Technique 1
Mandala drawing
Circular, symmetrical patterns built outward from a centre — rhythmic, calming, and meditative.
Best for: Anxiety, overwhelm, racing thoughts, self-soothing, daily practice
Mandala work has roots in many traditions and a deep evidence base for anxiety reduction. The circular form contains attention, the repetition regulates the nervous system, and the act of returning to a centre is itself the therapy.
How a session uses mandala drawing
- Draw a circle. Use a plate or compass to draw a circle on paper. Add a small mark at the centre.
- Choose your medium. Coloured pencils, markers, or pastels. Pick 3-5 colours.
- Build outward in rings. Add simple shapes around the centre. Each ring repeats or varies the previous.
- Stay with the rhythm. Notice your breath. If your mind wanders, return gently to the next mark.
- Sit with the finished image. Don't analyse. Just observe what you made and how you feel.
Technique 2
Expressive painting
Loose, gestural painting that prioritises feeling over form.
Best for: Anger, rage, overwhelm, breakthroughs in stuck talk-therapy, releasing held emotion
Expressive painting uses large brushes, fingers, or palette knives on big paper. The goal isn't a painting — it's a record of feeling. We use this when something needs to be moved physically through the body.
How a session uses expressive painting
- Set up a permission zone. A floor or wall surface where mess is fine. Old clothes.
- Don't plan. Choose colours by attraction, not theme. Resist the urge to 'design' anything.
- Use your whole body. Stand if you can. Use large arm movements. Let weight and gesture lead.
- Work in waves. Move fast, pause, look, move again. There's no destination.
- Stop when the energy stops. Don't push to 'finish'. The session is in the doing.
Technique 3
Collage
Selecting, tearing, and arranging images from magazines or printed sources.
Best for: Identity work, decision-making, vision/intention, lower-energy days, beginners
Collage is forgiving. Pre-existing images do the visual heavy lifting — you focus on selection and arrangement, which makes preferences and inner states visible without performance pressure.
How a session uses collage
- Gather sources. A stack of magazines, brochures, printed images.
- Tear, don't think. Move through pages quickly. Tear out anything that catches your eye — don't justify why.
- Sort your pile. Spread torn images on the floor. Notice what kept appearing.
- Compose without rules. Arrange a selection on a base sheet. Move, swap, layer. Glue when you feel settled.
- Title and reflect. Give the piece a working title. Write 2-3 lines about what you see.
Technique 4
Clay & sculpting
Three-dimensional work with clay, plasticine, or air-dry materials.
Best for: Grounding, anger, grief, trauma (carefully), sensory regulation, kinesthetic learners
Clay is somatic. The resistance of the material, the temperature, the way it holds your fingerprints — all of it engages the body in a way 2D media can't. Especially useful when feelings are stuck in the body.
How a session uses clay & sculpting
- Hold the clay. Sit with a fist-sized lump. Notice texture, weight, temperature.
- Squeeze, press, pound. Let the body lead. There is no shape to make yet.
- Let a form emerge. Pause. Notice if something wants to take shape — a vessel, a creature, a void.
- Refine without perfecting. Develop the form gently. Stop before it becomes precious.
- Sit with what's there. Look at it. Let it look back. Notice what comes up.
Technique 5
Scribble drawing
Loose scribbles that are then 'found' into images — bypassing the planning mind.
Best for: Stuck states, perfectionism, accessing unconscious material, ADHD-friendly entry
A scribble drawing has no plan and no skill demand. You make a loose mark, turn the page, and find an image inside it. The unconscious does the heavy lifting; the conscious mind responds.
How a session uses scribble drawing
- Take a sheet of paper. Plain A4 or larger. Use a soft pencil or charcoal.
- Eyes soft, loose marks. Make a continuous scribble for 30 seconds without lifting the pencil. Don't aim for anything.
- Turn the page. Rotate it. Look for an image hiding in the marks — a figure, a creature, a landscape.
- Develop what you found. Add lines, shading, or colour to bring the image forward.
- Reflect. Write a line about what showed up. The image often has something to say.
Technique 6
Visual journaling
An ongoing illustrated journal — words, sketches, colour, collage on the same pages.
Best for: Daily practice, integrating insight, self-witness over time, mood tracking
A visual journal isn't an art project — it's a record. Mixing words and image lets you capture what either alone can't. We often build a personal practice around it between sessions.
How a session uses visual journaling
- Choose a dedicated book. A sketchbook with thick-enough pages to take paint or glue. Pocket-size is fine.
- Set a rhythm. Daily 10 minutes, or weekly 30. Consistency beats ambition.
- Date every entry. Treat it as a record. Date and timestamp, even if the entry is one colour.
- Mix media freely. Writing, sketch, colour swatch, stuck-in petal, photograph. No category rules.
- Reread monthly. Look back across weeks. Notice patterns, shifts, and what wanted attention.
Technique 7
Body mapping
Drawing the body and locating sensations, feelings, and memories within it.
Best for: Somatic work, chronic pain, trauma (with a therapist), interoception
Body mapping is best done with a trained therapist, especially for trauma work. You draw a simple body outline and mark — with colour, line, or words — where different states live. It externalises the somatic landscape.
How a session uses body mapping
- Draw a simple outline. Trace yourself on large paper, or use a printed silhouette.
- Scan your body. Slowly notice each region. Where is there ease? Tension? Numbness? Pulsing?
- Mark sensations with colour. Use colour and line to represent what you notice — no need for accuracy.
- Label key zones. Add a word or phrase where useful. Stay descriptive rather than diagnostic.
- Reflect with support. Body mapping surfaces material that's often best held in a therapy session, not alone.
