Alisha Kalisher

My name is Alisha Kalisher, and I’m an expressive arts practitioner, vocalist, and songwriter passionate about the ways creativity supports healing, resilience, and transformation. I hold a master’s degree in Depth Psychology and Creativity from Pacifica Graduate Institute and am currently completing expressive arts therapy training at the Expressive Arts Institute.

I am the executive director and founder of the Bella Arts Foundation, a nonprofit dedicated to providing creative wellbeing opportunities for trauma survivors and marginalized communities.

My own journey into this work began with creativity as a lifeline. I turned to music and expressive arts as a way to navigate rupture and reconnect with myself. That experience deepened my conviction that creative expression is not just therapeutic, but essential for resilience and post-traumatic growth.

Right now, I am offering intermodal expressive arts programs for fire survivors, being one myself, that lost their homes in the January fires. These are being offered through The Bella Arts Foundation.

In addition to that I am the expressive arts practitioner at the Institute for Girls’ Development in Pasadena, CA. I integrate expressive arts into their social emotional learning curriculum and programs for young girls, as well as their therapeutic workshops.

Alongside my therapeutic practice, I am a professional vocalist and songwriter. I’ve performed with orchestras across the U.S., contributed music to film and television, and taken part in Meta’s music initiative.

I’m excited to be part of the growing neuroarts movement. I’m especially drawn to the ways research and practice together reveal what many of us already know experientially—that the arts shape our brains, bodies, and souls in powerful ways. I’m grateful to be here and look forward to learning and growing with this community!