Art Therapy

Programme Information

Duration: 2 years (4 semesters)

Award: Master of Arts Art Therapy

Mode: Full-time

Intake: August 2012 Intake

The MA Art Therapy Programme at LASALLE offers an internationally informed, two-year, full time art therapy training in a contemporary psychodynamic framework. Integrated into the curriculum are inter-subjective approaches, attachment, and trauma theory with the ability to connect these concepts through the process of creativity and expression in treatment, in the Southeast Asian context. Paramount to this is the understanding of the development of therapeutic alliance. The programme works collaboratively in research, across cultures internationally, and across school faculties.

Singapore is at the epicentre of diversity in Asia, the cultural landscape is rich and interwoven. Traditionally the East has emphasised the "we" in the relationship and the West has represented the "I". The inter-subjective theorists integrate both concepts – self and community and include in their thinking the importance of equality, reciprocity, and response in relationship. Through understanding the dynamics and importance of attachment in development and the many manifestations of trauma in mental health, the inter-subjective philosophy is taught through process-oriented art therapy.

International Accreditation

The programme is accredited by ANZATA (Australian and New Zealand Arts Therapy Association) which provides graduates with the ability to acquire their AThR (registered art therapist in Australia, New Zealand and Singapore). Our graduates are also eligible to apply for registration in Britain through the HPC (Health Professions Council), and, with appropriate supervised hours upon graduation, can apply for the ATR (registered art therapist in North America) through the ATCB (Art Therapy Credentials Board). Students are encouraged to pursue student membership in any of these professional organisations in addition to ATAS (Art Therapists' Association Singapore).

Training in Art Therapy

Training in art therapy at LASALLE takes place in a vibrant and innovative art school which offers opportunities for interdisciplinary collaborations with programmes such as theatre, music, fine arts, film, media and design. Specific modules are designed so that students may develop projects and research internationally and with these other faculties. The programme accentuates the continued development of the student's artistic practice as well as cross-cultural training and research. In addition to interacting with MA Art Therapy programmes from around the world, students are provided with opportunities for clinical placement hours in the Asia Pacific region and internationally.

The programme emphasises the training and understanding of the highest ethical practices in the field through the implementation of workshops on child, family and elder abuse and violence, international codes of ethics and best practices in art therapy, and the requirement that students maintain weekly, personal therapy while enrolled in the programme. Students are required to maintain the programme's standards of fitness to practice in order to complete their MA degree.

Programme Delivery

The programme uses a variety of methods of teaching for the delivery of the curriculum. All modules are taught in a dynamic, interactive group format to promote discussion, engagement and modeling of group dynamics. In addition the following methods are used:

Group Seminars/Lectures

• Seminars and case presentations; group discussion and practical exploration of art as therapy;
• Student presentations and seminar discussions based on required readings and field placement observations;
• Group training and workshops;
• Guest lectures.

Practical/Experiential Work

• Experiential workshops and training will be incorporated into many of the modules and will include ethical awareness, cross-cultural sensitivity, risk assessment, intervention, and reporting
• Independent studio practice time that allows students to explore their own creative processes, in conjunction with other faculties, while working towards culminating a research project.
• Group training/studio classes will allow students to explore different types of group processes with the guidance of a dynamically trained and experienced art therapist
• Practical research – students will have the opportunity to explore preliminary research processes cross-culturally in Asia Pacific and internationally as well as across various LASALLE faculties

Clinical Placements

Students will intern at an approved and relevant clinical placement setting where they will develop their dynamically driven clinical art therapy skills and learn to utilise on-site and off-site clinical supervision. The programme uses a variety of strategies to promote learning while the students are in placement. These include process notes written throughout the semester, case presentations, written case studies, a final paper and supervisor reports and discussions. The programme's Clinical Placement Co-coordinator will liaise with the various internship settings and will assist the student with logistics related to their internship based on their identified interests.

Individual Tutorials

Office hours are provided weekly for meetings with students as well as end of semester meetings. Individual research tutorials are held during Semester 3 and 4 to augment the research course modules.

Postgraduate Research Seminars

All MA Art Therapy students and alumni are encouraged to attend and participate in this seminar series which is offered throughout the academic year. The seminar is provided by the various MA Programmes at LASALLE.

MA Art Therapy Graduate Research

Recent graduate research dissertations have explored topics such as mental health, trauma, medical conditions, religion, human behaviour, and aggression to name a few. Graduates have examined populations throughout the lifespan of human development and the human condition as experienced in various settings and situations. A cross-section of recent research dissertation titles include:

• Art Therapy and Pediatric Oncology: Strengthening the Ego of a Child Diagnosed with Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia
• Art Therapy with Eating Disorder Patients in Singapore: Breaking Down Defenses in Search of Self
• Art Therapy as a Short-term Intervention for a Psychiatry Patient with Borderline Personality and Psychosomatic Symptoms in an Acute Hospital Setting in Singapore
• Art Therapy and the Journey of an Elderly Spousal Caregiver
• How Art Therapy can Inform the Understanding of Attachment Behaviour and Object Relations in a Child Maltreated in Early Development

Non-Credit Compulsory Activities

Personal Therapy

Students are required to receive regular, weekly, personal therapy for the duration of their art therapy training. This provides art therapists in training with the opportunity to explore and reflect on issues that may arise for them during their course work, to better understand the process of therapy experientially, as well as providing ethical consideration of what they bring to their clinical work. This therapeutic engagement is to be obtained from outside the training programme. The programme maintains a list of recommended therapists. Students will be required to submit Verification of Attendance by a registered therapist to the programme at the middle and end of each semester.

Compulsory Activities

Meetings

At the end of each semester, individual meetings will be held with each student to go over their progress academically, clinically, artistically, and in terms of their fitness to be a therapist.

Ethics, MCYS/Child and Elder Abuse, Family Violence Workshops

Discussions on ethics will be ongoing throughout the programme in supervision and other coursework in addition to a risk-assessment workshop at the beginning of Semester 1. MCYS child abuse identification and intervention training will take place in Semester 2. Semester 3 will continue with ethical issues and MCYS will provide training on elder abuse and family violence identification and intervention.

Fitness to Become a Therapist

Mental fitness to become a therapist will be discussed and documented at the end of each semester meeting and as needed during the semester. This will be based on regular faculty meetings to discuss students' progress, feedback from placement sites and from supervision. The fitness to practice criteria include:

• The physical ability to complete work onsite and offsite;
• Effective communication skills individually and in groups;
• Sound judgement and the capacity for insight;
• The ability to respond effectively to emergencies;
• Student's work and interactions which demonstrate that their clients will be safe and not at risk when working with the student.

Portfolio Review

At the end of each semester, students are required to submit a portfolio of artwork and/or process journal to be discussed at the end of semester meeting. These works can include artwork that is cross-faculty based and can be drawn from theatre, fine arts, design, media, film, etc. Studio time is provided in the course schedule.

Modules

Semester 1	Credit Points
Introduction to Art Therapy	15
Group Training 1	10
Human Development and Clinical Theory	10
Introduction to Postgraduate Studies	10
Semester 2
Child and Adolescent Art Therapy – Ethics, Ministry of Community Development, Youth and Sports (MCYS)/ Child Abuse Identification and Intervention Workshops	10
Psychodynamic Processes and Pictorial Analysis	10
Clinical Placement 1	25
Semester 3
Adult, Geriatric and Family Art Therapy - Ethics, (MCYS)/ Elder and Family Abuse and Violence Identification and Intervention Workshop	10
Practical Research - Dissertation/ Research Tutorials	10
Clinical Placement 2	25
Semester 4
Culminating Research Projects - Dissertation/ Research Tutorials	15
Group Training 2	5
Clinical Placement 3	25

Semester 1: provides the foundation for this contemporary and international psychodynamic approach to art therapy in the Southeast Asian context. The basic tenets of combining art with psychodynamic theory are studied and layered with the foundations of attachment, object relations, intersubjectivity, trauma and sublimation.

Semester 2: builds on the foundation of Semester 1, and focuses on the development of clinical practice and the introduction of more in-depth therapeutic knowledge. The student begins their clinical practice as a trainee art therapist during this semester.

Semester 3: continues the student's development of dynamic, analytical clinical skills in a professional, ethical and empathic practice. It is in this module that students will be able to work towards a more focused area to research for their final substantial project in the course.

Semester 4: continues to develop and finalise the student's dissertation, which typically focuses on an in-depth, well-researched case study and presentation in a chosen area of interest in art therapy. This project as well as a final art project done in collaboration with other disciplines within the college takes place in the final year and is the articulation of the student's work over the past four semesters.

Faculty Members

Ronald P.M.H. Lay, MA, ATR-BC, AThR, Programme Leader, MA Art Therapy, Concordia University, Montreal, PQ Canada

Research Interests: Forensics, mental health, geriatrics, de-stigmatization, wellness & recovery, professional education and development

Kirsty McTaggart, PGDip, BA Hons Fine Art, HPC RATh (Art), BAAT

Research Interests: Children and adolescents, mental health, trauma, autism, attachment, existentialism, postmodernism

Teaching Staff

Francis Ng, PGDHE, NIE, MFA and BA, Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology, Diploma, LASALLE

Marianne Teo, MA University College London

Joyce Tan, RSW, MSW, Post Master's Advanced Standing in Art Therapy Notre Dame de Namur University, Belmont, California. Registered Counsellor, Singapore

Jessica Koh, BAFA (Hons) Pg Dip ATh MAATh Registered Art Therapist and Approved Supervisor (BAAT, UK)

The programme maintains a roster of well–known local and international lecturers, including Professor Kua Ee Heok, Professor and Senior Consultant Psychiatrist, Department of Psychological Medicine
, National University Health System, Professor Eugen Koh, Director of the Dax Centre, Melbourne, Ann Wee, Senior Fellow Department of Social Work and Psychology, National University of Singapore, Dr. John Wong, Associate Professor and Senior Consultant Psychiatrist, NUHS, and Dr. Bill Gillham, research methods specialist, to name a few.

Entry Requirements

Candidates must fulfil the following requirements:

• Bachelor's degree in visual arts or psychology, or an equivalent level of training in a relevant medical, social or human sciences field;
• Relevant experience in a rehabilitative setting in the form of paid or unpaid/voluntary work;
• Demonstrable ability to discuss and reflect on the creative process;
• A willingness to undergo weekly personal therapy for the duration of the programme;
• A satisfactory score in written and spoken English OR a minimum of IELTS 7.0 or TOEFL iBT 100 for applicants from countries where English is not the first language or whose qualifications are obtained from institutions where English is not the medium of instruction;
• Portfolio: At least 7 - 10 pieces of original artwork (actual or documented) that demonstrates your creative practice;
• Three references: one personal, one professional, and one academic;
• Statement of Purpose: A 500-word statement outlining your reasons for pursuing Master's studies, your suitability and expected benefits from the programme;
• Additional coursework may be required and/or suggested before acceptance into the programme based on your qualifications;
• Self-disclosure statement indicating any criminal record and/or history. Please note that many internship settings require a mandatory background security check for potential student interns, and many employers request this as well given the potential vulnerability of their clientele.
• An interview with the Programme Leader and academic staff. All applications will be considered on a case-by-case basis.

Programme Information

Duration: 2 years (4 semesters)

Award: Master of Arts Art Therapy

Mode: Full-time

Intake: August 2011 Intake

The MA Art Therapy Programme at LASALLE offers an internationally informed, two-year, full time art therapy training in a contemporary psychodynamic framework. Integrated into the curriculum are inter-subjective approaches, attachment, and trauma theory with the ability to connect these concepts through the process of creativity and expression in treatment, in the Southeast Asian context. Paramount to this is the understanding of the development of therapeutic alliance. The programme works collaboratively in research, across cultures internationally, and across school faculties.

Singapore is at the epicentre of diversity in Asia, the cultural landscape is rich and interwoven. Traditionally the East has emphasised the "we" in the relationship and the West has represented the "I". The inter-subjective theorists integrate both concepts – self and community and include in their thinking the importance of equality, reciprocity, and response in relationship. Through understanding the dynamics and importance of attachment in development and the many manifestations of trauma in mental health, the inter-subjective philosophy is taught through process-oriented art therapy.

International Accreditation

The programme is accredited by ANZATA (Australian and New Zealand Arts Therapy Association) which provides graduates with the ability to acquire their AThR (registered art therapist in Australia, New Zealand and Singapore). Our graduates are also eligible to apply for registration in Britain through the HPC (Health Professions Council), and, with appropriate supervised hours upon graduation, can apply for the ATR (registered art therapist in North America) through the ATCB (Art Therapy Credentials Board). Students are encouraged to pursue student membership in any of these professional organisations in addition to ATAS (Art Therapists' Association Singapore).

Training in Art Therapy

Training in art therapy at LASALLE takes place in a vibrant and innovative art school which offers opportunities for interdisciplinary collaborations with programmes such as theatre, music, fine arts, film, media and design. Specific modules are designed so that students may develop projects and research internationally and with these other faculties. The programme accentuates the continued development of the student's artistic practice as well as cross-cultural training and research. In addition to interacting with MA Art Therapy programmes from around the world, students are provided with opportunities for clinical placement hours in the Asia Pacific region and internationally.

The programme emphasises the training and understanding of the highest ethical practices in the field through the implementation of workshops on child, family and elder abuse and violence, international codes of ethics and best practices in art therapy, and the requirement that students maintain weekly, personal therapy while enrolled in the programme. Students are required to maintain the programme's standards of fitness to practice in order to complete their MA degree.

Programme Delivery

The programme uses a variety of methods of teaching for the delivery of the curriculum. All modules are taught in a dynamic, interactive group format to promote discussion, engagement and modeling of group dynamics. In addition the following methods are used:

Group Seminars/Lectures

• Seminars and case presentations; group discussion and practical exploration of art as therapy;
• Student presentations and seminar discussions based on required readings and field placement observations;
• Group training and workshops;
• Guest lectures.

Practical/Experiential Work

• Experiential workshops and training will be incorporated into many of the modules and will include ethical awareness, cross-cultural sensitivity, risk assessment, intervention, and reporting
• Independent studio practice time that allows students to explore their own creative processes, in conjunction with other faculties, while working towards culminating a research project.
• Group training/studio classes will allow students to explore different types of group processes with the guidance of a dynamically trained and experienced art therapist
• Practical research – students will have the opportunity to explore preliminary research processes cross-culturally in Asia Pacific and internationally as well as across various LASALLE faculties

Clinical Placements

Students will intern at an approved and relevant clinical placement setting where they will develop their dynamically driven clinical art therapy skills and learn to utilise on-site and off-site clinical supervision. The programme uses a variety of strategies to promote learning while the students are in placement. These include process notes written throughout the semester, case presentations, written case studies, a final paper and supervisor reports and discussions. The programme's Clinical Placement Co-coordinator will liaise with the various internship settings and will assist the student with logistics related to their internship based on their identified interests.

Individual Tutorials

Office hours are provided weekly for meetings with students as well as end of semester meetings. Individual research tutorials are held during Semester 3 and 4 to augment the research course modules.

Postgraduate Research Seminars

All MA Art Therapy students and alumni are encouraged to attend and participate in this seminar series which is offered throughout the academic year. The seminar is provided by the various MA Programmes at LASALLE.

MA Art Therapy Graduate Research

Recent graduate research dissertations have explored topics such as mental health, trauma, medical conditions, religion, human behaviour, and aggression to name a few. Graduates have examined populations throughout the lifespan of human development and the human condition as experienced in various settings and situations. A cross-section of recent research dissertation titles include:

• Art Therapy and Pediatric Oncology: Strengthening the Ego of a Child Diagnosed with Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia
• Art Therapy with Eating Disorder Patients in Singapore: Breaking Down Defenses in Search of Self
• Art Therapy as a Short-term Intervention for a Psychiatry Patient with Borderline Personality and Psychosomatic Symptoms in an Acute Hospital Setting in Singapore
• Art Therapy and the Journey of an Elderly Spousal Caregiver
• How Art Therapy can Inform the Understanding of Attachment Behaviour and Object Relations in a Child Maltreated in Early Development

Non-Credit Compulsory Activities

Personal Therapy

Students are required to receive regular, weekly, personal therapy for the duration of their art therapy training. This provides art therapists in training with the opportunity to explore and reflect on issues that may arise for them during their course work, to better understand the process of therapy experientially, as well as providing ethical consideration of what they bring to their clinical work. This therapeutic engagement is to be obtained from outside the training programme. The programme maintains a list of recommended therapists. Students will be required to submit Verification of Attendance by a registered therapist to the programme at the middle and end of each semester.

Compulsory Activities

Meetings

At the end of each semester, individual meetings will be held with each student to go over their progress academically, clinically, artistically, and in terms of their fitness to be a therapist.

Ethics, MCYS/Child and Elder Abuse, Family Violence Workshops

Discussions on ethics will be ongoing throughout the programme in supervision and other coursework in addition to a risk-assessment workshop at the beginning of Semester 1. MCYS child abuse identification and intervention training will take place in Semester 2. Semester 3 will continue with ethical issues and MCYS will provide training on elder abuse and family violence identification and intervention.

Fitness to Become a Therapist

Mental fitness to become a therapist will be discussed and documented at the end of each semester meeting and as needed during the semester. This will be based on regular faculty meetings to discuss students' progress, feedback from placement sites and from supervision. The fitness to practice criteria include:

• The physical ability to complete work onsite and offsite;
• Effective communication skills individually and in groups;
• Sound judgement and the capacity for insight;
• The ability to respond effectively to emergencies;
• Student's work and interactions which demonstrate that their clients will be safe and not at risk when working with the student.

Portfolio Review

At the end of each semester, students are required to submit a portfolio of artwork and/or process journal to be discussed at the end of semester meeting. These works can include artwork that is cross-faculty based and can be drawn from theatre, fine arts, design, media, film, etc. Studio time is provided in the course schedule.

Modules

Semester 1	Credit Points
Introduction to Art Therapy	15
Group Training 1	10
Human Development and Clinical Theory	10
Introduction to Postgraduate Studies	10
Semester 2
Child and Adolescent Art Therapy – Ethics, Ministry of Community Development, Youth and Sports (MCYS)/ Child Abuse Identification and Intervention Workshops	10
Psychodynamic Processes and Pictorial Analysis	10
Clinical Placement 1	25
Semester 3
Adult, Geriatric and Family Art Therapy - Ethics, (MCYS)/ Elder and Family Abuse and Violence Identification and Intervention Workshop	10
Practical Research - Dissertation/ Research Tutorials	10
Clinical Placement 2	25
Semester 4
Culminating Research Projects - Dissertation/ Research Tutorials	15
Group Training 2	5
Clinical Placement 3	25

Semester 1: provides the foundation for this contemporary and international psychodynamic approach to art therapy in the Southeast Asian context. The basic tenets of combining art with psychodynamic theory are studied and layered with the foundations of attachment, object relations, intersubjectivity, trauma and sublimation.

Semester 2: builds on the foundation of Semester 1, and focuses on the development of clinical practice and the introduction of more in-depth therapeutic knowledge. The student begins their clinical practice as a trainee art therapist during this semester.

Semester 3: continues the student's development of dynamic, analytical clinical skills in a professional, ethical and empathic practice. It is in this module that students will be able to work towards a more focused area to research for their final substantial project in the course.

Semester 4: continues to develop and finalise the student's dissertation, which typically focuses on an in-depth, well-researched case study and presentation in a chosen area of interest in art therapy. This project as well as a final art project done in collaboration with other disciplines within the college takes place in the final year and is the articulation of the student's work over the past four semesters.

Faculty Members

Ronald P.M.H. Lay, MA, ATR-BC, AThR, Programme Leader, MA Art Therapy, Concordia University, Montreal, PQ Canada

Research Interests: Forensics, mental health, geriatrics, de-stigmatization, wellness & recovery, professional education and development

Kirsty McTaggart, PGDip, BA Hons Fine Art, HPC RATh (Art), BAAT

Research Interests: Children and adolescents, mental health, trauma, autism, attachment, existentialism, postmodernism

Teaching Staff

Francis Ng, PGDHE, NIE, MFA and BA, Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology, Diploma, LASALLE

Marianne Teo, MA University College London

Joyce Tan, RSW, MSW, Post Master's Advanced Standing in Art Therapy Notre Dame de Namur University, Belmont, California. Registered Counsellor, Singapore

Jessica Koh, BAFA (Hons) Pg Dip ATh MAATh Registered Art Therapist and Approved Supervisor (BAAT, UK)

The programme maintains a roster of well–known local and international lecturers, including Professor Kua Ee Heok, Professor and Senior Consultant Psychiatrist, Department of Psychological Medicine
, National University Health System, Professor Eugen Koh, Director of the Dax Centre, Melbourne, Ann Wee, Senior Fellow Department of Social Work and Psychology, National University of Singapore, Dr. John Wong, Associate Professor and Senior Consultant Psychiatrist, NUHS, and Dr. Bill Gillham, research methods specialist, to name a few.

Entry Requirements

Candidates must fulfil the following requirements:

• Bachelor's degree in visual arts or psychology, or an equivalent level of training in a relevant medical, social or human sciences field;
• Relevant experience in a rehabilitative setting in the form of paid or unpaid/voluntary work;
• Demonstrable ability to discuss and reflect on the creative process;
• A willingness to undergo weekly personal therapy for the duration of the programme;
• A satisfactory score in written and spoken English OR a minimum of IELTS 7.0 or TOEFL iBT 100 for applicants from countries where English is not the first language or whose qualifications are obtained from institutions where English is not the medium of instruction;
• Portfolio: At least 7 - 10 pieces of original artwork (actual or documented) that demonstrates your creative practice;
• Three references: one personal, one professional, and one academic;
• Statement of Purpose: A 500-word statement outlining your reasons for pursuing Master's studies, your suitability and expected benefits from the programme;
• Additional coursework may be required and/or suggested before acceptance into the programme based on your qualifications;
• Self-disclosure statement indicating any criminal record and/or history. Please note that many internship settings require a mandatory background security check for potential student interns, and many employers request this as well given the potential vulnerability of their clientele.
• An interview with the Programme Leader and academic staff. All applications will be considered on a case-by-case basis.