■ Paintings by a seven-year-old child in the Mandala Children's Painting Activity. (The painting is published in this article with the authorization of the interviewee, and other aspects are not allowed to be reproduced)
■ The child "took pictures" of what he saw: in the super large campus of CUHK, the mother said, there are tall buildings, trees, lights, and themselves, and there are many small fish in the lake, surrounded by beautiful lotus flowers.
Introduction Li Lingyu National second-level psychological counselor, mandala painting analyst, member of Guangdong Provincial Psychological Counseling and Treatment Committee, external consultant of Psychological Counseling Research Center of South China Normal University, special guest of Foshan People's Radio.
■ Collector's Weekly reporter Pan Weiqian
Art expresses life, and behavior reveals the heart. Painting can not only let yourself be seen by yourself, but also by sentient beings, and thus improve all relationships. This is not only the desire of adults, but also the needs of children.
However, can children's skills and expressions carry such demands?
Yes. For example, use "mandala painting".
Recently, on the occasion of Children's Day in 2022, Li Lingyu, a national second-level psychological counselor and mandala painting analyst, introduced this "tool" of expression and communication to us in an exclusive interview with the New Express Collection Weekly.
Mandala painting can integrate the heart
Li Lingyu introduced: "Mandala painting is an expressive and artistic way of psychological counseling, which was created by the psychological master Jung. Mandala painting comes in two forms: 'coloring card' and 'free painting'. The 'coloring card' format allows children to choose their favorite templates to doodle and create. In the process of painting with graffiti and color selection, the child expresses emotions, emotions, etc. (and then the counselor carries out the next step). The 'free painting' form is a painting that defines the subject or does not limit the subject, allowing children to express their ideas, ideas, etc. through the form of painting. ”
"As one of the main methods of artistic expression therapy, mandala painting can show the unconscious conflict of the painter in a symbolic way, and with the help of the unique integration function of the mandala, integrate the inner contradictions and obtain inner harmony and stability."
The reporter learned that the human spirit or personality, although it still needs to mature and develop, it is a whole from the beginning, and the organizational principle of this personality is a prototype, jung called it "self-nature", which is a prototype that embodies the integration of the mind -
Jung himself, through painting the mandala, achieved spiritual integration and self-healing.
So, for children, how is the operation different?
"Children can't express their emotions in words (clearly and accurately) like adults. Through the form of painting, shape, color, brushstrokes, it can convey his heart very well. In the counseling work of children and adolescents, mandala painting is a good bridge of communication. Li Lingyu said.
"A Pleasant Day", different expectations
Li Lingyu cites a free-form painting of mandala art to explain the feasibility of such communication. The theme-defining mandala painting Happy Day asks parents and children to draw a picture each to express their impression of "this day". "After the painting is made, we 'see' that there is a big difference between the parents' and the children's ideas."
With the consent of the interviewees, Li Lingyu shared her parents' feelings with reporters. They took the children to the campus of Sun Yat-sen University, with the intention of hoping that the children would take a serious look at the majestic teaching buildings and white-haired professors, and be infected by the "buildings and masters" and strive to study.
The reporter saw that the child painted another world: green ponds, lotus blossoms, this bright visual center is like a small planet, on the planet, as if attracted by gravity in all directions of the school gate, high-rise buildings, in their original appearance. Below, a child with open arms lying on his back, in this relaxed position, notes his emotions.
"The child drew what he saw in the form of a 'photograph'. He said he was sitting by the lake with his mother and he really liked the feeling of being together. ”
"Then, on the next outing, parents will be more inclined to plan and form from the child's point of view, in order to continue to maintain his interest in this kind of activity and achieve better parent-child effects," Li Lingyu said.
Finally, she cites the argument in Chen Canrui and Gao Yanhong's "Theory and Practice of Children's Mandala Painting Analysis": painting is the nature of children, and there is almost no child in the world who has no experience of graffiti. The salient feature of children's psychological symptoms is their difficulty in describing their inner experience in accurate language. Based on this, painting has become a language for children to express their inner world, and it has a unique advantage to understand children's inner world through painting.
"Language is the highest expression, but it is also the singlest expression. Drawing can integrate the discourse of children's other senses. For people, this is a mirror of reality and a true link. ”
(The pictures in this article are provided by the consultant and are authorized to be published, and will not be reproduced separately.) ）