The Committee & Honorary Positions

Ronald P. M. H. Lay, MA, AThS-HF, AThR, ATR-BC

Programme Leader, MA Art Therapy
School of Creative Industries, Faculty of Fine Arts, Media and Creative Industries
LASALLE, University of the Arts Singapore

Ronald is the Programme Leader of the MA Art Therapy programme at LASALLE College of the Arts in Singapore. This is the first postgraduate training of its kind in Southeast Asia, asserting its strategic positioning in progressing the discipline in ways that are culturally relevant in Asian and global contexts.

Ronald has an extensive practice-based career in forensic mental health, older adults, community and has varied research interests that have led to national, regional and international consultation, development, training, collaborative arts projects, and leadership. He has designed, facilitated and supervised multiple arts, culture and mental health collaborative overseas experiential trips for his students. With Daniel Wong, he is co-editor of Found Objects in Art Therapy: Materials and Process (2021); he has additionally written extensively in the areas of forensic mental health, as well as the development of art therapy practice and education in Southeast Asia. He is an award-winning multimedia artist; his artwork tends to be constructive and conceptual. He is engaged in research on postgraduate art therapy training, experiential learning, and culturally informed practice.

Eliza Han, MA, AThR, AThS, MEd., PGDE

Registered art therapist with ANZACATA (Australian, New Zealand and Asian Creative Arts Therapies Association)
Certificate in Trauma-Informed Expressive Arts Therapy
Currently pursuing Arts-Based Supervision Skills Training

Eliza is an educator, former school leader, therapeutic art life coach, trainer and art therapist who has worked with children, adolescents and adults in various institutions. She has co-founded The Heart Therapy Space and she takes an inclusive, trauma-informed, and client-focused approach to her therapy practice.

Eliza’s credentials include Masters in Education and Masters in Art Therapy. She has successfully worked with children and adolescents diagnosed with autism, attention deficit disorders and selective mutism through therapeutic artmaking and she currently supports at-risk children and children with social-emotional needs in local primary schools through art therapy. She also works with adolescents and adults on themes of personal growth, communication, relationship, teambuilding and self-care.

Mahyuddin Chan, MA, AThS, BFA (Hon)

Mahyuddin is a practising art therapist and an interactive installation artist who has exhibited regionally. He uses a variety of art mediums and has incorporated art and technology into his practice which expands the art-making from the working table into the space around his clients.

Prior to his art therapy practice, he has facilitated play with children, conducted S.T.E.A.M classes in primary, secondary and tertiary-level schools and volunteered with different charity organisations that work with underserved communities and children with special needs.

As an art therapist, he has worked with youth, children and children with special needs. Currently, he is focused on working with seniors at active ageing centres around Singapore.

Jun Lee, J S, MA, AThS, RSW

Registered Art Therapist
Registered Social Worker

Jun is a creative and experienced art therapist and art facilitator with a great passion for using the arts to brighten the lives of people. She has worked with clients from social services, homes, hospitals, schools and private settings. Since she graduated from masters in art therapy in 2010, she has helped many from all walks of life to appreciate and enjoy the benefits of art making. Those who benefitted include seniors, stroke survivors and persons with special needs or disabilities. She has also conducted Art Therapy workshops at different institutes, including LASALLE College of the Arts, and ran corporate therapeutic art workshops.

Alex C.Koen, MA, AThR, AThS, SWC, BA Psy. (Hon), BA Psy. Soc.

Certificate in Counselling
Advance Certificate in Gestalt Play Therapy.
Registered art therapist ANZACATA (Australian, New Zealand and Asian Creative Arts Therapies Association)
Specialist Wellness Counsellor ASCHP (Association for Supportive Counsellors and Holistic Practitioners)

Alex has been supporting clients since 2014. Working in public health, hospital, community, school and private practice. Trained as a counsellor in South Africa and Singapore, he works with clients, struggling with anxiety, burnout, stress, sleep challenges, and substance misuse.

Alex provided affirming services to the LGBTQIA+ community, and the neurodivergent community. He often draws on his systemic and attachment informed training providing parental support in addition to the services for his clients.

Alex also has a special interest in running groups for both social skills training and art therapy process groups. He makes use of a range of models when working with clients, including ACT, CBT, Art Therapy, Narrative Therapy, Imago Relationship Therapy, Transactional Analysis, Sandplay Therapy and Wellness Counselling.

A proud South African and Singaporean resident, Alex holds family, friends, culture, and diversity as core values, believing that authenticity and a dash of humour goes a long way.

Dr. Daphna Arbell Kehila, RAET, AThS

PhD in Adult Education
Master of Arts (MA) in Expressive Therapies
Masters in Space Design
Masters in Theatre Arts
Certified Yoga Therapy practitioner

Daphna has over 20 years of experience as an Expressive Arts Therapist, cultivating inner strength and wellbeing through creative arts. Based on a client-based approach, Daphna creates, develops and conducts programs and workshops for various populations in Singapore and globally.

Living and working in Asia Pacific region for more than three decades Daphna has a deep understanding of multicultural experiences. She is owner and director at West East Pte. Ltd, where she practices Expressive Arts Therapy and Yoga Therapy. Currently Daphna focuses on mentoring caregivers and young therapists, providing supervision for individuals and capacity building programs for organisations.

Daphna has experience in conducting research for various institutions and organisations including the National Institution of Education (NIE), James Cook University, The Humanitarian Organisation for Migration Economics (HOME), Active Global, and The Red Pencil. Her work has been published in various professional journals.

Dian Handayani, MSc (Med), MA, AThR, AThS, ABS, SEP

Registered art therapist and approved supervisor with ANZACATA (Australian, New Zealand and Asian Creative Arts Therapies Association)
Certified Sexologist with the American Board of Sexology
Psychosexual therapy and counselling from the University of Sydney
Somatic Experiencing Practitioner

Dian is the founder and director of Nambani. She is a sex therapist and credentialed art therapist with 12 years of clinical experience. Her practice draws on multiple therapeutic approaches, including psychodynamic and depth (Jungian) psychology, solution-focused therapy, coaching and gestalt play therapy techniques, and she is a trauma-informed practitioner. Before founding Nambani, Dian worked as a Senior Art Therapist at Singapore General Hospital for 11 years, supporting individuals and groups with eating disorders, trauma, depression, anxiety, and other mental health and medical conditions to cope with their challenges. Her current work focuses on sexual issues such as low libido and long-term relationship issues, body image/self-esteem, life transitions, stress and burnout. She provides an inclusive, nurturing space for adults of all genders, orientations and identities.

Yap Zi Wei, MA, AThR, AThS

Zi Wei has worked over ten years in public service, and she is passionate about transforming Singapore’s social service sector. She holds a Masters of Arts, Art Therapy (with Distinction) from LASALLE College of the Arts, and was awarded the LASALLE Scholarship for the MA studies. At present, Zi Wei manages a child protection intervention team, where she incorporates art therapy tools and theories in her case work and supervision. She has an interest in grief and loss, trauma and post-traumatic growth, the stories we tell of ourselves, and undercurrents of the unconscious psyche.

As a neurodivergent art therapist, Zi Wei strongly believes in advocating for therapies that can help clients belong and thrive, not just behave and survive. She works with people from all walks of life to explore meaning, belonging, and connection through their creative expressions. She sees patterns in many things, magic in the commonplace, and the humanity of every person. Through whimsical re-imaginings of what life offers up, Zi Wei hopes to help others find comfort in difficult moments, discover wonder in the everyday, and make peace with their authentic selves.

Buvenasvari Pragasam, MA, AThS, BA Psy

Trained Art-based clinical supervisor

Buvenasvari is the founder and managing director of Solace Art Psychotherapy. With experience in both the private and government sectors, she began offering trauma-informed art psychotherapy services to youths and adults with complex trauma in 2017.

A firm believer in the healing power of addressing and processing difficult past experiences, Buvenasvari helps clients rediscover their healthy inner selves—a crucial step toward leading a fulfilling life. The progress her clients make after each session continually reinforces her belief in this approach.

In 2023, she authored an art therapy resource book, Increase Self-Awareness: A 30-Day Practice, which was self-published by Solace Art Psychotherapy. Inspired by her personal journey, the book is designed to guide both youth and adults in independent self-discovery.

Currently, Buvenasvari is actively seeking opportunities to present at conferences, where she aims to share and publish findings from her work with clients affected by complex trauma.

Lin Xiangting Bernice, MA, AThR, AThS

Registered art therapist ANZACATA (Australian, New Zealand and Asian Creative Arts Therapies Association)

Bernice is an art therapist with keen interests in interdisciplinary research and practice. She is motivated to develop and implement creative, arts-based interventions to support psychological recovery or wellbeing across the lifespan. Her therapy practice includes individual and group art therapy with children and older adults in community and residential care settings. In addition, she actively engages in research and inquiry involving mediated communication, where visual and media arts play a central role. Her academic work has been published in arts, communication, and mental health professional journals. Bernice espouses that creative expression is innately human and essential for sustaining psychosocial wellbeing in everyday life.

Yap Rae Yi, MA, AThS, BPsych (Hons)

Rae Yi holds a Masters of Arts, Art Therapy (with Distinction) from LASALLE College of the Arts. She has been supporting the social service sector since 2014 and has had the privilege of providing art therapy to a range of clients since 2021, including adults with disabilities, caregivers, and families who have experienced physical and psychological trauma.

Rae Yi is deeply committed to supporting marginalized communities and spends her time volunteering and providing therapeutic services to LGBTQIA+ community groups in Singapore. As a creative practice and a way to advocate for accessible artmaking, Rae Yi experiments with low to no-cost materials to create art and art materials.