CZT Jennifer Marchand writes...
As a mental health professional and registered Canadian art therapist specializing in trauma recovery, my focus has always been on grounding healing work with creativity, embodiment, and culturally responsive care. Over the past decade, I have been integrating the Zentangle Method into trauma therapy across a diverse range of contexts and cultural settings as a powerful stabilization tool, particularly by combining it with EMDR (Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing) and the Flash Technique. What I have witnessed, time and again, is that Zentangle offers clients an accessible, safe, and empowering way to fully engage in trauma recovery work.
I was first introduced to the Zentangle method in 2014 by a colleague who used it to creatively engage youth in therapy. I immediately recognized the benefits of it with clients, helping them experience calm after traumatic events. It has become an important pillar of my clinical practice with clients across ages, cultures, and trauma histories. In 2022, I became a Certified Zentangle Teacher (CZT) so I could build on this work by teaching other therapists how to integrate it into their work for stabilization and as an anchor during trauma processing. For example, I have taught therapists specializing in reproductive and perinatal mental health how to use it with their client populations following trauma and loss.
I have also had the pleasure of bringing Zentangle drawing into various international programs, such as staff-care and self-care workshops for therapists and frontline workers in conflict-affected settings, including in Ethiopia. In these settings, where resources are often limited and stress levels are high, the simplicity and portability of Zentangle drawing makes it especially beneficial and effective. All that is needed is paper, pencil, and pen. It is incredibly meaningful to be able to witness people who have experienced severe hardship and adversity encounter a Zentangle pattern for the first time and discover, often quite quickly, that they can create something beautiful and achieve a sense of calm, focus, and even enjoyment at the same time.
Below is a picture from one of my Zentangle drawing sessions for a group of therapists in Ethiopia:
An Accessible Pathway into Presence
From a mental health perspective, one of the most compelling aspects of Zentangle drawing is that it offers a way to build mindfulness and regulation skills without requiring clients to turn their attention inward too quickly. Many trauma survivors find focusing on their internal world (their thoughts, emotions, and body sensations) to be overwhelming or even destabilizing. This can make traditional relaxation approaches, such as breathwork or silent mindfulness, feel inaccessible or unsafe.
Zentangle drawing provides a useful alternative: rather than inviting clients to look inward, it invites them to engage in an externally oriented, sensory, and embodied task. Clients can focus on one line at a time, one stroke at a time. The client can become absorbed in the flow of the ink onto the paper, the movement of their hand, and the unfolding of the pattern before their eyes. This naturally orients attention to the present moment and creates a state of calm and regulation without needing to focus inward.
Dual Attention: Staying in the Present While Touching the Past
In trauma reprocessing work, one of the most essential capacities we aim to strengthen in our clients is the ability to remain grounded in the here-and-now while simultaneously recalling the memory we are working on. In EMDR, we call this dual attention—holding one foot in the present and the other in the past. This is not an easy skill to master, and it often takes time and careful preparation for clients to be able to mindfully observe their internal response to a memory without experiencing overwhelm.
One reason why maintaining dual-attention can be so challenging is because trauma memories can disrupt our sense of time and orientation. They often pull us into the past and flood the body with sensations and emotions that make it feel like the event is happening again. Without a strong anchor in the present, clients can become flooded by these experiences and lose their orientation to the here-and-now. This is often called a flashback or re-experiencing.
What I have found is that Zentangle drawing is a gentle but powerful way to help clients build the skill of dual attention. The act of drawing helps keep the client oriented to the present moment and in a calm and mindful state, so that they can be guided to recall the memory without losing their footing in the present and sense of safety.
The act of drawing acts as a steady anchor, allowing clients to briefly touch into difficult material without becoming overwhelmed. The client then learns something new: I can think of this memory and still feel safe. This makes the work of trauma recovery safer and more tolerable.
Stay tuned. Part II coming tomorrow...
Kim M on