24th Asia Pacific Youth Conference : Story Making Workshop

On the 5th of December I had facilitated a Story Making workshop for the 24th Asia Pacific Youth Conference organized by Initiatives of Change.

There were about 17  participants from Indonesia, India,  China, Australia, France and Malaysia

None of the participants had experienced a dramatherapy session or workshop before although a few of  them have participated in drama activities.

There were many positive feedback from the workshop. Many about how much fun it was. That it had brought back memories of being a child again and focusing on play and joy. And the insights that the process had revealed to the participants into their own lives.

As always, I had enjoyed facilitating the workshop and being witness to the creative expressions of the participants.

I would like to thank Initiative of Change (IofC) for the opportunity.

20th Nordic Art Therapies Conference - October 2018

In October I had the opportunity to present at the 20th Nordic Art Therapies Conference in Iceland.
Iceland was one of the places I've been wanting to visit for over a year, so when this opportunity came by, it seems like the perfect timing to do so, especially since I usually like to do some work wherever I travel, this seemed perfect!


And it was... As the plane was landing in Iceland, it seemed as if we were entering a mystical, magical  world of some kind.. And as the plane landed, I saw a translucent purple wave through the window where I was seated. The beauty of Iceland is spectacular and the people I met there seemed very creative, lovely and very present in the now.. None of them whom I met there had ever checked their phones when I was with them! (Which, unfortunately seem to  the norm in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia) .

The 20th Nordic Art Therapies Conference was held from the 11th to the 14th of October. 

The conference was amazing! I am always inspired when I attend any Creative Art Therapies or Dramatherapy conferences, as it feels as if I am reconnecting with my tribe, a sense of coming home..  This is so perhaps because there is so few of us in the field of creative arts therapy, especially when it comes to Dramatherapy in Malaysia.

At the conference, I had presented a yoga class on a Friday morning at 8am. Despite the very early hour (considering that we had a full day of conference the day before), the room filled up as the minutes passed by at the beginning of the session... almost running out of space for everyone to fit in. I think we may have had about or close to 40 people participating in the yoga that morning. 

The participants  had varying experiences of yoga practice. Some of them were practicing yoga for years, some had never done yoga before.  I truly enjoyed facilitating the session.  It was wonderful to have all these 'Goddesses' in my session on that day (it was one of the days of the Hindu Goddess Festival, Navarathiri)

The only regret I have is that I had forgotten to request someone to take pictures while I facilitated the yoga class... 

Some of the comments and feedback I had after the  yoga session were, many participants asking if I will be conducting the classes every morning of the conference, and a couple of the other comments which I remembered were:

 " I like the way you facilitated the session. It was light and enjoyable, not like some yoga sessions where the teacher is usually very solemn and serious."

" I like the stretches we did today, it helped me feel more relaxed and flexible. I think I will start taking up yoga now."

On Saturday afternoon I presented my Dramatherapy workshop : The Hero's Journey.  

I had the most creative, wonderful participants ever, in my workshop! 

The participants included those int he field of  art therapy, music therapy, dance therapy, artists and creatives of different art forms, and  few of them were dramatherapists themselves and are well established in their countries of residence. 

The participants in my workshops were mainly from the Nordic countries, such as Iceland, Norway, Netherlands, Sweden. There were also participants from the USA,  Scotland, Australia and Taiwan.

These are some of the pictures from the workshop:

As you can see from the images above, it was loads of fun facilitating the workshop and it was an absolute pleasure bearing witness to the creativity and insights that came through from the participants of the workshop.

There were several positive feedback received after the workshop. One of the feedback received was that the workshop created a space to play and be in the play space again. (As sometimes the arts therapists  are the ones who are facilitating the workshops or sessions that they themselves may not have the time of opportunity to be participating themselves in such experiences.)

As for the rest of the conference, I savored every moment of it and loved all of the workshops which I had the opportunity to participate in and the opportunity to communicate and connect with other participants and presenters. 

These are some of the pictures taken at the conference. 

We Dramatherapists... representing Malaysia, Iceland and Australia

All the Dramatherapists who had participated at the conference from USA, Malaysia (me), Scotland, Australia, Taiwan and Iceland

With the amazing Dr. Nisha Sajnani, who gave a powerful Keynote speech at the conference. She is the director of the NYU Drama Therapy program.  

Out for hike during the break time..

I even won  s ski cap in a lucky draw at the Gala dinner. 

Thank you! Love my new lucky red ski cap! 😃

I would like to thank the Conference Organizing Committee, for the opportunity to present at the conference and also  for organizing such a wonderful conference! 

I would like to thank Sigga, for kindly hosting me at her home in my last few days in Iceland.

I would also like to thank Áslaug, who was my roommate during the conference.

I miss Iceland...the breathtaking landscapes, the rainbows ( I saw 6 rainbows in a day!!!), the Northern lights, the cold weather (never realized I actually enjoyed the cold that much!) and mostly the wonderful people I had encountered during my time there. 

Hopefully there will be a next time, to further experience the magnificence and  beauty of Iceland of it's many facets.

Stories of Life: Dramatherapy Skills Training Workshop

On the 21st of September 2018, I had the pleasure of facilitating 'Stories of Life: A Dramatherapy Skills Training workshop. It was held at the Temple of Fine Arts, in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. It was organized by InPsych Psychological and Counseling Services.

The participants included a diverse group from counselling, teaching, acting and other interesting backgrounds.
They were  full of enthusiasm, creativity and wanting to know more about Dramatherapy.

There were many positive feedback about the workshop such how much fun the process was, how the activities projected what was going on in their own lives and more..

One of the participants even contacted me a few days later to inform me that she has decided to pursue a Master's Program in Dramatherapy and is looking at options of the programs offered in the UK.

This is great news, as  most of us are aware, there seem to be a rise in mental health challenges among people around the world, including in Malaysia.. and Dramatherapy is a more interesting, creative, insightful  option  (which has the important element of play and fun in it), compared to most other traditional forms of psychotherapy, it would be wonderful to have more Dramatherapists in Malaysia.

I would like to thank  the participants of the workshop for attending and for sharing their creativity, stories and insights.
 I would also  like to thank InPsych for organizing this workshop, particularly Low Yaw Dong and Soh Teng Kuann for assisting me during the workshop.