Frank & Ruth E Caruso Foundation

- continued membership with aata and amta and looking into what noah has been doing within the arts and health field. Kept up with the progression of the creative arts therapies and arts and health fields by engaging with people in the field, reading research, white papers, industry reports, articles, and news pertaining to the two fields. Developed more of an understanding of the differences in the two fields and how they might work in tandem while acknowledging their differences in mental health methodology and treatment. Notice a blurring of the 2 fields with more of a lean on socialization and community building vs clinical psychotherapeutic mental health. Seeing big push towards the "loneliness factor" in both fields. Looking at how higher education curriculums and continuing education may be adopting these shifts as seen in courses offered.- reviewed the current and ongoing trend of connecting wellbeing and the brain (neuroscience) vs mental health and the mind (psychotherapy). Seeing a shift towards the former that incudes what may be referred to as new age treatments and many around socialization as the main goal.- continued looking into current giving trends in both fields as well as which organizations are backing the arts in health movement and how licensed creative arts therapies are integrated in, or not, and how this may be altering the art therapy fields.- continued research on the growing trends of social and arts prescribing and the use of teaching artists in the arts and health movement. Looked at how telehealth, apps, AI, vi etc. are making inroads as well as who is financing these vehicles and how they may affect the general mental health field and the creative arts therapies. Researched ethical implications in both the unintended consequences of the use of technology and the maintenance of the ethic to do no harm as it pertains to the health and mental health fields when the arts are implemented outside the boundaries of licensed professionals. Found very little research on this in terms of arts and health.- continue to investigate the economic implications of the changing mental health field and how this pertains to health insurance, the beneficiaries of cost savings, how it might affect inequality and the quality of care for those most in need. Believe arts and health treatments will begin in NYC through Medicaid plans initially and then be incorporated into private insurers.- continued to consult with a neuroscientist who is currently curating works that explore the convergence between neuroscience and dance. Reading neuroscience research papers to understand more about this growing field and the implications for mental health care and clinically appropriate approaches to treatment. And how this may affect the art fields as well as teaching artists.- kept abreast of mainstream media, philanthropic newsletters, video presentations, podcasts etc. that pertain to the intersection of mental health, the arts and sexual violence.- attended exhibitions, films, presentations etc., as it pertains to the foundation's initiative, with current grantees as well as organizations such as universities, art museums and other professional organizations in the broader mental health field as it expands as well as the sexual violence field.- given past funding, the sexual violence prevention area has continued to be acknowledged, researched and investigated especially in light of the jeffrey epstein case and how it is unfolding and being presented to the public through news outlets. The slow unfolding of this labyrinth has uncovered how many concealed structures surrounding the silence can weave a cocoon that allows sexual abuse and trafficking to be insulated causing great harm to the individual victim/survivors as well as society as a whole. This is and has been an ongoing area of investigation for the foundation and will continue.