Expressive Arts & The Matrix
The ACT Matrix approach is sometimes criticized for being too cerebral or cognitive, and I think that it can definitely be practiced that way, but it can also be practiced in ways that go deep into the felt sense, experience, and body.
Before I ever worked with adults I worked with children and the primary mode of communication was art and play. When I transitioned into seeing adults I kept that language and have never met an adult who was not interested in creating art or playing through bodily movement in the room with me.
For a time before I learned ACT, I created mandalas with clients. Mandalas are simply circles that can be filled with any content with only two rules:
You must fill the space
No words allowed
The mandalas acted as containers for present moment contact and self-exploration. They allowed for conceptualization of the self that went beyond what words could express. They allowed clients to contact a self-as-context purposefully, and deliberately.
Once I shifted into doing ACT work I lost my way for a time, I devoted myself to applying ACT technically and “by the book” (At that time there were only a few, and they made no mention of art or play). So I put away all of my art materials and did ACT entirely via talk for several years.
Once I started doing the ACT Matrix with clients it started to give me that spark of playfulness and creation that had been missing. Eventually I began integrating mandalas back into my work in an ACT consistent way. Here’s a few examples of how you can integrate expressive arts into the Matrix model.
Mandala Meets Matrix
Each quadrant of the Matrix is a question that need not be answered through words. Two of these mandalas I was guided through by a MARI practitioner.
In the bottom right quadrant of this Matrix I was tasked to center myself and connect with who and what are important to me, and allow an image to emerge, which I then began filling into the circle.
The bottom left quadrant is what resulted when I got in touch with the inner experience that was troubling me at the time. I remember this moment clearly in my mind.
You see the beauty of both the Matrix and the mandala is that they capture moments in time. No two mandalas can be alike. Every mandala created could only have been created here, now, by this person.
The center circle of the ACT Matrix which represents the self/awareness can also be represented by a fifth mandala. These are often fascinating in their complexity and shocking in their beauty.
To make this work truly powerful we want to contact experience directly and then allow images to form all on their own. There’s not a translation process going on. What I mean by this is that a client is not thinking of a list of words about “Who & what are important to me?”, or “What moves do I make in response to my inner stuff?” and then translating that list of words into an image. Rather they are tasked to come into a felt-sense of their experience and watch what emerges. Then fill the circle with it.
Mandalas as well as matrices can be used to track progress and assess growth in the therapeutic context.
Here is a mandala created by a client at the onset of therapy.
And here’s another by the same client at termination session.
Think about how you have been using the matrix with clients. What would it be like if you changed things up? How can you make the matrix and your therapeutic approach overall more playful?
If you find yourself stuck inside your home (say due to an—oh, I don’t know—global pandemic) why not try leading yourself through an ACT Matrix by way of mandalas.
Here’s how:
Gather some paper and use something circular to trace an outline that takes up most of the space (I use a cookie jar).
Find materials that you want to use to draw or color with. Colored pencils work well. Oil pastels work the best. But anything will do.
Go to a quiet area and give yourself some space to sit and draw.
Turn your attention inward and practice some mindfulness of the current moment. You can use any of your favorite mindfulness or grounding exercises.
When you are ready, bring an image of your life to mind, perhaps as it is in the sweetest of moments. An image of your life in the moments where you are truly and completely connected to what matters and who you want to be. Allow yourself to sink into this sense and notice what it feels like to do so. Become carried away here, and linger for as long as you like.
Open your eyes and begin to fill the circle with form, color, shape, line, anything at all except words. You can put letters, numbers, figures, etc. But no words. Creating mandalas takes time. It can easily take 30-min or more to complete this. Don’t rush it. Let the image come to you. You will know when it’s finished. You will know.
Repeat step five, but this time bring to mind the inner stuff that shows up to get in the way of your life. Allow yourself to sink into this sense and notice what it feels like to do so. Become carried away here even though it may be painful, and linger for as long as you like.
Repeat step six with a fresh circle.
Complete mandalas in much the same way for the two upper quadrants of the matrix. The questions you are contemplating are “How do I typically respond to my inner stuff?”, and “What can I do that would move me toward what matters to me?”
For the final mandala, view all of your completed mandalas (there should be four), and come into the sense of knowing that you are all of these, all at once. You are the circle, the container, able and capable of holding onto any inner content. You too are the content, the darkest colors, and the brightest spots. You too are the line, and the form. You too are the texture of the crayon on the page. You too are the paper. Sink into this sense and allow your self to be carried away.
When you are ready, create your final mandala with an image that comes to mind from this sense of awareness.
Note: You do not have to complete all mandalas in the same sitting as this would likely take hours. Consider spreading them out over a course of a week.