MHAW’21 Guest Talk: “#MYHEARTSPACE #MYHEARTSPEAKS” by Ms Ng Sook Wai

by David Chan and Ulrico Orlando

In preparation for today’s session, we are asked to take some art materials from school. The session then starts with a brief introduction of Sook Wai, who is a child protection worker, Principal Counselor and a play therapist in a Child Protection Specialist Centre. The main focus of this session is making art using our imagination to represent our own worlds. We were encouraged to let ourselves be as creative as possible by expressing ourselves using the materials provided or our own materials. After spending about 25 minutes doodling, colouring, cutting, and pasting, each participant would then have symbolised their emotions, frustrations and added a safe space for their minds to rest and recharge through their artwork.

The next part is to journal and give it a name and to write it using our favourite writing material. The speaker then asked some reflective questions relating to the piece of art we just made for us to think about and answer for ourselves. Questions such as ‘What feelings or thoughts did you remember while creating this piece?’ or ‘Who would you share this with?’ allows our mind to focus on our present self instead of worrying too much about the future or our pasts. Finally, she reminds us to practice artmaking and journaling at our own time so that our body experiences the sensation of being in a ‘chilled, cheery state’. We could then better connect us to ourselves and better appreciate our own capacity in life.

She ended the session by sharing some ways to practice self-compassion daily. The first is to ask ourselves ‘What movement is my body craving right now?’ and by answering it, we would develop a greater compassion with our own bodies. When things are getting harder, we could put our hand on our heart and tell ourselves that this hurts. By focusing on the heat released from our hands, we could feel some warmth which could help us get through the difficulties we face.