The Healing Collective is proud to offer MARI Assessments in North and South Carolina as a profound tool for insight, healing, and personal growth. Whether you are navigating trauma, feeling emotionally stuck, or simply seeking deeper self-awareness, the MARI® (Mandala Assessment Research Instrument) can offer powerful clarity beyond traditional talk therapy.
What is a MARI Assessment?
The MARI® is a holistic psychological tool that uses symbols and colors to access inner truths. Unlike traditional assessments, MARI bypasses the analytical brain and taps into subconscious wisdom. It offers insight into your internal world through a process that feels intuitive, visual, and deeply personal.
Mandala, the Sanskrit word for “circle” or “center,” plays a central role in this work. Carl Jung viewed the mandala as a symbol of the self and a vital expression of psychological integration. The MARI uses mandalas and color selections to map where you are in your life and healing journey.
At The Healing Collective, we use MARI Assessments in North and South Carolina to support clients in accessing what may not be easily articulated in words. This process meets you where you are and invites healing at a soul-deep level.
How MARI assessments work
Each MARI session involves two major components: symbol selection and color selection. You will be guided to choose symbols that resonate with you, followed by colors that feel aligned. These choices are then mapped onto a developmental matrix known as the Great Round.
The Great Round represents 13 stages of human growth and psychological development. Your placement of colors and symbols reveals patterns, imbalances, strengths, and areas that may need healing. This allows you to see your emotional and psychological state from a new, empowering perspective.
Why MARI is unique
MARI Assessments are different from other tools in several ways:
- They engage the right brain, where creativity, intuition, and emotion reside.
- They are nonverbal, making them ideal for people who struggle to articulate emotions.
- They provide immediate visual feedback, showing you patterns that are otherwise hard to recognize.
- They honor the holistic connection between mind, body, and spirit.
For clients in North and South Carolina, MARI offers a safe, grounded entry point into deeper self-understanding.
Who can benefit from a MARI Assessment?
MARI Assessments are suitable for adults seeking clarity, direction, or healing. They are particularly helpful if you:
- Feel emotionally stuck or disconnected
- Struggle to articulate your inner experience in talk therapy
- Have experienced trauma and are looking for alternative healing modalities
- Are seeking insight into a life transition, relationship, or spiritual path
- Want to connect more deeply with your subconscious
Clients often say that their MARI experience brought sudden clarity or shifted their healing in ways they didn’t expect.
MARI Assessment and trauma-informed care
At The Healing Collective, we specialize in trauma-informed therapy. MARI fits naturally into this approach. Trauma often lives in the body and subconscious, making it hard to access through words alone. MARI gives trauma survivors a gentle, visual method for self-discovery and integration.
Because it is nonverbal, MARI feels less confrontational than traditional assessments. Clients can explore inner themes without needing to recount painful stories. For many, this opens the door to profound healing.
MARI and the reparenting process
Reparenting involves giving yourself the love, safety, and validation you didn’t receive as a child. It requires deep self-compassion and awareness. MARI helps initiate this process by revealing unmet needs, emotional blocks, or areas of vulnerability.
By identifying the parts of you that are seeking attention or care, MARI allows you to begin the reparenting process with clarity. You may find that your symbols point to themes of protection, creativity, or renewal. Your colors may reflect vitality, fatigue, or emotional suppression. All of this becomes part of your healing map.
What to expect during your MARI Assessment session
A full MARI session typically lasts two to three hours. It is a spacious and contemplative process, never rushed. Your practitioner will create a supportive, judgment-free space. You will:
- Select symbols from a curated deck
- Choose colors from a vibrant color wheel
- Discuss your initial impressions
- Map your choices onto the Great Round
- Receive insight into current themes, life stage, and emotional terrain
Many clients choose to follow up their assessment with a process session. This can help integrate what surfaced during the experience and guide your ongoing therapeutic work.
Virtual and in-person MARI assessments in North and South Carolina
We offer both virtual and in-person MARI Assessments in North and South Carolina. Virtual sessions are just as effective as in-person work. The nature of the tool allows us to connect across distance while still maintaining the integrity of the process.
Whether you are located in Charlotte, Asheville, Columbia, Charleston, or anywhere in between, our team can support you. We also work with clients who are not in ongoing therapy with us. You can take your assessment insights back to your own therapist for continued work.
How MARI supports your therapy journey
MARI doesn’t replace therapy—it complements it. If you already work with a therapist at The Healing Collective or elsewhere, your MARI session can become a powerful addition to your growth. It may reveal what needs to be processed, healed, or expressed.
In some cases, MARI can help identify emotional blind spots. In others, it affirms the progress you’ve already made. Either way, it provides a visual, symbolic language to understand your healing.
MARI for therapists, coaches, and professionals
Professionals in helping fields also benefit from MARI. If you are a therapist, coach, or energy healer seeking deeper self-awareness, a MARI session can support your professional growth. It gives insight into how your inner landscape might impact your work with clients.
You may also choose to integrate MARI into your own practice by becoming trained in the method. We are happy to refer interested professionals to certified training programs.
FAQs about MARI Assessments North and South Carolina
Do I need to be artistic to do a MARI Assessment?
No. MARI is not about artistic skill. It is about symbolic and intuitive connection.
How long does the session last?
A full session typically takes 2–3 hours. Some clients book a follow-up for deeper integration.
Can I do a MARI Assessment if I’m not a current client?
Yes. We offer stand-alone assessments and will provide you with a summary to share with your own therapist if desired.
Is the process confidential?
Absolutely. Your assessment and insights remain fully confidential, just like any therapeutic service.
Schedule your MARI Assessment in North or South Carolina
If you’re feeling called to understand yourself more deeply, a MARI Assessment in North or South Carolina may be the next step. At The Healing Collective, we offer compassionate guidance through this creative, evidence-informed process. Whether you’re just beginning your healing journey or have been in therapy for years, MARI can bring new perspective.
Reach out today to schedule your session and take the next step in your path to wholeness.
