East/West Nature of ANZACATA: A Perspective on the Significance of International Connections while Asserting Southeast Asian Relevance and Context in Practice and in Postgraduate Art Therapy Training

Abstract

Creative Arts Educ Ther (2018) 4(2):87–96 DOI: 10.15212/CAET/2018/4/12 East/West Nature of ANZACATA: A Perspective on the Significance of International Connections while Asserting Southeast Asian Relevance and Context in Practice and in Postgraduate Art Therapy Training Abstract The Australian, New Zealand and Asian Creative Arts Therapies Association (ANZACATA) is uniquely positioned, geographically and philosophically, in terms of art therapy practice, training, and the ongoing development of this discipline in the Asia Pacific region. Acknowledgement of, respective for, and an embracing of culture, cultural traditions, and practices that are culturally relevant are some of the fundamentals at the core of this art therapy membership organization. A critical and multipronged relationship has been established among ANZACATA, Singapore, and the MA Art therapy training program at LASALLE College of the Arts, Singapore. This article presents a perspective on the development of art therapy in Southeast Asia with consideration to the significance of East/West influences, relations, and training. The aim is to provide a reflective account of the unique East/West nature and role of ANZACATA and on art therapy in Singapore through my role as program leader of the first and only postgraduate psychodynamic art psychotherapy training in Southeast Asia. This perspective is further informed through substantial experience as a credentialed art therapist bridging Eastern and Western countries, cultures, clinical practices, and professional art(s) therapy organizations. This article was written and articulated through an expatriate’s informed lens of being immersed in the local culture over an extended period. The discourse highlights the significance of international connections while asserting Southeast Asian relevance and context as the discipline of art therapy matures in this region.