This session is a sharing seminar with art therapy PhD candidates and recent graduates presenting their research. The panel will speak about their progress including the practical components, data collection and methodology.
These insights will be of relevance to the research community at LASALLE, candidates pursuing their PhD or those considering applying to our global communities.
Session chair
Dr Val Huet was the Chief Executive Officer of the British Association of Art Therapists from 2003 to 2021. She is co-director of the Oxford College of Arts & Therapies, an online training organisation. She is a visiting professor on the MA in Art Therapy at the University of Hertfordshire and on the MSc in Art Psychotherapy at Ulster University, as well as honorary president of the International Association for Creative Arts in Education and Therapies (IACAET).
Dr Huet qualified as an art therapist in 1986. She later trained as a group psychotherapist and organisational consultant and completed a PhD on art therapy groups for work-related stress. She is involved currently in several research projects, including a randomised control trial on arts therapies groups for people with mixed diagnoses, a pilot of online art therapy groups for people with chronic pain, and an international arts therapies project on child labour.
Session speakers:
Christine Phang, AMFT, ATR-P, PhD (candidate), Dominican University of California, US
Pamela Lie, AThR, PhD (candidate), Lesley University, US
Dr Ronald PMH Lay, AThS-HF, AThR, ATR-BC, LASALLE College of the Arts, University of the Arts Singapore
Session abstracts:
Phang Jia En, Christine will introduce her doctoral research, ‘Anchoring Roots and Spreading Branches: The Development and Regulation of Art Therapy in Singapore’. Her presentation will explore her mixed methods dissertation study on the development and regulation of art therapy in Singapore. The rationale and aims of the study will be addressed, along with a brief description of the methodology. Christine will also discuss the role of art-making throughout the research process.
Pamela Lie will present ‘Through My Lens: Exploring the Research Journey of Photovoice as a Resilience Tool for Helping Professionals in Complex Trauma Work’. This presentation will offer a reflective account of Pamela’s ongoing doctoral research journey, which explores the experience and utility of Photovoice as a resilience-building tool for helping professionals working with individuals and families affected by complex trauma. The study involves social workers, counsellors, operational staff, and caseworkers who are especially vulnerable to burnout and compassion fatigue due to repeated exposure to trauma narratives.
Pamela will share key aspects of the research process, ranging from identifying the research gaps and navigating ethics to designing the participatory methodology and engaging participants through creative inquiry. The presentation will highlight how the process of conceptualising and implementing a study rooted in creative and reflective practice has itself been a journey of resilience, both personally and professionally.
Dr Ronald PMH Lay will discuss his Doctor in Education research, ‘Credentialed Art Therapists located in Singapore and the Role of Experiential Learning in Art Therapy Education’, from the University of Western Australia, in Perth, Australia. Interest in the topics of culturally informed pedagogy and practice were derived directly from his experiences of developing, teaching on and leading the MA Art Therapy programme at LASALLE since 2011. He was curious how credentialed art therapists were applying and evolving art therapy in contexts outside of its historical origins given that art therapy has been increasingly embraced in Singapore and the region.
