, more than any special symbolism of the mandala. Later studies have had mixed results, so adult colouring books can hardly be said to replace therapy.

Digital art

Tablets and drawing apps improve access for teenagers and clients with physical limitations. The undo function reduces anxiety about mistakes, but it can also weaken the sensory experience of materials and the experience of acceptance that comes with “a line that can’t be taken back.” Privacy and confidentiality issues, such as storing files and sharing photos of artwork, should also be settled in advance.

Check questions

Question 1. Explain why you might suggest clay work to a quiet adult client who only says “I don’t know” about their feelings.

Answer. Clay offers experience at the kinesthetic/sensory level, which can help feelings that are hard to reach verbally emerge through the movements of the hands. The fact that forms can be made, destroyed and remade also provides a sense of safety.

Question 2. Can Curry and Kasser’s findings be used as evidence that “mandalas have a special healing power”?

Answer. Hardly. Colouring a plaid pattern reduced anxiety similarly, so the effect more likely came from focusing on a structured pattern than from the symbolism of the mandala.

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References

• Sholt, M., & Gavron, T. (2006). Therapeutic qualities of clay-work in art therapy and psychotherapy: A review. Art Therapy, 23(2), 66–72.
• Landgarten, H. B. (1993). Magazine Photo Collage: A Multicultural Assessment and Treatment Technique. Brunner/Mazel.
• Frost, S. B. (2001). SoulCollage: An Intuitive Collage Process for Individuals and Groups. Hanford Mead.
• Curry, N. A., & Kasser, T. (2005). Can coloring mandalas reduce anxiety? Art Therapy, 22(2), 81–85.
• Hinz, L. D. (2020). Expressive Therapies Continuum: A Framework for Using Art in Therapy (2nd ed.). Routledge.
• Malchiodi, C. A. (Ed.). (2018). The Handbook of Art Therapy and Digital Technology. Jessica Kingsley.