ABSTRACT
In Indian Sanskrit and Budddhist Pali terms, Samagama means union, meeting, association, concert or simply coming together. In English, the derivative word is Sangam, meaning the confluence of a river with its tributaries. Like the many tributaries of a river, this chapter will bring together creative arts therapy practitioners from the diverse disciplines of dance/movement, art, drama and music – all pioneers in their own right, and document their experiences of contributing to the ebb and flow of arts therapy's evolution in India.
This chapter will seek to unearth current developments in arts therapies practice, research and training that exist on the ground today and present them from the multiple perspectives of the different disciplines. The authors will also attempt to shed light on their own processes of acculturation and their efforts to decolonise and incorporate indigenous processes to make their work culturally relevant to India.
The chapter brings up the ethical challenges and concerns practitioners are faced with in the absence of any formal education, professional training or regulatory bodies and the need for ethical standards and guidelines within the evolutionary domains of professional practice and training of the diverse disciplines in India.
Through the length of these dialogues, we hope to discover our own true path, making visible the unknown in the arts therapies from an Eastern perspective. We hope to build trust and collectively support the creative arts therapies in gaining credibility and recognition, to fulfil the vision of actualising formal education in India. We hope our endeavour will lead to the professionalisation of these fields and motivate future generations of practitioners to enter the mental health ecosystem on a par with other mental health professionals in India and benchmark themselves with global standards.
