School of Creative
Industries
Eunice Wong Shi Ling
Eunice works with children and adolescents facing diverse issues, including those affected by abuse, neglect, poverty, displacement and crisis. She has worked on both a professional and voluntary basis, locally and regionally, for 10 years.
Eunice graduated with a Bachelor in Psychology (Hons) in 2016 and worked as a case worker at a residential home for children and adolescents with child protection concerns. She discovered her passion for working in the field of trauma, during her training and practice in trauma-informed care at the residential home, which has influenced her clinical practice of trauma-informed art therapy. Eunice is privileged to continue serving her population of interest at a Child Protection Specialist Centre during her second clinical placement.
By pursuing her MA Art Therapy, Eunice seeks to provide her clients with different means of expression and experiences through art in the therapeutic relationship.
Work
Ichthys
Linocut print
150 x TBC cm
2022
Ichthys uses a printmaking technique to create a print of a school of fish. It is a metaphorical exploration of fish schooling to establish safety, and a reflection of the artist’s evolving understanding and experience as an art therapist trainee in her clinical placement working with children and youth who have experienced trauma. Ichthys is a product of the artist’s search for safety and a vision of how safety is provided in the therapy room in the midst of the chaos and loss the children have experienced through trauma. Viewed through a tinted blue glass, Ichthys hopes to offer the viewer a sense of stillness, safety and containment.
Thesis abstract
Safety through the polyvagal lens: A qualitative single-case study on the role of art therapy in supporting a child with complex trauma
The increasing societal trend of child abuse and neglect cases resulting in complex trauma raises concerns about the negative impact and long-term effects that complex trauma can have on an individual. Polyvagal theory informs us how children who have experienced complex trauma are in a constant state of fear and mobilisation due to their neuroceptive misalignment. This sets the groundwork for this study, which positions safety as the core of trauma intervention. A qualitative practitioner-based single case study of a 10-year-old child with complex trauma is illustrated in this paper to show the ways that safety can be established in therapy and how therapy can support a child who has experienced complex trauma. The findings demonstrate how this particular client was supported through art therapy, and indicates that safety can be provided through the physical environment, art-making processes and the therapeutic relationship. The information from the findings contributes to the growing of art therapy resources to strive for better practices and efficacy.