In 2004, when I was living in Singapore with my family, I was working as a credentialed art therapist from Raffles Hospital when a devastating earthquake and tsunami struck the west coast of Aceh in Indonesia.

In the days that would come, I was among those who had the chance to care for and support the children and families who had been through the disaster under the provision of humanitarian aid by Singapore to Aceh.

It was there where I would witness how much of a unique and indispensable nonverbal therapeutic approach creative arts therapy is; to be able to bring relief and release when words can’t convey the unspeakable of what someone has been through. I saw for myself how the spontaneous gesture of letting go of emotions and thoughts on paper or through the available media allowed people to be released from past difficult situations, and to move on in a healthier, happier way.

The success of those therapeutic sessions with vulnerable families gave me and my husband Alain the wish to give back to society in Singapore first and to build an Institution of Public Character which would attend to those who could not afford arts therapeutic interventions. Soon after, we decided to extend our efforts outside of the borders of Singapore towards international outreach to attend to survivors of natural disasters, war conflicts and migrations due to displacements.

As a charity and an institution of public character, The Red Pencil (Singapore) is reaching out to the psychologically vulnerable who do not otherwise have the means to pay for art therapy services.

When The Red Pencil was just founded, we were mainly addressing the needs of children, but requests started to come in from teenagers, adults, families and communities – from all ages and races. Today, The Red Pencil (Singapore) is proud to have done amazing work with schools, hospitals, foster & elderly homes, prisons, family service centers and shelters, and it continues to extend its services to all who need it.

Mental health remains a local and global priority. When traumatic experiences are beyond words, a vulnerable person could be left aside for not being able to verbalize what happened and the emotions emoted from difficult experiences.

Creative arts therapies and The Red Pencil (Singapore) fill a gap of addressing the most delicate situations where a nonverbal approach is essential before releasing the words which will accompany the creations on the recovery process. Besides, arts therapy is particularly suitable in an Asian community where metaphoric and symbolic messages conveyed in an indirect and visual way are privileged over verbal communication.

Living in a developed country is a privilege we do not decide, but a gift at birth. And it provides so many opportunities for learning and for growth.

Attending to everyone, no matter the culture, race or religious belief, was prevalent to me when founding The Red Pencil (Singapore), coupled with feeling compassionate for those who face unspeakable experiences and hoping The Red Pencil (Singapore) could humbly bring relief and hope.

An arts therapist is the midwife of the story and the soul of those we take into our care. Lives have been transformed thanks to creative arts therapy, and true and real concrete progresses individually and in groups are the only evidence-based parameters that will steadily change our lives and our communities for the better.

Now, over a decade later, I believe our biggest success is the testimony of those who have entrusted their well-being and recovery into the hands of the creative arts therapists and of The Red Pencil (Singapore). It is my conviction and vision for the future that our human sense of solidarity should invite us to reach out to and empower those who need to regain confidence — to rebuild their lives through the creative insight derived from the process, and power, of creative arts.

Watch the TED talk here!