art therapist

“Art therapy is an integrative mental health and human services profession that enriches the lives of individuals, families, and communities through active art-making, creative process, applied psychological theory, and human experience within a psychotherapeutic relationship."
~ American Art Therapy Association

my approach to art therapy

The following are the dominant frameworks and philosophies that guide my approach to art therapy with clients and workshop participants:

archetypal and imaginal psychology

With deep reverence for individual and cultural expressions, I take note of themes in clients’ artwork, stories, and experiences that indicate what connects each of us to human wisdom. Together with clients, we explore symbols and become curious about images for their capacity to enhance imagination, reveal aspects of ourselves, and suggest directions for making changes.

existential
psychology

Intertwined with the human experience are profound questions that we all must face to lead a complete life that accepts the struggles and joys of being a human. Some of these include, “How do I live in the face of mortality?” and “How do I make sense of what seems senseless?” Together with clients, we look at what suffering means for each of us and how to find meaning that can guide us.

mindfulness
and holism

Based on my training while at the Centre on Behavioral Health at The University of Hong Kong, I developed a profound respect for the ways that personal contemplation, focused breathing, and somatic exercises can enhance individual well-being and relationships. Together with clients, we pay attention to thoughts, feelings, and bodily sensations as clues for insight and remedies.

social change

Our individual health is often influenced by social forces that are larger than any one of us. Understanding the impact of power and how it shapes perceptions and choices leads me to incorporate peace building and social justice practices. Together with clients, we identify possibilities for persisting in the face of struggles and forming community, as well as, challenging biases and fostering empathy across differences.

Being engaged in the world often requires working directly in the community to bring about change. The images below represent some of the ways for doing so (images used with permission of the artists).

  • art for protest

    Images that convey clear messages. This one is my representation of a line from Reverend William Barber II for the Poor People's Campaign: A National Call for Moral Revival. The top images represent the four social evils (war economy, systemic racism, environmental degradation, poverty) shifting into peace, inclusion*, sustainability, and justice.
    *This image of the interconnected hands is from an original 1968 Poor People's Campaign poster

  • art for advocacy

    Images that encourage individuals to share their stories of a social injustice. This image is by an adolescent conveying challenges faced by the lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer community at a workshop at a public school LGBTQ pride conference.

  • art for lobbying

    Images that encourage individuals to share their stories of a social issue to share with policy makers. This image was created to express the pain of being a survivor of gun violence at a workshop to prepare people planning to meet with their representatives to discuss gun reform.

  • art for dialogues

    Images that encourages individuals to respond to art to promote contemplation and foster empathy in order to dialogue for understanding and action. This image was created at a workshop to reflect on a personal experience that informed current social and political views in order to use as a starting point for discussion.