PEOPLE
SU MEI TAN, AThr
Founder
Lead Art Therapist, Family Art Therapist, Yoga Therapist 500+ RYT and Arts Based Supervisor
Bsc (Hons) Arch, BFA (Hons) Social Practice,
MA World Heritage, MA Art Therapy
With a passion for the creative arts and helping others, Su Mei started life in Malaysia and explored the world of architecture in Cardiff, U.K. which led to her co-founding a charity which brought building and design services to Uganda and Bolivia. She realised that she found deep purpose the time where she shared her passion of art with the local communities, particularly children. This led to a pursuit of a Masters in Art Therapy at La Trobe University, Melbourne and completed a Bachelors of Fine Arts Honours of Social Practice and Community Engagement at the Victorian College of the Arts (VCA), Melbourne University and currently deferred pursuing a Master in Clinical Family Therapy at the Bouverie Centre to focus on the private practice which she founded – Art Tearapy.
She has previously worked as a MST Psychiatric Family Therapist at MacKillop Family Services. She plans to use the knowledge of systemic work from Family Therapy to feed into her practice in art therapy to further benefit the clients she supports. She has had experience as an art therapist in the clinical setting at Northpark Private Hospital and the Royal Melbourne Hospital. She journeys with people who experience various forms of mental illness, intellectual, physical and various abilities. She is also a trained Yoga Alliance instructor who did her RYT 500 training at Brahmani Yoga, India and Yoga Therapy Training with the I AM Yoga, Amrit Yoga Institute. Currently she has a daily Vijnana Yoga practice. She has shared her love of yoga in many countries around the world. Her goal is to use the power of creativity to empower those in need to find tools to help themselves.
Chanudi Wickramasinha, AThr
Art Therapist
Visual Artist, Disability Support Professional
MA Art Therapy, BDes (Design)
PgDip Counselling and Psychosocial Support
Diploma of Community Services (Case Management)
Chanudi believes in the use of art and creativity in life enrichment and positive change of individuals & communities. She is an academically trained artist, and holds a Bachelor of Design degree specialising in fashion from University of Moratuwa and a Postgraduate Diploma in Counselling and Psychosocial Support from University of Colombo, in Sri Lanka. As a firm believer of reformative, rehabilitative, and therapeutic values of art, Chanudi is passionately involved in providing art psychotherapy and psychosocial support to a diverse clientele from cross-cultural backgrounds since pursuing her master’s in art therapy in 2012 from LASALLE College of the Arts in Singapore. As an art therapist and mental health professional Chanudi’s expertise spans across a wide array of clients and facilities.
Social activism being a lifelong passion of Chanudi’s, she has predominantly chosen to work with underprivileged minorities and marginalised populations in cross-cultural settings, thereby helping to elevate their quality of life promoting person-centred, strengths-based approaches in service delivery while adhering to her humanitarian perspective. As a mental health practitioner and researcher Chanudi’s experience includes art therapy, counselling and psychosocial interventions, case management, forensic rehabilitation, misuse of substances, neurodivergent children and adults, trauma, people living with HIV and terminal illnesses, and survivors of violence. Chanudi has presented and conducted training in experiential art and art therapy at various clinical, correctional, educational and rehabilitation settings in Sri Lanka, Singapore and Myanmar while collaborating with respective governmental bodies and many not-for-profit organisations. She also comes with extensive knowledge and experience working within the disability sector in Melbourne for the last 7 years and has recently completed a Diploma of Community Services Case Management.
MIEN TAN
Clinical Dance Movement Therapist & Movement Trainer
Somatic Integrative Coach & Facilitator
Bachelor of Science in International Politics,
Masters in Public Health in Population & Family Health,
Clinical Training in Dance Movement Therapy
Mien is a dance movement and creative arts therapist, movement educator, and community health practitioner, who did her clinical training with the International Dance Therapy Institute of Australia (IDTIA). Her journey to dance movement therapy happened after burn-out in the world of international development and public health, leading her to move to Buenos Aires to train in Argentine tango. She went on to study and teach functional mobility and dance techniques, to eventually arrive at dance movement therapy.
She facilitates creative movement & dance experiences for recovery and healing, by engaging the nonverbal, body and sensory awareness, and the active imagination. Her experience includes mental health recovery, aged care (dementia, Parkinson’s), self-esteem issues, life transitions, relationship rupture and repair, developmental challenges for children and teenagers, and reconnection to a sense of purpose, vitality and belonging.
She works mostly with individuals and communities coming from different places, cultures and identities, being a therapist of colour and of diverse identities, having lived in Asia, Europe, Latin America and the U.S., and speaking Chinese, Spanish and French. She is passionate about exploring the in-between spaces, where creativity, connection, healing and integration happen, as well as how creative arts therapies, embodied and cultural practices facilitate healing and wellbeing for individuals, communities and systems. Her approach is trauma-informed, compassionate and co-creative, and is influenced by IFS parts work, humanistic psychology, developmental and authentic movement methodologies.
Augustine Ang
Art Therapy Assistant
Disability Support Worker
BA Business Management (Tourism and Hospitality)
Augustine is currently completing a Masters of Therapeutic Arts at the MIECAT institute in Fitzroy, Melbourne. He works alongside the art therapists at Art Tearapy as a disability support worker. He is a collage artist, bookmaker, songwriter, and Zenthai Shiatsu practitioner. He has work experience in hospitality, customer service, English teaching, commercial cooking, and disability support. The common thread in all his occupations is a curiosity of human behaviour, and the nuances of the interactions between people. Augustine currently works elsewhere with neurodivergent clients who experience complex behaviours.
Augustine grew up in Melbourne with migrant parents from Malaysia and Singapore who have Chinese roots. He brings an eastern cultural lens coupled with the experience of growing up in a Western country. Augustine’s passion for bodywork and songwriting expresses his love of movement, touch, and sound. He is interested in how the engagement of these modes might support the therapeutic space. Augustine is committed to lovingly meet others, wherever they are on their journey, and to be alongside each other in the co-creation of our human potential.
Boundaries are the distance at which I can love you and me simultaneously
Prentis Hemphill