May 8, 2025

As we celebrate Asian American, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander (AAPI) Heritage Month, we invite you to a special virtual Continuing Education event on Tuesday, May 20, from 7 – 9pm ET. Designed for students and professionals alike, this session features a series of micro-presentations followed by a panel discussion that highlights how Asian cultural heritage can enrich art therapy practice, deepen cultural humility, and foster more inclusive care.

The presentation will blend both professional and student perspectives, offering insights from experienced professionals such as AATA Board Member Maria Kim, PhD, ATR-BC, LMFT, LMHC; Fredelyn Calla, LCPC, ATR-BC; Sunhee K. Kim, PhD, ATR-BC, ATCS, LCAT; and Ling Cheun Bianca Lee, PhD, ATR-BC, LMFT, LMHC. Their stories are complemented by graduate students Anna Seo, Yuqing Ren, Yidi Wang, and Rumi Chen, who will provide student perspectives.

Through sharing their personal stories, clinical experiences, and research, the presenters will explore how cultural identity shapes their own work in the field of art therapy, from research on ETC-based interventions with teens to community-based approaches developed in Hong Kong, to culturally informed self-care, and embodied Gestalt art-making rooted in Chinese heritage. The diverse experiences of the presenters will highlight the many ways cultural identity can shape therapeutic practice and emphasize the importance of integrating culturally responsive approaches into art therapy. Presenters will also share practical, applicable strategies that have influenced their clinical work. Attendees will leave with meaningful tools drawn from Asian cultural frameworks to enrich their own art therapy practices, both in the U.S. and in global contexts.

More specifically, participants can expect to leave the session with the ability to: 

• • Identify at least three ways Asian cultural heritage informs art therapy practices through shared narratives and professional experiences. 
  • Evaluate the impact of cultural identity on therapeutic approaches, self-care practices, and professional development. 
  • Develop actionable strategies for integrating culturally informed perspectives into their own art therapy practice. 

Designed for professionals, students, and anyone in the art therapy community interested in deepening their cultural understanding, this session will highlight how culturally responsive practices promote cultural humility, enrich therapeutic relationships, and support more inclusive and transformative care. Everyone is welcome to attend! 

What to Expect 

The session will start with 6 micro-presentations on a variety of topics featuring lessons learned from their research, clinical work, personal experiences and more.

• •  Fredelyn Calla, LCPC, ATR-BC, will challenge the notion in in Asian communities that self-care and resilience are opposing forces. Through an open discussion, Fredelyn will examine how practices like boundary-setting and prioritizing personal needs—often considered difficult within collectivist cultures—are essential to well-being and growth. 
  • Sunhee Kim, PhD, ATR-BC, ATCS, LCAT, will use stories from her own life and clinical work as well as findings from her research on brain activity during art-making and the use of ETC-based interventions with teens, to highlight how culturally sensitive, bilingual, and client-centered art therapy can foster deeper connection and transformation.
  • Bianca Lee, LMHC, LCPC, ATR-BC, will explore community-based art therapy approaches developed in Hong Kong, emphasizing how sociopolitical histories and Asian cultural narratives can expand healing from the individual to the collective. She’ll share examples of group and public art projects that promote accessible, culturally rooted care.
  • Anna Seo (School of the Art Institute of Chicago) will discuss how Asian identity influences both the challenges and strengths clinicians bring into therapeutic spaces. Her presentation emphasizes the importance of embracing cultural differences to create more inclusive and responsive art therapy practice.
  • Yuqing Ren (School of the Art Institute of Chicago) will examine how her Chinese heritage and Gestalt art therapy intersect through mindful, embodied art-making. She will highlight how silence, symbolism, and values like family and harmony can deepen emotional expression and therapeutic connection.
  • Yidi Wang and Rumi Chen (Hofstra University) will share how cultural heritage, migration, and personal experience shape their evolving approaches to self-care. Drawing from Taiwanese and Chinese healing traditions, they will reflect on how cultural practices inform their growth as art therapy students.

Following the micro-presentations, Maria Kim, PhD, ATR-BC, LMFT, LMHC, will moderate a panel discussion tying together the diverse perspectives of all presenters. Together, they’ll explore questions such as:

• • How does cultural identity as an Asian influence your approach to art therapy? 

• • What unique strengths do Asian art therapists bring to the profession, self-care, and/or professional development?  

• • How can we honor our heritage while advocating for cultural competency, and what are actionable strategies for integrating it into art therapy practice? 

About the Presenters

Dr. Maria Kim, ATR-BC, LMFT, LMHC, is Program Director of Creative Arts Therapy at Antioch University and serves on the AATA Board. Born and raised in Korea, she brings over 22 years of experience bridging clinical practice in the US, cultural identity, and creative expression. Her work centers on inclusive, trauma-informed, community-based art programs as preventative care. She continues to make bridges between the US, Korea, and China by providing community based art programs. She is a former president of Illinois Art Therapy Association and currently serves as a reviewer for The Arts in Psychotherapy. She is an AAMFT Approved Supervisor-in Process. 

Fredelyn Calla, LCPC, ATR-BC, is a board-certified art therapist and has been in the field almost 20 years. She is a Licensed Clinical Professional Counselor in Illinois and a Licensed Professional Counselor in Wisconsin. She is the owner of Kapwa Art Therapy and Counseling, PLLC, based in Chicago, IL. She provides individual therapy to AAPI-identified adults and art therapy supervision to students and new graduates. Also, she teaches art therapy classes to undergraduates at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago and Benedictine University.  

Dr. Sunhee Kim, PhD, ATR-BC, ATCS, LCAT, is a professor of art therapy at Seoul Women’s University in Korea, where she has been teaching graduate students for over a decade. She previously worked in New York City for 12 years following her completion of the art therapy program at New York University. Dr. Kim earned her PhD in Expressive Therapies from Lesley University in 2010. Her scholarly work has been presented internationally and published in journals such as The Arts in Psychotherapy and The Journal of Creativity in Mental Health. She currently serves on the editorial boards of The Arts in Psychotherapy and the Korean Journal of Art Therapy. 

Ling Cheun Bianca Lee,李靈津, LMHC, LCPC, ATR-BC, (they/she/佢) is an artist, advocate, Board-Certified Registered Art Therapist, and Licensed Professional Clinical Counselor, Licensed Mental Health Counselor. They are a doctoral candidate in Counselor Education and Supervision and a private practitioner in Hong Kong and the United States. Bianca is a teaching faculty at Antioch University Seattle. They were the former president of the Hong Kong Association of Art Therapists (2017-2021) and board members of nonprofit organizations such as the Neutral Ground Collective and Mental Health Liberation. 

Anna Seo is an Asian art therapist, artist, and researcher graduating from the Art Therapy and Counseling program at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago. Her work explores trauma, loss, and mourning, with a focus on symbolic expression as a pathway to healing. She is passionate about creating spaces where personal stories and cultural memories can be shared and expressed through art. 

Yuqing Ren ( 任 宇 清 ) is an emerging art therapist from mainland China, set to graduate in May 2025 with a Master’s degree in Art Therapy and Counseling from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago. Her therapeutic approach is grounded in Gestalt art therapy, emphasizing self-awareness, holistic integration, and creative presence. Yuqing integrates East Asian art techniques and philosophies—such as calligraphy, ink painting, and philosophies of balance and flow—into her practice, offering clients a culturally grounded and mindful art-making experience. She is passionate about using art therapy as a bridge between personal healing and community connection, having worked with children with autism and ADHD, as well as older adults navigating memory loss, verbal impairment and isolation. Passionate about the intersection of art and healing, Yuqing envisions creating spaces where art therapists and artists can collaborate, share, and engage the public through creative practice. 

Yidi Wang is a first-year Creative Arts Therapy Counseling student at Hofstra University and a service member in the U.S. Army. Her experiences working with veterans and patients in psychiatric units have motivated her to explore how art therapy supports transitions and personal growth.  Immigrating to the U.S. in her twenties, Yidi has developed a deep understanding of both Chinese and American cultures, as well as the challenges of the acculturation process within Asian communities. 

Rumi Chen is a Taiwanese student who came to the States last fall and now majors in Creative Arts Therapy Counseling for a master ‘s degree at Hofstra University. Being in the field of art and design in my college and past work experiences, she is dedicating her skills to art therapy, hoping to help more people within the profession in the future.