About US
Penelope Orfanoudaki
Founder
Top Skills:
Art Psychotherapy | Neuroscience | Psychology | Group Therapy | Corporate Teams | Inclusion & Diversity
I was born in Greece, and my emotional homes are Crete and Champéry in Switzerland, where I live with Danny, my husband.
In a world where nearly one in four people globally report symptoms of burnout, the World Health Organization champions the remarkable, evidence based, benefits of arts for health and wellbeing. I feel truly fortunate to be able to use the Arts as a Tool to support Mental Health.
As an internationally acclaimed Art Psychotherapist, I specialise in Neuroscience-informed Group Art Therapy. I hold an MA in Art Psychotherapy from La Salle - Singapore and a postgraduate degree in Neuroscience and Psychology of Mental Health from King’s College London.
I have worked across Europe and Asia, where I’ve led groups of diverse communities. In Hong Kong, I served as the first art therapist at the national school for the blind, Ebenezer. Later, in Stockholm, I ran adult art therapy courses at Folkuniversitetet for four years, which were consistently sold out.
Before pursuing art therapy, I spent nearly two decades in the corporate world. Recovering from my own burnout led me into art therapy. It was during that time that I also discovered my passion for helping people.
I founded Artful Wellbeing with the sole objective, to share the transformative power of art as a tool to gain emotional insights and create authentic connections for a fulfilled life. And I love working with people, co-facilitators and participants alike.
1Founded Artful Retreats in 2016 and since then run dozens of groups welcoming participants from all over the world. A precious co-facilitator in this journey is my treasured classmate Romny Vandoros.
2In 2022, together with Romny, run the first workshops for the workplace. They were truly effective. Designed for corporate teams, these workshops bring art-based tools to a population I know well from inside, that they truly need them.
In this space, a new wonderful collaboration with Despina Yannouli has brought together the innovative blend of two powerful and seamlessly integrated wellbeing tools: Mindfulness and Art for Wellbeing.
3In 2024, I opened Artful Kera Studio in Crete to promote mental health through art within the local community, The objective is to give access to Arts for Health to everyone who wants to try it. For this reason we run sessions in Greek and English, In collaboration with a dear co-facilitator, Franny Bryant-Scott and the educator Anastasia Philon.
I feel truly privileged to have had welcomed hundreds of incredible participants in our groups and get to know, through our collaboration, some amazing wellbeing professionals and co-facilitators.
In addition to my Art Therapy and Neuroscience expertise, I hold a degree in IT and a Business Administration diploma from INSEAD.
(Registered EFAT, Europe)
