School
of Creative
Industries

Natalie Kang

Natalie Kang

MA Art Therapy
2018 — 2020

Natalie Kang's personal art practice involves spontaneous experimentation with a variety of media and materials and is often a reflection of her inner world, process of self-discovery, the clients she meets and the stories shared. As part of her MA Art Therapy training, Natalie worked with children living with trauma, special needs and their caregivers, as well as within a residential home setting with female adolescents and their family. She also had the opportunity to co-develop and facilitate museum-based art workshops. Beyond that, she founded a volunteering group, Art Psyched, that engages in arts-based activities with patients and clients at the Institute of Mental Health. Natalie is a recipient of the LASALLE Postgraduate Scholarship for MA Studies and The Red Pencil Scholarship.

Work

The Permanence of Impermanence

Mixed media
1 x 1 m
2020

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Thesis abstract

A qualitative art psychotherapy inquiry with juvenile females mandated for residential treatment: a three-phase process

In addition to the complex developmental tasks of the adolescent, female juveniles mandated for treatment within residential homes often face the additional challenge of coping with past or present traumatic events. While current literature expounding on the use of art therapy with adolescents and trauma posit its potential benefits, there exist limited research on the therapeutic implications of art psychotherapy with these female juveniles within the local context. As such, a practitioner-based, qualitative multiple-case vignette approach was adopted to explore the therapeutic implications of individual art psychotherapy with four female juveniles within the residential home. Ethical considerations were made throughout the process of the study. Results show a three-phase process: In Phase 1, a sense of agency, esteem and autonomy within the art therapy space needs to first be established before the clients can progress to Phase 2, where they fully utilise the therapy sessions to (a) support emotional regulation and coping, (b) repair relationships and attachment, and (c) facilitate self-expression and awareness. These processes then allow clients to enter into Phase 3, where they begin developing a sense of self and identity. Clinical implications and areas for future research will be discussed.

Work experience

2020 – Present 
MySpace Psychotherapy Services
Art psychotherapist

2020 – Present 
Art for Good 
Art Therapist 
Provide home-based art therapy for children living with rare disorders and their siblings.

2019 – 2020
Residential Girl's Home
Art therapist trainee
Provided individual art psychotherapy, open art therapy studios and workshops for adolescent females aged 10–19 years residing within the home for either protective or delinquency reasons.

2019
THK EIPIC Centre
Art therapist trainee
Provided individual, group as well as parent-child art therapy sessions for children living with developmental delays and disabilities.

2019
National Museum of Singapore
Art therapist trainee
Collaborated with community artists/ art therapists to plan and co-facilitate museum-based art programmes with various groups of community-dwelling seniors and volunteer participants.

2017 – 2018
Nanyang Technological University, School of Social Sciences (Psychology Division)
Project officer
Co-developed ARTISAN, a five-week art-based programme aimed at fostering aspiration, resilience and nationhood through understanding our social heritage, intergenerational storytelling and art-making between seniors and youths in collaboration with the National Museum of Singapore and TOUCH Community Services. Facilitated bilingual (English/ Mandarin) sharing sessions and co-facilitated museum tours and art-making sessions alongside the museum docents, artists and art therapists.