Family Centerd Circle Drawings

Family-Centered-Circle-Drawings
Reference:
Burns, R.C. (1990). A guide to family-centered circle drawings. Brunner/ Mazel Publishers: New York.
Brooke, S.L. (2004). Tools of the trade: a therapist’s guide to art therapy assessments. Springfield, IL: Charles C Thomas Publisher, LTD.
Purpose: This assessment uses the interpretative quality of mandalas to explore the parent-self relationship
Ages: No age limit is noted.
Materials: several 8 ½” x 11” white, sheets of paper with circles 7 ½” x 9” drawn, lead pencil, crayons, colored pencils, chalks, markers, etc.
Administration: The evaluator hands the client a piece of paper and drawing utensils, while stating, “Draw your mother in the center of the circle. Visually free associate with drawn symbols around the periphery of the circle. Try to draw a whole person, not just a stick figure or a cartoon.” These essential directions are repeated three more times, substituting “father,” “self,” and “parents,” for “mother.” These instructions should yield four separate drawings on four separate pieces of paper.
Inquiry: This assessment has no specific inquiry questions.
Interpretation:
The evaluator should look for size of the figures and omissions or overemphasis on body parts.
The evaluator should also take notice of the facial expressions, which may indicate the emotions of the figure or the client’s perception of his or her environment.
The evaluator should also consider the symbols depicted. Are they positive or negative?
Where are the symbols depicted in relation to concepts of mandala analysis?
Overall, the pictures should reflect the way in which a client perceives his or her mother, father, self, and parents.
Strengths: This assessment offers useful information about a client’s relationship to his parental figures. It capitalizes on the theories of mandala analysis to provide another element of interpretation.
Limitations: This assessment has limited empirical evidence, and the mandala component can be slightly confusing without a lot of knowledge on the subject. Drawing a human figure can be intimidating, and symbols may often appear as clichéd.
Reflection: This drawing was hard for me to draw because I didn’t want to accidentally depict my mother, who is the most dear person in the universe to me, unfavorably! There isn’t much metaphor here. Even a person with no knowledge of art therapy can predict the intended focus of this drawing exercise, which could almost be considered a confounding variable if the evaluator is attempting to get an accurate depiction of the client’s perception of his or her mother, father, self, or parents.
with parents.