Creative Community Care: Creative Arts Therapy for Asian International Students.

👋Hello and welcome!

Have you ever felt like a song explained exactly how you're feeling?
Or, have you ever felt a wave of emotions when you saw a beautiful picture?

💡Creativity connects deeply with our emotions and plays a crucial role in supporting our mental health and wellbeing.

So, join Shapes and Sounds creative arts therapists to learn strategies to help you relax, focus and express your emotions alongside a supportive group.

Register your spot below!

💕 "Shapes and Sounds has given me the space to explore and embrace my cultural identity - something that's not easy to come by! I honestly feel this has had a huge impact on my mental health - it was a missing component that I couldn't find support for." - Steph

Creative Arts Therapy:

Creative arts therapy is an experiential form of psychotherapy that includes expressive modalities such as painting, sculpture, movement, music, as an immersive way of gaining knowledge and insight.

Creative processes can help you to explore and express feelings that may be hard to put to words and find new pathways towards healing.

Creative arts therapy works in conjunction with contemporary neurobiological research into trauma, which suggests that body based awareness effectively addresses emotional and physical anguish.

Your support team

Creative Arts Therapists are Master's level qualified mental health professionals who use the creative process (in all forms) to facilitate the exploration of feelings, improve self-awareness and reduce anxiety for clients.

The Shapes and Sounds team is here to support you!

Stef (she/they)

Registered Art Therapist

Stef was raised in Hong Kong and is a second-generation Australian-born Chinese living in Narrm. They are a multi-disciplinary artist and registered art therapist with experience working with a range of clients from ages 13 to 78 in acute and sub-acute mental health, family violence, and disability sectors.

Tanya (she/her)

Registered Music Therapist

Tanya is a first-generation Chinese-Indonesian Australian who spent her early childhood in the vibrant city of Jakarta, Indonesia, before moving to Australia during her teenage years. She is a Registered Music Therapist with diverse experience across mental health, disability, educational, and hospital settings.

Daleney (she/her)

Facilitator Support

Daleney is a second-year student studying Psychology at the University of Melbourne and is interested in pursuing a career in youth mental health. She is Malaysian-Chinese and moved to Australia in 2017. She loves crocheting, listening to music, and trying new food!

Are you an international student from Asia?

There’s so much stigma around mental health in Asian communities, that it can sometimes make it hard for us to seek help or care for ourselves.

But our mission at Shapes and Sounds is to destigmatise mental health conversations in Asian communities and we know that doing enjoyable activities like music and art, makes it easier for people to connect with their mental health.

We also know that living and studying in a new country can be really challenging! So these sessions are designed to help you not only connect with yourself, but with others who like music and art too.

In partnership with

The Details

🗓️: Thursdays during semester 2, 2024

⏰: 6.30pm - 8.00pm

📍: Latrobe University, City Campus. 360 Collins street, Melbourne

You must complete the registration form below to join each session!

Every session explained:

You can attend as many sessions as you like, just remember to complete a new registration form for each session.

Dear Future Me: Postcard creation workshop

🗓️ Thursday August 15th

Write or draw messages to your future self, sharing your dreams and goals to reflect on and stay motivated throughout the semester!

Calm in Your Pocket: DIY Self-soothing toolkit

🗓️ Thursday August 22nd

Make your own mini sensory toolkit with items to help you stay calm and relaxed anytime, anywhere.

Playlist Vibes: Create your soundtrack

🗓️ Thursday August 29th

Build a personalised playlist specifically designed to meet and manage your mood.

Art Beats: Design your personal music cover

🗓️ Thursday September 5th

Create your own playlist cover art that represents your unique musical and cultural identity.

Community Canvas: Paint and Connect

🗓️ Thursday September 12th

Join others to create a shared mural, express yourself, and build connections through art.

Lyric Magic: Co-create a group song

🗓️ Thursday September 19th

With everyone else, write a song that blends your ideas and creativity into a unique musical piece.

Badge it Up: Badge making with a twist

🗓️ Thursday September 26th

Create an inspiring message or design and wear it proudly!

Chill Beats: Relax and refresh with music

🗓️ Thursday October 3rd

Connect with the unique power of music to help you rest and relax before exams.

Important information.

☝️Mental health is no joke.

To make sure that you're safe, and others are safe, we've outlined all our terms, rules and guidelines that you need to agree to.

Make sure you've read this document as you'll be asked to agree to be able to participate.