INSTITUTE OF
‍ DEVOTIONAL 
ARTS

Swan Alyon, PhD, is a theatre practitioner and psychotherapist specializing in post-Jungian and somatic approaches to human flourishing. After studying philosophy and divinity in Melbourne, Oxford, and Chicago, Swan worked as a researcher and supervisor at the University of Cambridge, where they wrote their thesis on processes of self-transformation. As a Fellow of the Oxford Centre for Animal Ethics, they published several articles on environmental ethics and comparative religion such as Animals in Christian and Muslim Thought, The Routledge Handbook of Animal Ethics (Routledge, 2018) and Albert Schweitzer: The Life of Reverence, Animal Theologians (Oxford University Press, 2023). Seeking more embodied forms of knowledge and experience, they trained at the Jacques Lecoq school of physical theatre and earned certifications in tantra yoga, breathwork, and hypnotherapy. Swan has been guiding individuals and groups for over a decade and has led seminars, workshops, and retreats in 13 countries on three continents. Inspired by such figures as John Dewey, Carl Jung, and Jerzy Grotowski, they founded the Institute of Devotional Arts to bring together artists, therapists, and researchers exploring the relationship between the creative and contemplative arts.

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Karina Bertolotto is a psychologist and art therapist. She trained in Humanistic Psychology and Transpersonal Psychology, Artistic Expressive Therapy, and Integrative Somatic Therapy. Since 2005 she teaches Art therapy and Expressive Movement at the University of Barcelona and she is in charge of coordinating the Psychology programme for the Master's of Music Therapy at Barcelona University. She is a PhD candidate at Queen Margaret University, Edinburgh. Her doctoral research focuses on performance as a contribution to Art Therapy practices and sacred dimensions of the feminine. She is student and a collaborator of Claudio Naranjo and organizes his teachings for SAT programmes in the United States, Canada, Brazil, Italy, Uruguay, and China.

Jessica Bockler, PhD, is a psychologist, theatre practitioner, as well as the co-founder of the Alef Trust, an organization working in transpersonal and integrative education. Jessica has extensive experience of expressive arts facilitation, including physical and participatory theatre, and experimental movement and voice work. Jessica’s vision and research interests centre on holistic and creative approaches to social change, bridging embodied ritual and imaginal practices with activism and social change initiatives. She is on the academic advisory board of the Inner Development Goals initiative, and she is also a member of the UN’s Conscious Food Systems Alliance. Jessica serves as Programme Leader for Alef Trust’s Master’s programme in Consciousness, Spirituality and Transpersonal Psychology. She teaches across a range of modules in integral psychology, creativity & transformation, research design, and applied transformative psychology, relating spiritual perspectives to activism and social change.

Jorge N. Ferrer, PhD, is a clinical psychologist, author, and educator. Jorge was a professor for more than 20 years at the California Institute of Integral Studies, where he served as chair of the Department of East–West Psychology. He is the author many articles and books on transpersonal psychology, integral education, religious studies, and intimate relationships, including Espiritualidad Creativa: Una Vision Participativa de lo Transpersonal (Kairos, 2004), Participation and the Mystery: Transpersonal Essays in Psychology, Education, and Religion (SUNY Press, 2017), and Love and Freedom: Transcending Monogamy and Polyamory (Rowman & Littlefield, 2021). Jorge was a member of the Esalen Institute’s Center for Theory and Research as well as an advisor to the Religions for Peace organization at the United Nation.

David Dubois, PhD, is a comparative philosopher, author, and Sanskrit scholar. David is one of the leading scholars on Kashmir Shaivism, a branch of classical tantra. He has translated and commented on numerous tantric texts such as the Vijnâna Bhairava Tantra (Almora, 2015). He is the author of over twenty books on the subject and on other spiritual themes. David studied Sanskrit and Tantra amongst masters of the tradition in India, where he also trained in Indian martial arts and Ayurveda. He believes in an approach rooted both in tradition and democracy. He teaches the yoga of space and the path of desire in the tradition of Kashmir Shaivism but is also inspired by Christian prayer as well as other wisdom traditions from the East and the West alike.

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Eliana Perinat is a visual artist and certified art therapist with many years of meditation practice. Eliana finds her main sources of inspiration within the natural world. Art is the path of consciousness that connects her to reality. Through artistic creation, she is able to focus, to see, to open up, and to reflect on herself and on the environment in which she finds herself. It is her way to inquire into existence and into human relationships. She finds awe in micro-macro patterns and in the forms inside and outside our bodies. Eliana offers individual and group sessions for healing through creative expression and for intuitive connection with nature.

Stephanie Canavesio is a therapist and meditation teacher. She builds a safe space for expansion, leading with empathy and listening. Each time she comes to the cushion with her students it is together with equality and equanimity, truth and trust – from a place of knowing the work that is necessary to reach our fullest potential, awareness of narrative, a conscious mind, and an open heart. No stranger to the limitations of our addictive patterns, Stephanie is an authentic guide for the healing journey. She is the founder of Presence Embodied, which brings together Compassionate Inquiry, meditative practices, and various other healing modalities. Stephanie connects you to the present moment to restore you to your truest expression and the practice of consciousness.

Olga Lidia Kozłowska is a licensed psychologist, singer, and voice coach. She is certified in Core Energetics Body Psychotherapist, Process training (A&A Mindell), and holds an MA in education. Drawing inspiration from Alexander Technique and Polyvagal Theory, Olga approaches voice work in a holistic and embodied way. She specializes in traditional Slavic and Georgian singing, choral music, and improvisation. Her teachers include Franke Kane, Natalia Polovynka, Emma Bonnici, Amit Carmeli, Kristin Linklater, and Lane Aryne. She is the founder of Authentic Voice and has been leading workshops since 2011.