The 8^th AGM of IAPS was held on the 27^th of June, 2026 in Chennai. It was an in-person event. The welcome address was delivered by the President, Dr Aprajita Bhardwaj. Thereafter the Secretary, Treasurer and the facilitators of the different sub committees presented their reports.
The Founder, Dr Vasuki Mathivanan, congratulated the EC and the facilitators of different committees for commendable work carried out in the year April 2025-March 26. She nostalgically recalled the beginning and is humbled by the tremendous growth of IAPS. Dr Vasuki hoped all will strive to take IAPS to greater heights.

The seventh batch underwent the RISEUP Group Supervisor Training facilitated by IAPS. The training was held in Bangalore on the 21^st of June, 2026

The 27^th batch of senior mental health professionals who underwent RISEUP Supervisor Training facilitated by IAPS. The training was held in hybrid mode. 17^th June, 2026 training was held on the Zoom platform and the training on 19^th and 20^th June, 2026 was in-person at Bangalore.

International Conference on Human Resilience: Navigating Life Changes & Challenges (HRCONF2026), took place at Hong Kong Shue Yan University from 27^th to 30^th May 2026. This conference was organised by Hong Kong Shue Yan University and co-organised by the Asian Pacific Rim Confederation of Counsellors (APRCC) and the Asian Professional Counselling & Psychology Associations (APCPA).

IAPS is proud to highlight that we were one of the collaborators. The logo is visible in the banner.

IAPS member, Ms Subhdha Karnik, presented a paper at the conference. Two other members, Dr Mamatha Shetty and Ms Irawathi Joglekar, also attended.

Sharing some pictures of the conference. IAPS received the Certificate of Appreciation. It was received by our Advisory Board Member, Dr Devasena Desai.

Dr Devasena visited the IAPS office on 8^th June to hand over the certificate.

Brief Report by Dr Devasena Desai

HRCONF 2026 Conference

The HRCONF conference 2026 at Hong Kong Shue Yan University provided a valuable opportunity to engage with contemporary research and practice in the fields of wellbeing, human development, and resilience. The diversity of perspectives represented by researchers, educators, and mental health professionals facilitated meaningful reflection on current approaches to prevention and intervention within educational settings.

A key takeaway across both keynote sessions and research presentations was the conceptualisation of resilience as a developmental process that unfolds across the lifespan. The discussions moved beyond viewing resilience as an individual characteristic and instead highlighted its ecological and contextual nature, shaped through interactions between individuals and their environments. Of particular interest was the growing body of evidence supporting resilience-promoting interventions during the early and foundational years, reinforcing the importance of preventive and developmental approaches within school mental health services.

The keynote addresses by Professors from the United Kingdom and China further emphasised the value of adopting a lifespan and systems-oriented perspective when designing wellbeing initiatives. The interconnected influence of family, school, peer, and community systems emerged as a recurring theme, underscoring the need for resilience-building efforts that extend beyond individual-level interventions.

Paper Presentation by our member Ms Subhdha Karnik

International Conference on Human Resilience at Hongkong 28^th May to 30^th May 2026 Mrs Shubhada Karnik (Member No: PM112) attended an international conference on Human Resilience: Navigating Life Changes and Challenges at Hongkong The Shue Yan University held from 28^thMay to 30^thMay 2026. She presented the paper with the title “Mandala Art with children living with complex trauma in institutional care.” The paper was co-authored by the psychologist Sampada Deshpande. The research aim was to explore the potential of mandala art therapy as a non-verbal intervention for emotional regulation among children with complex trauma in a semi-orphanage setting. It is an action research with a sample size of seventeen children between six to thirteen years of age. Data analysis had three main aspects like structured observation,field notes, and semi structured interviews. It showed two types of positive affect like lifting the mood and maintaining the positive mood. The conference was attended by researchers across the world. The topic and the presentation was well received by the audience. The presentation conveyed a clear message about the findings, implications and limitations.

The 26^th batch of senior mental health professionals who underwent RISEUP Supervisor Training facilitated by IAPS. The training was held in hybrid mode. 11^th March, 2026 training was held on the Zoom platform and the training on 13^th and 14^th, March, 2026 was in-person at Chennai.

The sixth batch underwent the RISEUP Group Supervision Training facilitated by IAPS. The training was held in Chennai on the 15^th of March, 2026.