Ling Cheun Bianca Lee, in fulfilling the requirements for a PhD in Counselor Education & Supervision at Antioch University Seattle, has written and published a dissertation titled Start from Zero: Reimagining Creative Arts Therapy Education in an International Context.
Lee uses photovoice within a decolonial, liberatory, and trauma-informed framework—termed “stir fry praxis”—to examine how 11 Hong Kong–based art therapists adapt Western graduate training to local cultural, institutional, and sociopolitical realities. Through participant-generated images and narrative analysis, Lee maps seven interwoven themes: a precarious, evolving professional landscape; dual practitioner–educator roles; sociopolitical pressures, including self-censorship and limited access to care; constraints of Western-centric training models; grassroots innovation and cultural adaptation; spatial and material barriers (e.g., confidentiality risks and therapy-space scarcity); and field-level recommendations for inclusive, sustainable education. The study advances culturally responsive pedagogy and non-hierarchical supervision, arguing for global mental-health approaches that resist colonial power structures, center community knowledge, and enable localized, dignifying care.
Lee is an artist, advocate, Board-Certified Registered Art Therapist, and Licensed Professional Clinical Counselor/Mental Health Counselor. Lee previously served as president of the Hong Kong Association of Art Therapists (2017–2021) and currently serves on the boards of the Neutral Ground Collective and Mental Health Liberation.
Read and download Lee’s dissertation, Start from Zero: Reimagining Creative Arts Therapy Education in an International Context, here.
