From the author: The article was published in the collection: Problems of socio-psychological adaptation of children and youth in the modernization of Russian education: Materials of the All-Russian Scientific and Practical Conference (Belgorod 19 - October 20, 2011) - Belgorod: Publishing house "POLITERRA", 2011 - pp. 376-379 Currently, there are many problems associated with studying in higher education. Among them, a set of issues related to the difficulties of the first year of study at a university stands out, in particular, this is the issue of socio-psychological adaptation of students to the process of professional training. At the university, at the first stage of training, students, adapting to new conditions of education, face many difficulties. First-year students need to get used to, adapt to a new study group of fellow students, to a new teaching staff, to activities in a university environment, to their chosen profession. During this period, there is a restructuring of the usual long-term educational and behavioral stereotype [5]. One of the most important aspects of a student’s adaptation to studying at a university is adaptation to a new social role, the formation of an image of oneself as a student, a future professional in the chosen field of activity [4]. A distorted or underdeveloped self-image leads to adaptation disorders, which may be accompanied by increased conflict among first-year students, misunderstanding of their social role, decreased performance, and deterioration of health [2]. In this regard, as a strategic task of ensuring optimal personal and professional development of a specialist at the stage of university education, one should consider the task of psychological support for the process of developing a young person’s professional self-awareness at the stage of adaptation to studying at a university. Modern psychological science has a huge arsenal of techniques to promote personal and professional growth, developed within various directions and approaches. One of the areas of psychological assistance currently in demand is art therapy. The possibilities of art therapy as a means of actualizing a person’s adaptive potential are enormous. This is due to the specific features of this area of ​​psychological assistance. Art therapy is based on the fact that artistic images can help us understand ourselves and, through creative self-expression, make our lives more meaningful, purposeful, and effective. The main goals of art therapy are self-expression, expansion of personal experience, self-knowledge, internal integration of personality (its various aspects and components) and integration with external reality (social, ethnic, cultural). Art therapy is one of the softest and at the same time profound methods in the arsenal of psychologists and psychotherapists. When drawing, sculpting, or describing a problem or mood in a literary form, a person seems to receive a coded message from himself, from his own subconscious. One of the varieties of art techniques is the collage technique. The word “collage” translated from French (collage) means “gluing”, “sticker”. The collage technique “consists of gluing onto a paper base pictures and inscriptions cut out by participants from magazines and newspapers” [1, p. 80]. In essence, a collage is a graphic work, a single composition created from parts of a different nature, reflecting some psychological reality (inner world, interpersonal relationships). Theoretical data, as well as the empirical results we obtain, prove the effectiveness of using the collage technique in work on psychological supporting the process of adaptation of students to study at a university. Let's consider the main specific features, as well as the advantages of implementing the “collage” technique as a means of updating the adaptive potential of a student’s personality. Advantages of using the techniquecollage is that it helps a young man overcome the shyness associated with the lack of “artistic talent” and skills. After all, when creating a collage, elements already created by someone are used. Therefore, the fear of evaluation of artistic abilities by other group members, which is a common barrier in the initial stages of art therapy, is significantly reduced. A significant advantage of this technique is that the use of ready-made objects and images to create a new composition from them gives the student a feeling of security, since they they do not identify their experiences with these objects and images as much as, for example, when drawing. This provides the young person with the necessary degree of distance from too strong or delicate feelings and the necessary degree of safety during visual work. Collage allows you to express your attitude to a given topic, your thoughts, your view, your understanding of the topic (this applies to both general, abstract themes of collage and and personal topics related to one’s own plans, goals, dreams, attitude towards oneself, etc.) [3]. Another advantage of the technique of creating a collage is that it can be successfully used both in individual and group work. It should also be noted that collage is, first of all, a resource technique that helps to actualize the potential capabilities of the individual, his hidden internal resources. The advantages of this technique include the fact that creating a collage is both diagnostic and psychotherapeutic work. Thus, a collage created by a young man can be considered both as a diagnostic slice, reflecting the current “state of affairs,” and as a deep internal work of self-exploration and self-integration. When organizing work with a collage, there are certain preparatory steps. First of all, you need a calm and secluded place where the presence of other people cannot interrupt your work. This will help you better connect with your feelings, which is very important in the art therapy process. The effectiveness of collage work significantly increases listening to music, as it makes a person more receptive to their internal rhythm. The time to compose a collage can vary from 40 minutes to 1.5 – 3 hours in group mode. E.Yu. Razumova notes that the time allocated to compiling collages depends on the theme of the collage, the size of the base for the collage, and the age of the group members making up the collage. It is best not to limit participants in time. However, after 1.5 hours of working on a collage, as a rule, one becomes satiated with this activity and pleasantly tired if the work comes to an end [3]. For this technique, it is necessary to prepare a large set of magazines and newspapers with color pictures on various topics, to provide participants with the necessary space of choice. It is important that the participants have in their arsenal not only glossy magazines with ideal figures and faces, but also various family magazines with ordinary people, life stories and illustrations for them, images of nature, and the business life of people. In the structure of the art therapy session on creating a collage, the following are highlighted: two main parts. The first part of the lesson is non-verbal, creative, unstructured (70% of the session). Participants are encouraged to fully surrender to their feelings and not worry about the artistry of their creations. Usually, it is not recommended to talk while creating a collage; this helps to create a special, new environment and be more attentive to feelings and bodily sensations. The second part of the lesson is verbal, it involves a verbal discussion of the work done and its results, feedback from the participants and the presenter about the impressions that have arisen, associations from the perception of what was created and the entire process of work (30% of the session). Analysis of the finished collage involves consideration of the arrangement of elements on the sheet , size of elements, their location relative to other elements, consistency of elementstogether; highlighting the general idea of ​​the collage, determining the most significant and relevant topic. What is important is the overall impression of the finished collage, the analysis of the feelings it evokes in the author, as well as in other participants. In the practice of our work to actualize the adaptive potential of students’ personalities, we use collages on the topic “Ideal university student”, “This is how I am in a group” , “My Ideal Day”. As an example, we will give a description of the procedure for working with the collage “Ideal University Student”. Purpose of the work: integration of first-year students’ ideas about the ideal model of a student (as a necessary component of goal setting), understanding of the basic needs of personal and professional development. The work process includes 5 main stages, let’s consider them in order. Creating a collage. Group members are invited to take sheets of A2 size paper and create on them the image of an ideal university student, using clippings from newspapers and magazines. Instructions to participants: “You have a large number of newspapers and magazines in front of you. Cut out those fragments from magazines that you associate with the image of an ideal student, and then arrange them into a composition. You can do whatever you want with the elements, you can supplement the work with inscriptions, comments, paint over and decorate empty spaces, be concrete or abstract.” To work on creating collages, tables can be used; in a specially equipped office, it is advisable to work directly on the floor. By sitting comfortably on the carpet, choosing the most comfortable place in the audience space, it is easier for the participant to relax, move away from stereotypical thinking and come into contact with his needs and feelings. The duration of the stage is 40-50 minutes. Description of the collage. At this stage, participants place a finished collage in front of them and describe the image of an ideal student in their notebooks. Students are asked to imagine that in front of them is a real person - a university student, depicted in symbolic form and describe him in detail, reflecting his personal characteristics, needs, hobbies, goals in life, etc. This stage is very important, it helps to translate symbolic, intuitive ideas into conscious level, their pronunciation and comprehension. The duration of the stage is 5-10 minutes. Conversation with the “ideal student”. Work at this stage is carried out in pairs. Participants are divided into pairs and take turns listening to a story about their partner’s ideal student, and then talking with him, asking clarifying questions. For example, questions may be asked: “What is your ideal student’s dream?”, “What does he value most about himself?”, “What does he like to do in his free time?” etc. The purpose of this stage is to further expand the participants’ ideas about their needs, goals, and awareness of their own resource zone. Duration of the stage is 5-10 minutes. Group projection. At this stage, work is carried out in a group. All participants sit in a circle, each holding their own collage in front of them. The discussion begins with any participant desired. Regarding each collage, the group expresses everything that comes to mind, expresses their emotional attitude towards it, notes what causes surprise, what “hurts” the most, etc. The participant whose collage is being discussed records, if possible, the statements of the rest of the group members. Group projection is an important stage of the work. Often, in the process of spontaneous statements by participants, a theme, state or problem area is emphasized, which the author of the collage himself is not aware of, as if he does not notice. It should be noted that here a particularly informative indicator that a significant topic has been touched upon by the participant is the emotional reaction of acceptance or, conversely, rejection of the information received during the group projection. The final stage. At this stage, reflection is carried out on what happened. Each participant voices his emotional attitude to the process of making a collage and to its result. It is established what conclusions the participant made for himself in the process of making the collage. Upon completion.