Advancing Growth and Recognition of Arts Therapy: Lessons from Singapore with Dr. Christine Phang

How does arts therapy grow in a country? And what can the individual arts therapist do to contribute to this growth?

This webinar addresses these questions through the results of a doctoral study on arts therapy in Singapore. The findings of this study revealed how art therapy in Singapore functions through multiple levels of systems, ranging from the microsystem surrounding the individual to the chronosystem of time.

These systems shape the profession of art therapy and, consequently, the experience of the individual art therapist. At the same time, each art therapist has the ability to impact the systems surrounding them.

Attendees will be provided with an ecological systems framework that is culturally responsive and that can support them in understanding the functioning of art therapy in their country. This framework will also provide a structure for attendees to consider actionable ways to advance art therapy in their specific contexts.

LEARNING OBJECTIVES

Attendees will be able to:

• Recall the five nested environmental systems and explain how they relate to the development of art therapy.
• Identify at least three ways they can take action to advance the field of art therapy in their own geographical context.
• Name at least two benefits and two complexities of regulating art therapy on a governmental level.

PRESENTER BIO

Dr. Christine Phang (she/her) is a Singaporean artist and art therapist. She is a Registered Art Therapist with the Art Therapy Credentials Board in the United States. Dr. Phang completed her Doctor of Philosophy in Art Therapy and her Master's in Marriage and Family Therapy with a focus in Art Therapy at the Dominican University of California. She serves as an editor with the International Journal of Art Therapy and a peer reviewer for the Journal of the American Art Therapy Association.

When: Tuesday 25 August 2026
Time: 2.00pm–3.00pm AEST
12noon–1pm AWST/SGT/HKT
4.00pm–5.00pm NZST
Duration/CPD: 1hr
Where: Zoom
Cost: $20 (+GST for Aust. members)
Open to: All members
Recorded session: Yes

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