Welcome! I’m a registered expressive arts therapist with the Ontario Expressive Arts Therapy Association and community facilitator pursuing my PhD in the Cultural Studies Interdisciplinary Graduate Program at Queen’s University, Kingston, Canada.
Therapeutic work
I integrate expressive arts therapy into earth-based practices to support people navigating the social and environmental crises/collapse of our time and building resilience for social change.
Healing the earth as we heal ourselves
Beginning my master studies in ecofeminist theology in 2005 has brought me to an inquiry into faith, ecological and personal healing. After completing professional development training in horticultural therapy, certificates in applied mindfulness meditation specialist and in permaculture design, I moved to an ecovillage education center in Shawnigan Lake, Canada for 5 years, where I co-facilitated the Ecovillage Design Education Curriculum, sustainable wellness retreat, the Way of Councils, and monthly women circle. I am a certified trainer with Gaia Education and the Work the Reconnects facilitator.
Decolonizing/healing identity
Self-identified as a settler of colour born and raised in British Hong Kong and based in Canada, I bring expressive arts therapy to decolonizing settler identity, coping with intergenerational racialized trauma, and reconnecting with familial/ancestral past. The work of deep-rooted systemic change has to go hand in hand with personal healing journey. The story of my self decolonizing healing journey can be found in this personal essay, and in my upcoming article in the Creative Arts in Education and Therapy journal.
Grief, lost, anxiety
My experience of losing my father in a car accident has brought me to trauma and grief work with orphans and earthquake survivors from 2008-2010. I now combine expressive arts therapy and the Work that Reconnects to facilitate space for grief and despair in group process. As someone who had lived with animal phobia for over 25 year, I’ve also written an online course for Highbrow on How to Heal Yourself from Phobia Step by Step (It’s free via Highbrow 30 days free membership).
Research
My current PhD research applies expressive arts therapy as a therapeutic inquiry method in community-based participatory research to construct knowledge collectively and create social empowerment with the people involved in the research process. The project examines the implication of personal and intergenerational/collective cultural healing on cross-cultural relationship building in the process of decolonization and social change. The study investigates the application of nature-based expressive arts therapy to navigate conflicts between individuals and groups in decolonial and anti-racist social movements. The purpose of the research is to propose social technologies for enhancing community healing and resilience, diverse cultural resource and collaborative capacity in neighbourhood and shared spaces
Research Interests
Expressive Arts Therapy, Community-based Participatory Research, Ecopsychology, Collective Trauma, Healing and Social Change, Indigenous-Settler Relationship, Permaculture, Ecotherapy, Arts-based Research Practice
Contact
For any kind of research queries and collaboration please e-mail her at gracelynn.lau@queensu.ca.
gracelynn lau decentering studio 