The MARI^® (Mandala Assessment Research Instrument) is a comprehensive system that uses symbols, known as mandalas, to reveal the inner truth and reality of the subject as it is -not what the ego filters of consciousness would want it to be- but how it really is.

Carl Jung recognized the mandala as "the centre of personality, a kind of central point within the psyche, to which everything is related, by which everything is arranged and which is, itself, a source of energy..."

"...This centre," said Jung, "is not felt or thought of as ego but, if one may so express it, as the Self."

Jung's description of the mandala is also an excellent description of the MARI^®.
In addition to symbols, the MARI^® is comprised of colors and stages of development. The relationship of these variables creates a visual 'snapshot' of the self as experienced in the present moment. This visual relationship is best understood by addressing each variable separately:

SYMBOL/MANDALA
Symbols predate culture, language, and even the concept of time itself. They are so much a part of us, we make mental connections with them that are not often conscious. (An upward-pointing triangle, for example, is typically chosen by people who are beginning something new -literally or figuratively). Symbols also have a transcendent function. They are capable of representing numerous meanings and various levels of understanding simultaneously.

Jung was one of the first to recognize that there is a remarkable inner connection between what is going on in the individual's current life and the symbols s/he chooses. Based on this connection, the individual who is taking the MARI^® is asked to choose six symbols s/he is attracted to and one s/he doesn't like* from a pool of 39 symbol cards.
*Thanks to Phyllis Frame, ATR, for her suggestion of the "rejected" card

COLOR
The individual is then directed to choose from a pool of 45 color cards the color s/he feels "goes with" each of their chosen symbols. Art therapists have long recognized the connection between color and the psychological associations that are typically made on an other-than-conscious level. Color adds dimensions to the chosen symbols that may be emotional, physical, cognitive or spiritual.

STAGE
The sets of symbol and color cards are then placed on a circular field that is comprised of thirteen developmental stages arranged sequentially. In addition, there is not just one, but three symbols at each stage of the MARI^®, each reflecting differing aspects and intensity within that stage.

Jung stated that the center of the self "is surrounded by a periphery containing everything that belongs to the self - the paired opposites that make up the total personality." The stages of the MARI^® are arranged around this periphery, with axes that reflect the paired opposites with their own inherent tasks and tensions.

RELATIONSHIP OF SYMBOL, COLOR AND STAGE
This circular field of developmental stages, known as the Great Round, is where the visual representation of the psyche is revealed. It is the Great Round that represents the central point of the psyche (as well as the stages around the periphery) to which everything is related and arranged.

Just as acupuncture maps the meridians of the human body for areas of energy flow, blockage and significance, the MARI^® maps the human psyche and identifies areas of tension and attention. The relationship of all the symbols and colors combine to reveal a clear, visual gestalt of what is happening in the psyche at that time.

GUIDANCE CARDS
The individual is also asked, after the initial cards are chosen, to think of an issue that is currently pressing in his/her life. This issue need not be shared.

S/he is instructed to look at the remaining cards and allow him or herself to be drawn intuitively to one or two symbols and colors that seem to represent guidance for the issue. After the original card choices are discussed, the guidance cards are then placed on the Great Round.

The guidance cards provide the perfect amplification and solution for the issue. The guidance cards confirm, again and again, the assumption that wholeness resides within the individual. The guidance cards reflect the perfect intuitive solution, "tailor-made" for the individual (and often make far more sense to him or her than they do to the administrator). The guidance cards provide the best possible solution for the individual because the solution comes from his or her own intuitive wisdom.

THE MARI^® IS ACCURATE AND COMPREHENSIVE
The MARI^® is an accurate and comprehensive psychological assessment.
It works because the all the information comes directly from the individual. The conscious filters that are typically present are bypassed because the non-verbal, symbolic nature of the MARI^® passes beneath the radar of the judgmental and controlling ego. The individual -who is simply choosing symbols and colors to which s/he is drawn- has no reason to activate these personal filters or defenses.

It is precisely because the MARI^® works so well and reveals so much that the intentions of the administrator are of the utmost importance, and must reflect the highest and clearest moral and ethical standards. MARI^® training revolves around the attunement and high standards necessary for the responsible administration of such a sensitive instrument.

The MARI^® is the product of the total psyche. The five levels of information combine to reflect everything that is currently of psychological significance. In addition - and unbeknownst to his or herself - the individual also provides his or her own intuitive guidance and answers. For this reason, short-term and positive counseling is a very real possibility.

THE MARI^® AS IT RELATES TO THE SPECTRUM OF PSYCHOLOGICAL APPROACHES
Each aspect can be viewed as existing on a continuum of psychological knowledge:

TRADITIONAL
On the traditional level, the MARI^® can reveal the functions addressed in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual IV-Revised (DSM IV-R). Joan Kellogg often worked with a psychiatric population. A counselor who works with this population can discover insight into disorders related to adjustment, anxiety, dissociation, eating, mood, sexual, substance and personality.

Many clients however, are dealing with non-pathological problems of shorter duration. The MARI^® is particularly helpful in identifying more current issues around identity, struggle and tension. Often the client is aware that "something" is wrong but they are unable to identify what it is. They appreciate the insight that is provided by the MARI^® and feel that they are understood.

TRANSPERSONAL
The MARI^® provides the richest container possible for questions and discussion around the deepest spiritual and philosophical issues. Even therapists with a transpersonal orientation who expect, and are familiar with, therapeutic discussions of a more philosophic nature are amazed by the immediate depth that is revealed by the MARI^®.

The MARI^® can reveal spiritual insight and intuition as well as religious, spiritual, and deeply mystical orientations and issues. This is particularly helpful because the visual nature of the MARI^® enables a client to better imagine the elusive issues and solutions s/he is dealing with. Many deep "core" beliefs (such as feeling abandoned or punished by God) and/or archetypal associations (such as a Wounded Healer or Divine Child) are made visual and opened for discussion.

THE MARI^® IS POSITIVE AND STRENGTH-BASED
One need only observe the care that the individual takes in choosing his or her own symbols and colors to recognize the presence of the urge to wholeness.
The choices always reflect the aspects that are most important to one's psyche at the time. This system works because, as Jung emphasized, the psyche cannot tolerate self-deception!

A process greater than anything the ego can conceive of is at work here. In addition, the client literally provides his or her own guidance for any issue being struggled with. It is this last aspect of the MARI^®  -the wisdom of one's own intuitive guidance - that assures us that the process of individuation is present and active.

The MARI^® reflects all the values of one's total Being, making this system a perfect fit with with today's more positive psychological approaches.

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