_PNG.png)
.png)
Bhavna Vijay
Bhavna is a clinical psychologist. Nature to her has always been a space she can lose herself in and also find herself, find perspective in an otherwise messy world. To her, working with the environment and climate crisis is the only way to move forward right now. When she isn't dealing with her everyday routines or chasing her toddler around the house, you can find her lost in thought, or with a book in hand or even catching up on some sleep.
.png)
Priya Vijay
Priya is a dance/movement therapy practitioner. She finds nature to be a place of endless curiosities and possibilities, reminding us of our natural and seemingly messy humanness. Viewing nature as a lens through which one can find connections, awareness, stillness and presence is foundational for her work as a therapist. You’ll sometimes find her breaking into spontaneous, weird dancing or gazing outside, lost in thought for hours.
.png)
Neha Suresh
Neha is a designer who finds her calm in the chaos by turning to nature - quiet, still, yet somehow full of life. It always amazes her how something so inanimate can make her feel so alive. After a few years in the corporate grind, she’s traded spreadsheets for sketchbooks. Her days are filled with design experiments, art, and an ever-present playlist that sets the vibe. Honestly, the music never really stops, it’s her favorite kind of company.
The Halcyon Experience (THE) is a mental health initiative, founded in 2021. We provide integrated psychotherapy and innovative therapies like arts-based therapies for adults, children, and couples. A large part of our work stems from a deep desire to see and be a part of lasting change in our lifetimes. Having personal experiences of fear, anxiety, rage and grief every time we witness another environmental disaster, we’ve tried to delve deeper into understanding human behaviour within the context of the climate crisis.
Ecological crisis can bring about many kinds of threats, even psychological. When events are widespread and recognised, many people struggle to face the reality of it, causing them to disregard its significance. And for those who sense an urgency and are propelled towards wanting/making a change, how do we make sense of our relationships with people who don’t?
How do our cultural practices of privilege and consumerism contribute to the inhibition of change?
What really is our role in systems we didn’t create but are still a part of?
How do we lean inwards and on each other to strengthen resources of hope, resilience, courage and compassion – to re-imagine new and radical futures?
In many ways, ACE is our response to the crisis. It is a work in progress, and we imagine it always will be. As it probably should, because we would like to spread our branches into, well, everything – education, policy, production, consumption. Areas where we can begin to make better and collectively informed decisions about our future on our planet.
But, for now, we are starting here. It is clear to us that conversations about the impacts of our changing world need to increase. And these conversations can bring up extremely complex emotions - which are often considered a stigma to speak up about. ACE attempts to be a supportive structure that can facilitate the explorations of such emotions. We believe that with the clarity of understanding our emotional responses and learning how to act with them, we can make more constructive and adaptive choices, personally and collectively.