School of Creative
Industries
Lim Yi Jern
Yi Jern’s passion for art and helping others pushed her to earn her Bachelor of Psychology (Hons) and subsequently pursue a Masters in Art Therapy at LASALLE College of the Arts. Having dedicated herself to working with children and adolescents facing learning and/or physical challenges at a non-governmental organisation in Malaysia, Yi Jern extended her focus during her clinical placement to provide individual and group art therapy for people of all ages.
Outside of work, Yi Jern explores her emotions, thoughts and experiences using mediums such as acrylic paints, watercolour, crochet and sculpting.
Work
Tales from Lives
Mixed media
50 x 33 x 34 cm
2024
Everyone has their own story to tell. We encounter many stories from others as we move through life. Sometimes, they interweave with ours and we carry them forward on our own life journey.
This hand-bound book represents the different life stories that have crossed the artist's path in life. Not every story sees the light of day. Some may be forgotten or intentionally kept hidden, while some are proudly highlighted. Nevertheless, each and every story claims a space in this book, seen and held by the artist. What about you? What stories do you hold?
Thesis abstract
Holding through liminality: Brief art therapy for children and young persons with experiences of abuse and neglect
This qualitative practitioner-based case study examined the elements that contributed towards a ‘good enough’ therapeutic holding space in a local acute hospital to support children and young persons (CYP) with special needs who were allegedly abused/neglected. This study viewed their home removal and hospitalisation as a liminal experience. Brief art therapy in the hospital served to provide an alternative liminal experience where the CYPs were given the opportunity to be seen, held and contained by the art therapist and their artwork.
Findings suggest that starting and ending rituals, the therapist’s ability to attune and respond, and the art process and materials play crucial roles in building a good enough therapeutic holding space within the liminal hospital environment. Both CYPs in this study demonstrated increasing levels of independence and growth in their emotional expression, communication and ways of relating as the sessions progressed, indicating a good enough therapeutic holding space.