http://artsinmedicinefellowship.org/

Arts In Medicine Fellowship, Jaipur (2026)

30/08/2026

Week 3 GAIMF Session Highlights: Immersive Technology in Creative Health Practice

In Week 3, the Global Arts in Medicine Fellowship welcomed Rebecca Gill, founder of the UK’s first social enterprise dedicated to mental health improvement through immersive technology. Rebecca demonstrated how VR, AR, and XR tools are transforming support for people with autism, dementia, learning disabilities, trauma, and mental health needs. Fellows explored powerful case examples showing how immersive experiences reduce pain, lift mood, spark communication, and reconnect individuals with identity, memory, and culture.

The session introduced creative XR tools such as Soul Paint, Open Brush, and Color Space, alongside the SPARK framework for person‑centred, adaptive, multi‑sensory practice. Rebecca also addressed accessibility, cost barriers, safety considerations, and the essential human skills required for therapeutic VR delivery.

This session highlighted how immersive technology can create meaningful, emotionally resonant experiences expanding what is possible in creative health practice.

We are grateful to Rebecca Gill for the brilliant session, and to our wonderful moderators, Joy-Jayne Bassey and Erin Tallman for facilitating a lively and engaging Fellowship discussion.

29/08/2026

The Global Arts in Medicine Fellowship hosted an insightful Week 3 session led by Dr. Julia Fortier , centred on Managing Emotions in Creative Health Practice: Invisible Care, Self‑Care and Support. The session focused on strengthening practitioner wellbeing in creative health environments and explored the emotional demands of arts and health delivery.

Fellows engaged with practical strategies for navigating challenging moments with participants, including pre‑session preparation such as reflecting on personal triggers, defining emotional intentions, and anticipating unexpected scenarios. In‑session techniques covered clear communication, emotional normalization, open‑ended questioning, grounding through creative activity, and co‑regulation practices.

Dr. Julia highlighted the importance of maintaining professional boundaries and establishing referral pathways in advance, ensuring practitioners are not left to navigate crises alone. She introduced a comprehensive self‑care framework featuring reflective journaling, WRAP planning, ProQOL assessment, and peer support networks. Insights from Arts Council England’s Keeping Safe report reinforced the need for supervision, debriefing, workplace wellbeing resources, and funded support structures.

The session underscored a key message: practitioner wellbeing is both an individual practice and a systemic responsibility requiring stronger policies, commissioning standards, and field‑level advocacy.

We are grateful to Dr. Julia Fortier for the brilliant session, and to our wonderful moderators, Dr. Lorna Collins and Poongie Sreewichian for, for facilitating a lively and engaging Fellowship discussion.

25/08/2026

YOUNG LEADERS FOR ARTS & HEALTH IRELAND SUMMIT 2026
September 4–5 • Dublin, Ireland

The Young Leaders for Arts and Health Ireland Summit is a vibrant 2‑day global gathering spotlighting youth‑led creativity, innovation, and the power of the arts to transform public health, amplify community voices, and drive systems change across Ireland and beyond.

The programme features research presentations, poster showcases, exhibitions, performances, an expert policy panel, cross‑cultural exchanges, and interactive breakout sessions exploring youth mental health, trauma recovery, climate change, culture and belonging, and creative health, all led by inspiring young global leaders.

This landmark summit is co‑produced by RCSI University of Medicine and Health Sciences, the Irish Museum of Modern Art (IMMA), and the Global Arts in Medicine Fellowship, in partnership with leading institutions and organisations across Ireland.

Participation & Registration are FREE.

Click the link below to register now:
https://100896engagecms.campusnexus.cloud/cphs—ylah-2026

25/08/2026

Dr Arjun Thanaraju
Lecturer in Psychology & Theatre Practitioner
Education and Research Track
2026 GAIMF, Malaysia

Dr Arjun Thanaraju is a Lecturer in the Faculty of Medical and Life Sciences at Sunway University, where he teaches undergraduate courses in Biological Psychology and Cognitive Psychology.

He also serves as Head of the Academic Portfolio for Sunway University Online, providing strategic leadership for the development and delivery of the University’s Open and Distance Learning (ODL) programmes.

Dr Arjun’s research sits at the intersection of health and the creative arts, exploring how performance and storytelling can be harnessed to address complex health challenges. His current research examines the potential of creative arts-based interventions to support healthy ageing and the use of community-based theatre as an innovative approach to stroke rehabilitation.

Beyond academia, he has worked with leading science-policy organisations, including the Galen Centre for Health & Social Policy and the International Network for Government Science Advice (INGSA).

Dr Arjun is also an award-winning film and theatre maker whose creative work advocates for minority rights and brings greater visibility to underrepresented stories from marginalised communities in Malaysia.

25/08/2026

Shravan Raghav
mental health advocate
Civic Engagement and Creative Practice
2026 GAIMF, India

Shravan Raghav is a mental health advocate whose work sits at the intersection of youth mental health, lived experience, the arts, and community-based practice. Rooted in the belief that young people deserve spaces where they feel truly seen, heard, and valued, his journey began in Chennai with The Safe Place — a grassroots, youth-led mental health platform he founded to create spaces for dialogue, creative expression, and community-led awareness.

Shravan went on to lead youth programs at citiesRISE, co-designing arts-based mental health initiatives with young people and multidisciplinary stakeholders. His work has since extended to various global collaborations, where he contributed as a youth and lived experience consultant, ensuring young people’s knowledge, expertise, and lived experience are respected and centered in research and practice.

As a recent MPH graduate from Azim Premji University, India, Shravan remains guided by a commitment to mental health work that is participatory, non-extractive, and accountable to the communities it serves. He is now looking to channel this into the field of creative health, with a vision to build an arts in health movement in Chennai that brings together diverse voices to co-create wellbeing solutions, weaving together health, its social determinants, and cultural and creative expression.

25/08/2026

Allan Okyere
Spoken Word Poet & Creative Strategist (“theshakesphere”)
Civic Engagement and Creative Practice
2026 GAIMF, Ghana

Allan writes and performs under the name theshakesphere, a moniker that reflects his instinct to move across spheres—between disciplines, between silence and speech, between what is felt and what is finally spoken. His guiding belief, “Language is the Strategy,” shapes every poem he creates: language not as ornament, but as a tool for naming what is often left unspoken.

He writes for people who carry things quietly: grief, longing, trauma, and the slow, unannounced ache of healing. His poem “I Scream” uses the metaphor of ice cream to explore longing and absence, while “Shepherd,” performed at the Radiant Parenting Conference 2026, examines care and guidance through a spiritual lens. At the core of his work is a conviction that spoken word can hold space for mental health and trauma recovery in ways clinical language sometimes cannot reach.

Allan is the winner of the national initiative Health Students Got Talent, Ghana, inaugural edition at the Accra Arts & Health Festival, where his work was recognised for its depth, originality, and contribution to creative health.

25/08/2026

Khade Aishwarya
Psychologist, Behavioural Trainer
Entrepreneurship, Leadership and Management Track
2026 GAIMF, India

Aishwarya is a Psychologist, Behavioural Trainer, and Founder of The Wellbeing HAC, an experiential wellbeing practice that integrates psychology, creativity, and human connection across workplaces and communities. Her work spans corporate boardrooms, manufacturing units, classrooms, tribal communities, government departments, healthcare settings, and diverse community spaces. She also works therapeutically with individuals through counselling and psychotherapy, supporting clients in India, the UK, and Canada.

Drawing from both conventional psychological approaches and expressive arts modalities, Aishwarya creates spaces where people can explore emotions, experiences, and wellbeing beyond words. She has facilitated counselling, expressive arts, and Dance Movement Therapy sessions across individual, group, educational, corporate, and community settings. These experiences have strengthened her belief that healing does not always have to rely on conversation alone; movement, creativity, stories, art, and shared experiences can become powerful pathways for understanding ourselves and connecting with others.

Across varied environments, one insight has remained central to her practice: every community already carries strengths, stories, and cultural wisdom that can become meaningful resources for healing when approached with respect and creativity. Aishwarya is increasingly exploring how culture itself can serve as a therapeutic resource, deepening belonging, resilience, and wellbeing while honouring cultural authenticity.

24/08/2026

Jenaitre Diann
Art Psychotherapist, Creative Consultant and Community arts Practitioner
Entrepreneurship, Leadership and Management Track
2026 GAIMF, England 
Jenaitre Diann is a passionate trainee Art Psychotherapist nearing completion of her MA in Art Psychotherapy, a creative consultant and community arts practitioner based in the West Midlands, UK. She brings several years’ experience supporting children, young people, adults and communities through creative, therapeutic and community-based practice. Her work is rooted in a love for ethnically diverse communities and a belief that creativity can support mental health, connection, expression and social change.

Alongside facilitating creative wellbeing programmes, Jenaitre is completing research exploring art therapists’ perspectives on masculinity, stigma and engagement with men from ethnic minority backgrounds. She is also in the early stages of developing The Artsformation, a creative health initiative bringing together art therapy, community arts, creative wellbeing and meaningful creative experiences.

Through the Global Arts in Medicine Fellowship, where she will join the Civic & Creative Engagement and Entrepreneurship & Leadership tracks, Jen hopes to connect with practitioners across the world, grow her leadership in arts and health, and develop inclusive, community-centred approaches that make creativity more accessible to the people and communities she serves.

24/08/2026

Kruttika Joshi is a Mental Health Counsellor‑Psychotherapist, Dance Movement Therapist, Performing Artist, and Arts‑Based Practitioner with over eight years of experience across hospitals, clinics, wellness centres, and private practice.

She brings a human‑centred, somatic, and experiential approach to therapy that supports emotional regulation, self‑awareness, psychological insight, and embodied wellbeing.

Drawing from her academic grounding in psychology and her training in contemporary dance and the performing arts, Kruttika integrates movement, creative expression, and psychotherapy to help individuals reconnect with the body as a resource for healing. Her work focuses on understanding and integrating psychological and somatic experiences, addressing stress and trauma patterns through body‑informed approaches, and nurturing emotional resilience, self‑compassion, and a grounded sense of self.

Her professional experience includes co‑heading the Expressive Arts Department at Sancheti Hospital, serving as Associate Arts‑Based Therapist at Jehangir Wellness Centre, Pune, and consulting with multidisciplinary clinics in private practice. She supports both neurotypical and neurodivergent individuals navigating anxiety, trauma, emotional distress, relationship challenges, identity concerns, and emotional regulation difficulties.

Through Somasense Therapy, her entrepreneurial initiative, Kruttika is committed to creating inclusive and accessible spaces where psychology, neuroscience, and the arts converge. Her vision is to advance an embodied, experiential, and human‑centred approach to mental healthcare that honours the interconnectedness of mind, body, emotion, and creative expression.

24/08/2026

María Ruiz Plana
Occupational Therapist | Art Therapist | Puppeteer | Creative Facilitator
Education and Research Track
2026 GAIMF, Spain

María Ruiz Plana is an Occupational Therapist and Gestalt Art Therapist whose work sits at the intersection of creativity, wellbeing, and community life. Trained in Spain, she recently completed an Open Degree with The Open University, graduating with First Class Honours. Her academic focus explored mental health, young people, and families, strengthening her commitment to relational and person‑centred practice.

A passionate puppeteer, María is deeply engaged with embodied storytelling and the power of non‑verbal expression to support communication, agency, and emotional wellbeing. Her strengths‑based approach is informed by transdisciplinary thinking and a desire to create spaces where people can connect, express themselves, and build resilience.

María has a growing interest in craft psychology, shaped by years of volunteering in a traditional weaving workshop. These experiences deepened her understanding of the sensory and therapeutic benefits of craft practices and reinforced her belief in creativity as a tool for transformation, healing, and cultural connection.

She has contributed extensively to charity and community organisations in Spain and Scotland, including a hospital creative hub with Edinburgh Children’s Charity, supporting young patients and families through creative engagement. For fifteen years, María has been part of Loch Arthur Camphill Community, most recently serving as Arts & Crafts Workshop Leader, nurturing an inclusive and collaborative creative environment.
Inspired by her recent studies, María is developing a strong interest in practice‑based and collaborative research and sees this fellowship as an opportunity to continue learning, questioning, and contributing to the field.

Arts In Medicine Fellowship

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