59-05-032 Proceeding

296 Proceedings of the Princess Maha Chakri Sirindhorn Congress CREATIVE ART PRACTICES IN MALAYSIA: PAST, PRESENT AND FUTURE MOVEMENT Azizah Abdullah Universiti Utara Malaysia Abstract : The prevalence of psychological distress related to family issues, interpersonal relationships, emotional crises, behavioural disorders, trauma experiences, victims of abuse, addiction and other issues associated with the social context are unacceptably high in Malaysia. Methods for preventing social problems from escalating in large numbers require appropriate psychological intervention. Successful interventions include the involvement of particular programmes and methods within community-based practices. The potential of community-level interventions is illustrated by offering creative processes that enable those in need to understand their personal meaning, gain unexpected insight and awareness, and re-structuring their lives. This paper will share creative art therapies inMalaysia in terms of the trainings developed and the practices implemented. Interestingly, by focusing on various creative practices that offer different paths to understanding and breaking the unspoken, the symbolisation of experiences facilitates unblocking of the resistance, expressing hidden emotions, stimulating spontaneity, and is also less threatening to foster one’s life. Recent developments and future planning will also be highlighted. Keywords : Creative art therapies, breaking the unspoken, expressing hidden emotions, symbolisation of experiences Introduction Historically, humans have experienced non-verbal images and symbols as allowing them to express themselves in more meaningful ways and at a deeper level than through verbal language (Gladding, 2010). Over time, changes have occured in mental health services and practices, particularly in the twenty-first century, including enthusiasm for introducing alternative methods to engage and communicate with clients in order to promote therapeutic change through a non-verbal approach. The use of the non-verbal realm or other creative interventions within psychotherapy, mental health services or for education provides a basic format for sharing personal feelings and experiences, as well as encouraging direction in promoting change and growth (Kozlowska & Hanney, 2001; Oster & Crone, 2004). In addition, creative interventions can decrease difficulties in expressing feelings verbally, this type of intervention may benefit the clients as a means of communication, breaking the unspoken, expressing hidden emotions, and aiding for the symbolisation of experiences. Creative interventions are not a new phenomenon, and emerged when Anna Freud used the play method with children, just as Sigmund Freud used free association with adults (Dorfman, 1951). Similarly, expressive arts therapy uses movement, dance, drawing, singing, weaving and other forms of creativity to encourage people to express, communicate and understand their