About Us

I am an HCPC-registered art psychotherapist, registered as Sau Man Lau, and the founder of The Holding Palette CIC.

Alongside my art therapy training, I hold a Master of Applied Psychology and have several years of experience supporting children’s emotional wellbeing in schools, including working as an art psychotherapist in a primary school. I also bring experience in community facilitation and sumi-e instruction, which continue to shape the way I design and hold creative spaces for different groups.

Growing up between cultures gave me a deep appreciation of how identity, belonging, and lived experience shape our inner world. It also strengthened my belief that everyone in our community deserves to feel safe, seen, and accepted.

My work is grounded in the use of art as a gentle way to explore experiences that can be difficult to put into words. I am particularly drawn to water-based materials and metaphors, including sumi-e and watercolour, because they hold qualities of movement, uncertainty, containment, and change. This creative signature runs through many of the therapeutic arts programmes I develop, where images, symbols, and materials offer participants a way to express, reflect, and make meaning at a pace that feels manageable.

Through The Holding Palette CIC, I am passionate about creating thoughtful, clinically informed spaces where people can explore their emotions, stories, and relationships with themselves and others through art-making.

I am a trainee art psychotherapist and assistant SENDCo, with a background that started in Psychology during my undergraduate studies. I’ve always been interested in the connection between how we think and how we express ourselves, and I find that art often provides a helpful bridge when words don’t feel like enough. Through my SEND work, I’ve come to value how important it is for support to be accessible and inclusive. I believe that having a space to be creative can make psychological well-being feel less daunting and more approachable. For me, the most important thing is that we foster a community environment where people feel safe to explore their own experiences through art and connection.

As a member of the team at The Holding Palette CIC, I bring over 15 years of experience in public service and the management of community infrastructure. While my colleagues lead on the therapeutic delivery of our programmes, my role focuses on providing the strategic governance and policy expertise necessary to ensure our services are sustainably rooted within the community. With a Master of Arts in Sports Studies and a career dedicated to the oversight of public services, I have a deep understanding of how robust operational frameworks support social value and community wellbeing. Currently working within a UK local authority, I am passionate about building strong partnerships with stakeholders to ensure our work is both impactful and transparent. I believe that sound governance and clear accountability are the essential foundations for any community project, and I am committed to ensuring the CIC operates with the professional integrity required to help our participants truly thrive.