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This is Bee Tin Teoh, the founder of the Art Therapy Academy (ATA). She prefers to be addressed as Bee because bees promote healthy and continuous life cycles through pollination, which aligns with her job promoting healthy and lasting lifestyles. As a professional art therapist (ANZACATA) and licensed counsellor and practitioner (Malaysia), she holds a Master of Arts in Psychotherapy from La Trobe University (Victoria, Australia) and a Master of Science (Counselling and Career Guidance) from University Putra Malaysia. She has been trained extensively in various modalities, including sandtray, movement, psychodrama, rebirthing, breath work, auro-soma, sound, and colours, and have discovered that expressive therapies can work well at all levels, provided the learner invests in the process.
As the first art therapist to obtain overseas training and registration in Malaysia, She has been recognized as the “mother” of art therapy in Malaysia, but she prefer to be known as “the daughter” of art therapy because she has benefited from the teachings of art therapy mothers around the world. Her immersion in art therapy has deepened her understanding of human life through the culture and philosophies of eastern countries, such as Confucius, Laozi, Zhuangzi, Sun Tzi (The Art of War), Buddhism, and Yoga, which has improved her ability to conceptualize clients’ issues and formulate solutions.
Her experiences working in children’s and youth camps in Malaysia, combined with her studies in western psychology and counselling programs, have broadened her horizon about contradicting belief systems in cultural and religious diversity. Her extensive exposure to different backgrounds and nomadic lifestyles has strengthened her insights into life and improved my capabilities to help clients overcome a wide spectrum of clinical and non-clinical issues.
She values theoretical frameworks created by scholars, but recognize that every person is unique and requires individualized attention. As an art therapist and counsellor, her role is to be present for her clients, listen to them, and ask thoughtful questions to guide them towards finding their own solutions. She strives to add colour and joy to her clients’ lives and help them live their best lives.
