Project Anchors
This project is spearheaded by two Tamil-speaking therapeutic practitioners who have accessed these new modalities of mental health care for themselves and are taking it to communities in Bangalore (India) and Batticaloa (Sri Lanka). They will come together to create a web of Tamil speaking therapeutic practitioners who wish to give their time to marginalised communities and activists who work with them as a way of contributing to this process of holistic collective care.
Ponni Arasu
Dr. Ponni Arasu, originally from Chennai, India, now resides in Batticaloa, Eastern Sri Lanka. Trained extensively in History, Anthropology, Law, and Expressive Arts Therapy, she's been involved in theatre since the age of 12. Over two decades, she's worked as an activist, researcher, lawyer, teacher, and theatre practitioner, all intertwined in her pursuit of social justice. Completing her Expressive Arts Therapy training through the FECAT program at SMArT, she focuses on marginalized communities, primarily youth, women, and queer individuals in post-conflict, economically disadvantaged settings, primarily using Tamil. Collaborating with grassroots institutions, she integrates mental health care into their social justice efforts. Currently pursuing a Masters in Psychology and the Expressive Body program at SMArT.
Samyuktha Suresh
In her professional journey, Samyuktha Suresh prioritizes enabling personal transformation in others. She creates safe spaces for exploration, drawing on diverse coaching frameworks and expressive arts therapy practices. Certified by SMArT in Expressive and Creative Arts Therapies, she's currently enrolled in the Politics of Trauma: Embodied Transformation program at the Strozzi Institute. Her background includes designing programs for organizations like Teach For India and Dream A Dream. At Viridus Social Impact Solutions, she supports the PMDL Program at ISDM, coaching postgraduates in emotional resilience and prosocial behaviors. She also mentors at Wedu Global, guiding young women leaders in constructing personal theories of change and fortifying resilience.
Network Practitioners
Coming Soon!