Not all emotions are easy to put into words.
With this is mind, registered counsellor K. Aahrthi recommends therapeutic art as a medium for expressing pent-up emotions.
She advocates a meditative Japanese art form to help people express their feelings, particularly senior citizens and low-income communities.
Pastel Nagomi Art, also known as the “Art of Hope”, is a tactile art form that requires no advanced drawing skills.
Instead, soft chalk-based pastels are grated into fine powder and applied directly to paper using fingers, cotton pads or sponges.
The focus is on the calming, stress-relieving creative process rather than artistic perfection.
“In Malaysia, therapy and counselling are still perceived as intimidating by some.
“So, I use this space to allow them to express their emotions in a relaxed manner.
“It helps them reflect and understand themselves better, while creating an avenue for them to become more comfortable sharing their feelings during counselling,” she told Bernama in Kuala Lumpur.
Aahrthi, 27, who is also a certified Pastel Nagomi Art instructor, was introduced to t he art form while attending a workshop.
“Initially, I thought this method would only benefit my counselling clients, but I later saw that bringing it into the community could benefit many more people.
“At first, participants were hesitant, saying they could not draw, but by the end of the session, they realised they were capable of creating artwork.
“When the activity focused on mental health, some participants said it allowed them to see themselves from perspectives they had never noticed before.”
She added that she had been conducting workshops around the Klang Valley since 2024, and ran the initiative at mental health counselling and creative wellness platform Praxis Space in Selangor.
Aahrthi said the community-based approach was also part of her effort to encourage people to turn mental health awareness into meaningful action.
“People talk a lot about mental health today, but what matters most is taking action.
“Providing the tools and space to discuss mental health in a community setting is an important step before someone seeks counselling services.”
She said more than 100 people including senior citizens, children and public housing residents had participated in her workshops, organised in collaboration with non-governmental organisations.
Aahrthi said that one of the challenges in organising the workshops was ensuring that they could be offered to participants free of charge or, at most, just a minimal fee.
She raises funds through the sale of keychains and interactive mental health tools to cover the cost of art supplies.
She hopes to gain support to expand the programme to other states, giving more senior citizens and B40 communities the opportunity to learn the art form as a way of managing and expressing their emotions.
Khor Jun Yi, 28, who attended one of the workshops conducted by Aahrthi, said the session helped her feel more connected to herself.
Another participant S. Shankari, 30, said it gave her an opportunity to share her story, hear the stories behind other participants’ artwork and learn new art techniques that she could practise at home.
“I really enjoyed taking part in the session and hope to join more workshops like this in the future,” said Shankari.
