Chinese Ink Brush Painting, in particular the ‘Writing Mind’ or Xie Yi tradition, has long provided the Chinese a means of searching for inner-world and connectedness with nature, in a culture that is otherwise highly oppressed and censored. The most accomplished artists had also experienced great losses, identity confusions, and oppression but lived to find inner life and healing through painting and creative use of visual symbols. By exploring lives and works of three such great Chinese artists in Qing Dynasty, Bada-Shanren, Shitao, and Zheng Xie , this presentation constructs a model of triangular interactions between ‘observation’ , ‘appreciation’ and ‘play’. Paintings introduced in this talk are surprisingly direct visual illustrations of Self Psychology concepts including, empathic resonance, play, ture self-false self , coupling, amplification and acceptance of trauma. Chinese painting is central to Chinese philosophies, literature, history, the psyche of the Chinese people. Chinese civilization is now experiencing rapid changes in self awareness and identity. This presentation attempts to develop a model of art and psychotherapy that is suited to the Chinese context.