The journey of Arts-Based Therapy (ABT) at Snehadhara Foundation began in the early 2010s as a response to the exclusion experienced by children with developmental disabilities in conventional educational and therapeutic systems. Many of these children found it difficult to engage with rigid, language-heavy, and standardised learning environments. In response, the organisation began exploring creative processes—music, movement, visual arts, storytelling, and play—as alternative ways of fostering expression, participation, and connection. These sessions were not focused on artistic skill, but on the therapeutic potential of the arts to support emotional regulation, relational engagement, and experiential learning. Between 2017 and 2019, this work further expanded through three national batches of ABT trainings, building a community of practitioners across the country.

Over time, as practitioners worked with diverse groups, the impact of these processes began to extend beyond individual therapeutic outcomes. The arts started transforming group dynamics, shifting spaces from clinical, individual-focused interventions to more participatory and relational environments. This expansion into schools, communities, and care settings revealed that while ABT supported individual development, it did not fully address the broader question of inclusion. This led to a gradual rethinking of the framework, culminating in the emergence of Arts Practices for Inclusion (API). The shift from ABT to API reflects a move from therapy-centred practice to one that foregrounds participation, shared experience, and inclusive environments, further strengthened by evolving regulatory contexts such as the National Commission for Healthcare and Allied Healthcare Professionals Act (2021).