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Background: This presentation draws on my doctoral dissertation Greed, Grief, a Gift and twenty years of experience working with crisis-affected communities worldwide. Trauma identification and treatment are culturally bound (Hinton & Lewis-Fernandez, 2010), and Western constructs such as PTSD may not capture how distress is experienced in non-Western settings (Kohrt & Hruschka, 2010). Working with war-displaced Nepali women in Hong Kong, the research explores trauma stored in the body as fragmented images and sensations rather than coherent narratives (Arendt, 2007; Erni, 2012; Gopalkrishnan, 2013).

Objectives: Examine how expressive arts therapy can be culturally contextualized for displaced communities.

Investigate how movement-based expressive arts practices support trauma expression, regulation, and resilience.

Critically reflect on power dynamics in therapist-client relationships.

Methods: A multimethod qualitative study combining movement-based expressive arts sessions, participant observation, arts-based responses, interviews, and reflexive practitioner journaling. The approach integrates anthropological methodology, the Life/Art Process (Tamalpa Institute), and critical theory (Benjamin, Foucault).

Results / Insights: Preliminary insights indicate that culturally integrated movement, ritual, myth, and breath practices enhance accessibility and facilitate embodied expression. Trauma emerges as sensorial and imagistic fragments, requiring non-linear, body-based approaches. Reflexive, co-created practices reduce hierarchical dynamics and strengthen cultural identity and collective resilience.

Conclusion / Implications: Contextualizing expressive arts therapy within local cultural frameworks enhances therapeutic relevance, fosters embodied trauma recovery, and supports communal repair. These findings demonstrate how arts-based interventions sustain cultural resilience and collective healing in displaced and crisis-affected populations.