By Angela Cruz
Marketing and Communications Director at ELG
Tingting Chen, the only Mandarin-speaking US-trained art therapist in China, has been named the first CAF & ELG Art Therapist in Residence
On May 21, ELG, an international therapy provider in Shanghai since 2006, and Chance Art Foundation (CAF), a non-profit art foundation in Shanghai since 2017, came together for the opening ceremony of their public welfare Art Therapy Project. They have appointed Tingting Chen, an art therapist, as the first Art Therapist in Residence.
The overarching purpose of the CAF-sponsored Art Therapy Project is to promote wellbeing through engaging the public in creative expression and communication through art, especially with children and families. Chen will execute projects in the community (local and digital) for the next 12 months.
The launch event, held at the Shanghai Museum of Glass, gave ELG and CAF an opportunity to celebrate the beginning of their new community service project. Monte Rosen, ELG founder and managing director, introduced ELG and its history, expressing his gratitude to CAF for allowing ELG to be a part of bringing more art therapy and art education to a wide range of families. Jenny Yang, CAF general secretary, thanked her team for their efforts in making this project a reality.
Chen MC’d the event, sharing her commitment to the project and her honor to be a part of it. “We want to establish a quality standard in China for art therapy and share it with the wider community,” she said. “Its impact on children and families has huge potential for mental healthcare.”
Zhang Lin, director of the Shanghai Museum of Glass, and Rosen did a handprint ceremony to cement the partnership.
In attendance were:
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Zhang Lin, Director of the Shanghai Museum of Glass
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Yu Xu, CAF Chairman
- Jenny Yang, CAF General Secretary
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Zhang Jie, CAF Board Member
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Monte Rosen, ELG Managing Director and Founder
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Fiona Douglas, ELG Executive Director
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Tingting Chen, ELG & CAF Art Therapist in Residence
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Yichun Wang, ELG Partnership Manager
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Alastair B. Douglas, ELG Strategy and Development Director
About Tingting Chen: Tingting provides art therapy and mental health counseling services. She is the only Mandarin-speaking US-registered art therapist practicing in mainland China. She has experience in the US and Hong Kong working with children, adolescents, and adults within a range of therapeutic areas, including art therapy, dialectical-behavioral therapy, cognitive-behavioral therapy, family therapy, and mindfulness. She provides interventions for autism and related disorders, depression, anxiety disorders, schizophrenia, trauma, and cross-cultural conflict. Her clinical experience working with culturally diverse individuals and families has given her a deep understanding of emotional disorders, the impact of family relationships on children’s development, and individuals’ capacity for resilience during times of change.
About ELG: ELG is an expansive child, family, and adult therapy service, and has been operating as a social enterprise in China since 2006. The multi-disciplinary team includes educational psychologists, behavior therapists, mental health counselors, learning support specialists, speech-language pathologists, occupational and physical therapists, social workers, and educators. They follow evidence-based international standards of practice to support families looking for answers.
About Chance Art Foundation: Chance Art Foundation is a non-profit art foundation established in 2017 in Shanghai. Through a variety of projects, such as art exhibitions, public education, and academic research, the Foundation is committed to promoting broad-spectrum development in the fields of contemporary art innovation, art education, and the public good, to realize the vision of enabling the arts to move into life.
