About 225 Malaysian youths will be given 64 free art therapy sessions funded by a grant from Lady Gaga’s Born This Way Foundation and its partner, the Cotton On Foundation.

The 2024 Kindness in Community Fund grant beneficiary, Nyawa, is a youth-led and -run non-profit organisation with a clinically informed art therapy studio in Kuala Lumpur.

“The sessions are designed to help participants explore their emotions, thoughts, and behaviours using various artistic mediums. These include self-portraiture as a path to self-acceptance, clay-making for exploring the inner self, and mindful breathing through art.

“All the sessions are led by licensed mental health professionals, who are trained in both art-making and clinical psychology. This ensures that clients get proper therapeutic care,” Nyawa said in a statement.

About half of the art therapy session recipients will be youths from marginalised communities, including those from the Orang Asli, B40 and migrant groups.

Free psychological sessions, including mental health screenings and personality assessments, will also be offered in partnership with Help University through trainee clinical psychologists.

Internal dialogue

According to one of the programme’s therapists, Esther Song, the process of making art cultivates self-awareness and mindfulness, while regulating stress.

“Art therapy invites individuals to express emotions and thoughts that may be difficult to put into words.

“The art-making process allows individuals to engage in an internal dialogue that taps into their subconscious mind, revealing insights that are personal to their challenges without requiring verbal articulation and feedback,” she told Malaysiakini.

This differs from the conventional form of talk therapy as it relies less on verbal expressions, she explained.

She said the process allows individuals to arrive at deeply personal insights and experience healing through the use of symbols, colours, and forms within their artworks.

“This is not to say that art therapy is better than talk therapy, as talk therapy remains a powerful and relevant approach.

“Instead, art therapy is a great complementary practice, providing an alternative approach to help individuals access and process deeper layers of experience, especially for those who struggle to verbalise emotions or encounter verbal blocks,” she added.

Pre-existing skill not needed

Another therapist in the programme, Sanghamitra Gupta, explained that art therapy incorporates various psychotherapeutic techniques.

“Not only does art therapy help in expressing repressed emotions and memories, it has also been found to have neuropsychological benefits for cognitive functioning and motor skills,” she said.

This approach has been particularly promising for certain individuals, such as children or trauma victims, she added.

But she clarified that anybody can be a suitable candidate for the experience as it does not require pre-existing talent or skill for art.

The next round of free sessions will be open for booking in January 2025.

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