From the author: The full version of the article is presented on the website Iconotherapy is a type of art therapy. The task of icon therapy is to immerse yourself in the meditative process that accompanies the revelation of the icon, and, as a consequence of such immersion, to find your inner resource - the source of human energy. As you know, there are two main approaches to art therapy. The first approach is to stimulate creativity, i.e. art itself has healing properties (Edith Kramer). The second direction involves analyzing the creative product, because creativity reflects primary thoughts, conflicts, experiences, which are most often expressed non-verbally (Margaret Naumburg). The process of icon painting largely belongs to the first direction, art for the sake of pleasure, obtaining a life resource, and increasing self-esteem. This is, of course, connected with the peculiar specificity of the icon painting technique. Since ancient times, the technique of executing icons has been thought out and comprehended to the smallest detail. The rules of icon painting are quite strictly defined. There is no place for expression here, you cannot choose the colors you like and you cannot depict what you want and how you want. There are drawings with clearly defined proportions of the saint, canons that determine the color scheme of the image. So what does the icon painter get from such a strictly dictated technique? Firstly, if the artist is close to the Orthodox religion, the process of immersion in the disclosure of the icon is a powerful resource, this immersion in a special spiritual state. Physiological needs fade away during the creation of an icon (usually icons are painted on an empty stomach). An Orthodox Christian is immersed in the state that the icon brings, most often it is calm and joy. Icon painting can be described as a technique for reducing anxiety. Secondly, the icon painting technique dictates that the icon painter paint with special care. This is a delicate work with drawing details. A person narrows his consciousness to one thin line that must be drawn perfectly. At this time, we do not think or analyze our life and problems; now the meaning of our life is to draw this line. This is an opportunity to be in a state of “here” and “now” at least for a short time. Thirdly, the process of creating paints is therapeutic. The icon painter works with living materials: egg emulsion (a mixture of yolk and wine), stone minerals. Using circular movements, the icon painter rubs the pigments on the glass with a chime, thus entering a certain meditative state that prepares the icon painter to work with the icon. Fourthly, the technique of icon painting from “Dark to Light” is not called so by chance. When revealing an icon, the icon painter always starts from the darkest colors and ends with the finest white floating rays. Thus, the artist goes through his own inner path from darkness, the chaos of the unconscious to flashes of the clear light of consciousness. Fifthly, of course, after creating an icon, after following all the strict rules of the technique, a person’s self-esteem increases, which is also a psychotherapeutic result. We are currently recruiting for the iconotherapy group. The classes will show basic icon painting techniques using examples of icon elements such as a slide, a wave, a tree, and a house. We will immerse ourselves in the processes of creating paints, talk about our sensations and feelings during this process, plunge into a state of maximum concentration, talk about the images that will emerge in our minds during the creative process and, of course, open access to our inner resource. Those interested can sign up for a long course of icon therapy, during which we will work on creating one single icon - the icon of our saint.