The Founder & The Therapist
Registered Art Therapist and Counsellor
This is Teoh Bee Tin, the founder of the Art Therapy Academy (ATA). I always prefer to be addressed as Bee because bees promote healthy and continuous life cycle through pollination and so do my job, which promote healthy and lasting lifestyle. As my job requires me to travel frequently, my home could be anywhere around the world, be it Malaysia, Australia, China or Europe. I hold 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. As a result of these qualifications, I am now a professionally recognized art therapist (ANZACATA) as well as a licensed counsellor and practitioner (Malaysia).
I was the first art therapist who obtained training from overseas and registered in Malaysia. I have been recognized and labelled as “the mother” of art therapy in Malaysia due to my dedication in promoting the art therapy in this country. Nevertheless, I prefer to be known as “the daughter” of art therapy in Malaysia instead because I have benefited from different mothers of art therapy around the world.
I have been nurtured by the process, and enriched by the vastness of the knowledge disseminated by those who had trained me. Before pursuing my post-graduate studies in the institute, I had obtained extensive trainings in different modalities, let alone my deep interests in exploring a wide variety of art therapy concepts, such as sandtray, movement, psychodrama, rebirthing, breath work, auro-soma, sound, and colours.
All these modalities and explorations provide me an extensive exposure and experience into looking at how they work for certain issues. As a result of such experiences, I have discovered the fact that expressive therapies could work well at all levels provided that the learner is willing to invest him/herself in the process. In addition to the above, I have deepened my immersion in art therapy and came to realize that any visual or fine art which is comprised of different colours and art materials, empower me to express my inner self more effectively.
This process is quiet, slow, and contemplative, which gives me the space to be with myself alone, and to create anything from nothing. The most important aspect of this inner self moment is the fact that there is no mistake in the art making process.
These art materials, in one way or another, is similar with the musical instruments used in an orchestra. When these art materials come hand in hand, they result in a music that is divine to our ears. A beautiful song is now lingering in my mind and reminding me my life’s objectives.
Through learning the culture and philosophies derived from the ancestors in eastern countries, such as Confucius, Laozi, Zhuangzi, Sun Tzi (The Art of War) and Buddhism, with a wide range of concepts, for example, karma, Samsara as well as Yoga, my understanding about human life has become better and more concretised. At the age 14, I had already started to learn and practice meditation – a training that contributed to my capability in conceptualizing client’s issues and formulating solutions for the same.
Throwing back to my early days, I had offered extensive services in the children’s camps and youth camps in Malaysia. These experiences enabled me to have a better understanding on different life issues. I constantly work towards my life goal, which is to contribute and add value to others’ lives, to whom I have met at any given time, in whichever aspects.
Studying psychology and counselling programs that were derived from the western countries has broadened my horizon about the contradicting belief systems, which further prompted my thinking from different perspectives. To communicate with clients more effectively, I started to read the Bible, Quran, Bhagavad Gita and Hinduism books. This exercise enhanced my understanding of the diversity of cultures and religions.
Through travelling around and having the experience of living in different western countries, I have strengthened my insights into life and improved my capabilities to help clients coming from distinctive backgrounds. One of the most inspiring moments was when I saw the “aha” expressions from my clients. Their eyes were filled with sparks, hopes and love when they figured that they have stumbled on a solution on their own. As demonstrated in these experiences, every person has an ability to overcome challenges in their life. If there is a will, there is a way!
No doubt, my previous exposures and experiences have greatly impacted my personal ability and competence in working with clients from all ages, cultures, lifestyles, and religions, in a wide spectrum of clinical as well as non-clinical issues.
I truly value the theoretical frameworks created by the scholars. They enabled me to understand clients’ issues better although at the end of the day, it is the person in front of me, the client, that counts. I need to be present for them, to see them as who they are, to listen to them, and then to probe with some thoughtful questions.
With the clarity and awareness, I able to show them, guide them, and get them to provide answers from within themselves so that they know where they are heading to.
Come and join me to have a splash of colour in your life, to add colours into your daily life, and to live a colourful and joyful life.
