Assessing a Couple's Relationship and Compatibility Using the MARI® Card Test and Mandala Drawings

Abstract

This paper illustrates the use of the MARI® Card Test, a transpersonal assessment tool which includes archetypal designs and color choices, as well as the drawing of a white and black mandala, or circle picture, for assessing the compatibility of two people in a committed relationship. In an informal pilot research study, 22 couples were given this assessment and interpreted according to seven comparison categories that might affect their relationship and compatibility. Unresolved prenatal and developmental childhood issues, the current primary treatment issue for each person, the dynamics of the couple's communication, areas of conflict or tension, and sexual issues were examined. Areas of commonality between the partners and personal strengths each person brought to the relationship also were identified. These seven categories were then related to the couple's choices on the card test. Two mandala drawings added insights and further information that complemented the interpretation of the test. One couple is presented in this article as a case study to illustrate the assessment technique and to highlight its value in working with couples. The Couple Compatibility Assessment can be helpful at the beginning of couple therapy because it provides nonverbal information that may not be available in a more traditional intake interview. This assessment can also be of use during and at the end of couple therapy as an indication of change in the relationship.

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