Art therapy is a mental health profession that is becoming more popular here, particularly with children, who tend to take to art naturally.
The Art Therapists’ Association of Singapore, which started in 2008, now has 45 members compared with 30 in 2013. More art therapists in private practice have emerged in the past two to three years, particularly as more graduate from Lasalle College of the Arts’ Master of Arts in art therapy.
Art therapy benefits children who could be experiencing life-changing or challenging situations, such as long-term hospitalisation, chronic or terminal illnesses, mental health conditions and trauma. They may also be experiencing significant emotional setbacks and concerns with regard to self-image, self-esteem and confidence.
Ms Ho Soo Fung, a principal occupational therapist at the Institute of Mental Health (IMH) said art therapy is meant to be a safe outlet for a child, allowing him to freely express difficult feelings without being forced to discuss them.
IMH started art therapy for its patients in 2010 while the Singapore General Hospital (SGH) began offering it in 2011 under its eating disorders intensive treatment programme. The KK Women’s and Children’s Hospital (KKH) also offers it.
During the therapy, art is made in the presence of a therapist. The focus is on the process and the relationship between the child and therapist, rather than on the art itself. Art therapist Annelaure Vuillermoz said that the final piece of art may not contain warning symbols, such as alarming words. Rather, it could be the way the art is created that gives you a clue of the depth of their emotions.
Art therapist Dian Handayani, who is with SGH’s psychiatry department, said there is a growing body of research that suggests improvements in mood when clients are encouraged to work on art that contains positive emotional expressions, compared with merely creating art for venting and distraction purposes.
Discharging negative emotions such as anger and rage through art can, at times, be a catharsis and constructive. But given the new evidence, she has begun to encourage her patients to also create art that depicts positive emotions, such as calmness and being in control.
At her sessions, patients often request to do something that will motivate them to recover from their illness. And, one of the things Ms Dian has asked them to do is to create pieces on the things in their life worth fighting for. They would draw happy families having a meal together or their future, such as themselves in a graduation gown.
“They can verbalise that they want this or that but when the work of art is created – these dreams are as if they have almost come to life,” said Ms Dian.
“There is a richness to it that words sometimes cannot describe in details, and it can be powerful.”
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Source: The Straits Times, 10 April 2018