Vennus Ho
Thesis title: ARTŠ-pirit : An arts-based autoethnographic inquiry into the spirituality of family caregivers in Hong Kong in the wake of loss
PhD Health in Social Science
- College of Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences
Contact details
- Email: vennusho@ed.ac.uk
PhD supervisors:
Background
Vennus Ho Yuen-wai is a registered social worker, registered arts therapist and an artist in Hong Kong. Vennus graduated with a Bachelor of Social Work (Hons.) at the Hong Kong Baptist University, a Master of Social Science (Behavioural Health) and with distinction from Master of Expressive Arts Therapy at the University of Hong Kong. She was also awarded the Madam Lo Ng Kiu Ying Anita Memorial Scholarship in the academic year of 2016-2017. She is a registered trainer of the Jockey Club Best Practice in Dementia Care Programme and an approved facilitator of the Best Practice in Dementia Care Learning Programme at the University of Stirling. In addition, she gained an advanced status user of the Dementia Care Mapping Method from the University of Bradford and Registered Eden Associate of Eden Alternative®. And she is a Namaste CareTM International champion in Hong Kong.
She has extensive experience as a social worker, senior executive, and trainer, with an interdisciplinary focus that spans the fields of gerontology, palliative care, spirituality, and expressive arts therapy. She has been appointed as a member of the Guardianship Board of the HKSAR Government from 2017 to 2023. In 2020, she was awarded a Distinguished Alumni by the Department of Social Work and Social Administration, at the University of Hong Kong. Since 2023, she also serves as an Honorary Lecturer in the Department of Social Work and Social Administration, at the University of Hong Kong.
Vennus has been leading interdisciplinary teams to develop long-term care services in Hong Kong. She is dedicated to striving for high-quality aged care, developing innovative and holistic palliative care models, and cultivating spiritual care and person-centred care for older adults. With her strong leadership, her serving team is committed to tracking customer feedback, maximizing the remarkable value, and creating more cost-effective products and a more pervasive brand name in Hong Kong.
She also provides training and consultancy services in China, Taiwan and Hong Kong. Meanwhile, she delivers teaching in various tertiary institutions in Hong Kong. Moreover, she published several books and journals in the area of dementia care and completed several evidence-based studies.
Training in different disciplines indeed increased her passion and sensitivity to the meaning of spirituality in end-of-life care and the presence of human interaction during the times of life and death. She is dedicated to integrating arts into life and promoting the spirituality and wellness of people. With her strong passion and research interest, she has been addressing the spiritual needs of elderly and family caregivers of people with terminal illness and employing expressive arts therapy to fill the niches of practice and research.
Responsibilities & affiliations
Conference details
1. “Fun in the world: Enhancing psychological well-being of the seniors through Remotivation Therapy” in the 12th Annual Hong Kong Association of Gerontology,HK Association of Gerontology, 27th November, 2004.
2. “An effectiveness of rehabilitative functioning on seniors with dementia with the support of Dr. Pet service” in the Fourth World Congress on Long Term Care in Chinese Communities, 18th-21st October, 2006.
3. “Using positive psychology approach: the effectiveness for seniors with depressive mood in Chinese indigenous group” in the Fourth World Congress on Long Term Care in Chinese Communities, 19th October, 2006.
4. "The latest development in the residential care home for the Elderly” Conference and Exhibition 2016: Quality Care for the Elderly, 25th June 2016, Hong Kong.
5. “ Creative spiritual reminiscence program in meaning-making approach for investigating the spiritual dimension of Chinese older adults with mild cognitive impairment in nursing home.” In the 5th International Conference of British Association of the Study of Spirituality & 6th European Conference on Religion, Spirituality & Health, 17-19th May 2018, Coventry, England.
6. “ Creative spiritual reminiscence program for exploring the spirituality of Chinese older adults with mild cognitive impairment in a nursing home of Hong Kong.”, presentation accepted by 2018 International Dementia Conference, 7-9th June 2018, Sydney, Australia.
7. “Meaning in Loss, Expression in Arts: A case study of a spousal loss of Chinese old lady with neurocognitive disorder in the grieving process through expressive arts therapy.” In the JCECC Conference on Innovation and Impact: The Review and Vision of Community End-of-Life Care, 20-21st June 2018, Hong Kong.
8. “Being an Authentic Self in Loss, Expression in Arts: A case study of a Chinese old lady with neurocognitive disorder (NCD) and her family caregiver in the journey of loss through spiritual arts intervention.” In the 8th International Conference on Ageing and Spirituality, 28th-30th OCT 2019, Canberra, Australia.
9. “The legacy of authentic wisdom: spiritual arts programmes on spiritual well-being of older adults living with neurocognitive disorder (NCD) through expressive arts therapy.” In the Sixth International Conference of the International Network for the Study of Spirituality, 7th-8th JUNE 2021, York, United Kingdom. (Virtual Conference)
10. “Connect, Change, Co-create.” In the 9th International Conference on Ageing and Spirituality, 8th-23th JUNE 2021, Waterloo, Canada. (Virtual Conference)
Invited speaker
1. Jockey Club Best Practice in Dementia Care Programme, University of Stirling, Dementia Services Development Centre, & Jockey Club Centre for Positive Ageing, 2017.
2. The Certified Dementia Care Planner Course, Hong Kong Alzheimer’s Disease Association, 2018. (Module 4 Interventions for Caregivers )
3. Master of Social Sciences in Counselling, Department of Social Work, Hong Kong Baptist University, 2018. (Neuro-cognitive Disorder and Care Management, SOWK 7790 Mental Health Counselling with Older People)
4. Master of Expressive Arts Therapy, Department of Social Work & Social Administration, The University of Hong Kong, 2018-2022. (Professional Issues, EXAT 7006 Professional Practice and Ethics in Expressive Arts Therapy; Working relationship with service users and multi-disciplinary team in various settings, EXAT 7006 Professional Practice and Ethics in Expressive Arts Therapy; Senior Adulthood, EXAT 7106 Human Development and Expressive Arts Therapy)
5. Master of Nursing Leadership, Department of Nursing, The University of Hong Kong, 2019. (Innovation and Creativity in Health Care – NURS 8247 Managing Change for Innovation and Nursing Leadership )
6. Master of Social Science, Department of Social & Behavioural Sciences, City University of Hong Kong, 2020. (Apply Expressive Arts Therapy into residential care setting - SS5832 Counselling Older Adults.)
Papers delivered
1. Wong, O.L., Kwong, P.S., Ho, C.K.Y., Chow, S.M.Y., Kwok, T., Wong, B., Ho, V., Lau, A., Ho, F. (2015). Living With Dementia: An Exploratory Study of Caregiving in a Chinese Family Context. Social Work in Health Care, 54:8, 758-776, doi: 10.1080/00981389.2015.1057355