Labyrinth & Mandala: Transformative Tools for the Helping Professions

Mandala is a Sanskrit word for “circle” dating back to early times in Eastern cultures and more recently introduced to Western cultures by Carl Jung who used them for his own healing and then with patients in psychotherapy.

The labyrinth is a pattern that is found in all areas of the world dating back to ancient times. Its circular shape and winding path has significant application as a metaphor for wholeness and health as well as reflection on life as a journey. The labyrinth is a safe container and a meditative tool that has profoundly impacted the lives of many people as they journey through this world.

Both labyrinths and mandalas can be useful tools in a personal spiritual practice and have unlimited applications in therapeutic settings. They can calm the mind, increase focus and concentration, be used to explore and reconcile relationships, overcome blocks and stuck patterns in daily life, increase pleasure and satisfaction, align body, mind and spirit, quiet the emotions and induce feelings of clarity and deep contentment.

During this program you will:

• develop your capacity to integrate and adapt labyrinth and mandala practices into your vocational life to promote physical, emotional and spiritual wellbeing,
• experience strategies that can be incorporated into working with a variety of populations,
• nurture your confidence in the use of expressive arts modalities,
• understand the role of spiritual practice in promoting self-care.

Leadership:
Julie McIntyre has an undergraduate degree in psychology and social work as well as graduate studies in art therapy, expressive arts and alternative dispute resolution. She has specialized in the treatment of trauma, neglect and abuse, adoption, grief and loss. Julie is in private practice in Perth and offers expressive arts bereavement programs as well as workshops for self-care, the use of the expressive arts in palliative care, and for personal growth and insight. She has a passion for humanitarian causes and developed an ongoing art therapy program in Haiti for children who experienced trauma after the earthquake and for the homeless population in a shelter in British Columbia. She is also a faculty member in the Expressive Arts Program at Sir Sanford Fleming College. An artist herself, she is passionate about the power of expressive arts to promote the healing process.

Robin McGauley is a Veriditas Certified Labyrinth Facilitator who trained with Lauren Artress to learn how to lead meaningful labyrinth experiences. Since receiving a post-graduate certificate in Expressive Arts from Fleming College in 2011, Robin has been an instructor in the program, teaching the therapeutic potential of the labyrinth to those in helping professions. Robin is an ordained minister with the United Church of Canada who serves as Program Director at Five Oaks. She is a skilled facilitator who leads with gentleness and playfulness to create a safe environment for participants to explore and learn from their own experiences.

This program will include walking an outdoor labyrinth. Please pack both outdoor and indoor wear.

For a printable flyer for this program, click here.