Arts Therapy Initiative Returns to Thane Central Prison for Inmates

Project Inner Light, a therapeutic expressive arts mental health initiative, returned to Thane Central Prison last week to conduct a year-long programme for male and female inmates.

Organised by the non-profit organisation Khula Asman Trust, the intervention uses creative disciplines including drama, art, dance, movement, games, and music to help incarcerated individuals process and express their emotions. The project, led by Khula Asman Trust founder Sarita Ganesh and practitioner Tanvi Oswal, has previously been conducted in prisons across Maharashtra, including Byculla and Yerawada.

A central component of the drama therapy module is a technique known as "The Empty Chair." In this exercise, an inmate addresses an empty chair while imagining a specific person seated in it, such as a family member, a child, or a victim. Participants use the session to speak words they have previously been unable to voice, including confessions, apologies, and promises.

According to the facilitators, the exercise serves different purposes depending on the inmate's circumstances. For some, it acts as preparation for difficult conversations during scheduled family visits, known as mulaqat. For others, it offers a pathway to closure for dialogues that may never take place in person. Inmates are also guided to reverse roles, stepping into the position of the person in the chair to formulate a response, fostering empathy and new perspectives.

In addition to individual chair work, the module incorporates group exercises where prisoners collaborate to write and stage short skits. These performances focus on shared concerns, including conditions inside the prison, anxieties regarding their children, and apprehension about life after release.

The year-long series of sessions at Thane Central Prison aims to provide inmates with structured, guided spaces to work through emotional isolation and distress through creative expression.