Menstrual Wellness Through Art Therapy

This culminating project explored how mindfulness based art therapy techniques and mandala art therapy directives can support adverse menstrual cycle related symptoms and disorders. This paper includes a book review that discusses the menstrual cycle and its symptoms, how art therapy supports pain caused by the menstrual cycle, and specifically how mindfulness based art therapy techniques and mandalas directly influence both physical and emotional pain. The researcher conducted an arts based heuristic inquiry incorporating art-making and journaling over a three-week period. The process resulted in three key insights which were: (a) the importance of tracking symptoms throughout the whole cycle, (b) how the need for control and art materials are influenced by one another, and (c) how the containment and boundaries of mandalas support self-preservation. This researcher gained a broader understanding of different parts of themselves throughout the menstrual cycle and what supports were needed at each phase, leading to a clearer understanding of how art therapists may be able to support those with menstrual cycle related disorders.