Tasha Golden, Ph.D. ~ International Speaker | Expert in Creativity + Wellbeing
Tasha Golden, PhD is a touring artist turned behavioral scientist who speaks and consults globally on creativity, wellbeing, and change.
Dr. Golden was the first Director of Research for the International Arts + Mind Lab at Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, is adjunct faculty in the University of Florida Center for Arts in Medicine, and lead author of “Arts on Prescription: A Field Guide for US Communities”. Named one of Fierce Pharma’s “Fierce 50” for her work integrating arts and healthcare, she has published extensively on intersections of arts, behavior, and wellbeing.
Golden’s work emerged from her career in the arts. As singer-songwriter for the critically acclaimed band Ellery, she toured internationally, with songs in TV/film (ABC, SHOWTIME, FOX, NETFLIX). Her experiences on the road, and subsequently with burnout and depression, shaped her current work in arts and health. She is founder of Project Uncaged, a trauma-informed writing program for incarcerated girls, and developer of “How We Human”—a mental health training for creative professionals.
Dr. Golden helps clients and audiences combine creativity and science to advance wellbeing, innovation, and impact.
Conversation Starters:
- You began as a full-time singer/songwriter and are now a health scientist and creativity expert. How did that transition happen?
- You’ve been open about your experiences with burnout and depression and created a mental health training for creatives. How has this shaped your work as a health scientist and consultant?
- You developed the “creative mindset” framework. What are its three pillars, and how can leaders use them to drive innovation and navigate uncertainty?
- You discuss “creative refusal,” the idea that challenging emotions can fuel breakthroughs. Can you explain this concept and how people can apply it?
- You work across arts, health, business, and more. How does this interdisciplinary approach influence your work, and what advice do you have for others looking to break traditional boundaries?
- How does creativity relate to mental health? How can people tap into their creative potential for better wellbeing?
- You research and speak about a new model of healthcare called “Arts on Prescription,” where creative activities are prescribed to improve health. Can you explain how this works?
- Many organizations struggle with workplace wellbeing despite investing in wellness programs. What are they missing, and how can creativity and innovative thinking create more resilient, high-performing cultures?
- You’ve written about the concept of “talk-about-ability,” and how art can make challenging topics…well, “talk-about-able.” Tell us about this concept, and why it matters for our lives or our work.
- What are some hidden drivers of health that most people overlook, and how can understanding them change how we approach wellbeing?
- You founded a program called Project Uncaged, an arts-based health intervention for incarcerated girls. What is that program, and what led you to create it?
- You created “How We Human,” a mental health training for creatives. What gap did you aim to fill with this program?
To download Dr. Golden’s Conversation Starters
Most Popular Topics:
Leadership & Innovation:
- From Burnout to Breakthrough: A Scientist’s Journey Through Depression to Discovery.
- The Creative Mindset: Three Pillars for Breakthrough Innovation and Leadership.
- Breaking through the Status Quo: The Value of Getting Out of Your “Lane.”
Workplace Transformation & Culture:
- Reimagining Workplace Wellbeing: Beyond Wellness Programs to Creative Culture.
- The Art of Navigating Uncertainty: How Creative Thinking Transforms Challenges into Opportunities.
Health & Wellbeing Revolution:
- The Hidden Drivers of Health: What Really Creates Human Flourishing
- When Doctors Prescribe Art: The Surprising Next Step in Healthcare
- “Talk-about-ability”: How Creative Expression Breaks Through Communication Barriers
Partial List of Previous Podcasts:
SHIFT with Elena Agar
The Breakout with Dr. Keri Ohlrich & Kelly Guenther
Empowerography with Brad Walsh
Fidelis Leadership with Mike Ettore
Passion Purpose Possibilities with Candice Snyder
Road to Resilience with Stephen Calabria
Real Things Living with Brigitte Cutshall
Stuck in my Mind with Wil “Wize” Otero
Our Creative Connection with Chris Chinnock
Transition Bridge with Debi Ronca
Enhance Life with Music with Mindy Peterson
Sustainable Ambition with Kathy Oneto
Way Word Writers with Nicki Jacobsmeyer
Design Better with Eli Woolery and Aarron Walter
Podnosis with Anastassia Gliadkovskaya
All Things Therapy with Lisa Tahir
School of Reinvention with Roger Osorio
Find Your Leadership Confidence with Vicki Noethling
NXTLVL Experience Design with David Kepron
Health Promotion Practice with Arden Castle
Art Heals All Wounds with Pam Uzzell
Veterans Affairs C20 with Chad Kessler
Arts For The Health Of It with Catherine Particini
Five Things with Tara Anderson
Our Turn to Talk with Anastasia Vlasova
Distiller with Brandon Dawson
Brain Waves with Laurie Hernandez
Brain Waves with Brandon Staglin
Art and Happiness Project with Agathe Westad
Lifetime Arts with Käthe Swaback
Partial List of Previous Speaking Engagements:
- SXSW 2024, 2025
- Intentional Spaces Summit
- U.S. Conference of Mayors
- National Academy of Medicine
- POLITICO European Health Summit
- CogX Festival
- American Alliance of Museums
- ThermenGruppe Josef Wund
- National Endowment for the Arts
- SNF Stavros Nostos Conference
- Boutique Hotel Network
- National Association of City and County Health Officials (NACCHO)
- Association of Performing Arts Professionals (APAP)
- Grantmakers in Health
- Johns Hopkins University
- University of Florida
- National Association of Schools of Music (NASM)
- SilkRoad
- Ohio Arts Council
- Grantmakers in the Arts
- National Organization for Arts in Health
- Association of California Symphony Orchestras (ACSO)
- Straz Center for the Performing Arts
- Itaú Cultural
- National Association of State Arts Agencies (NASAA)
- …and many more, including festivals, universities, school districts, national arts initiatives, etc.
Proud Member of Innovation Women:
Rave Reviews:
“After over 6 years of podcasting and nearly 400 episodes of my podcast, I have had many kinds of guests on my show. Dr. Tasha Golden was one of my favorites as she approaches mental health with a fresh new outlook to utilizing our creative brains to express emotions that may otherwise be buried too deep to access. Dr. Golden’s real life experience from her younger years as a singer-songwriter gave her the basis to witness how many could access their emotions through her music. I was very intrigued to learn of her journey from a musician to now having her doctorate in understanding these very key ways of healing emotional trauma. Her broad narrative and experience will make her a wonderful guest for so many podcasts!” ~ Mary Crafts, Host, Crafting a Meaningful Life
“This is absolutely awe-inspiring. I could listen to this all day.”
“Thank you, Dr. Golden, for a beautiful and encouraging presentation!”
~ Attendees, Veterans Affairs C20 Podcast
“What stands out so clearly in Dr. Golden’s work and presentations is that she is…able to translate [research] discoveries into practices that people can understand—communicating with heart, clarity, and aesthetic beauty…”
~Käthe Swaback, MA, ATR; Creative Youth Development and CultureRx: Social Prescription Program Officer, Mass Cultural Council
“In Dr. Golden, you gain not only a prepared and passionate speaker, but an empathetic advocate who shows up fully with her wisdom, education, and experiences.”
~Lauren (Lo) Houser, Director, Project Jericho
“As the Director of Research, working with the International Arts + Mind Lab at Johns Hopkins, [Dr. Golden] carries the expertise, discipline, extensive knowledge, and curiosity of a scientist…Because of her background as a singer/songwriter, teaching artist, and founder of her own arts and health program…what she communicates is done with grace, humility, compassion”
~ Käthe Swaback, MA, ATR; Creative Youth Development and CultureRx: Social Prescription Program Officer, Mass Cultural Council
“I have heard from so many people how amazing and insightful the presentation was. . .thank you for inspiring all of us!”
~Jordan Soliz, Ph.D.; Professor, University of Nebraska-Lincoln; Host of UNL’s “Health Equity Grand Rounds”
“Not only does she successfully communicate how relevant the science of arts and health is, she also lives and practices it in her own life. Through her words and presence, she presents the evidence of what we stand to gain by engaging in the arts to improve our connection, health, and overall well-being.”
~Lauren (Lo) Houser, Director, Project Jericho
Print Interviews:
- National Endowment for the Arts American Artscape Magazine (feature story): “The Art of Being Human: The Relationship Between Well-Being and Living an Artful Life with Dr. Tasha Golden”
- The Guardian: “Take two Van Goghs daily: the growing popularity of museum prescriptions”
- Nonprofit Quarterly: “The Art Effect: Neuroaesthetics and the Future of Health Equity”
- Buzzfeed Health: Can Music Heal Your Mind? This Radio Station’s Mental Health Programs Aim To At Least Try.”
Radio Interviews:
Books:
Dr. Golden is the lead author of Arts on Prescription: A Field Guide for U.S. Communities
Dr. Golden is the author of Once You Had Hands (Humanist Press).
She has also authored the following book chapters:
- Golden, T.L. et al. (2022). Effects of Setting on Psychedelic Experiences, Therapies, and Outcomes: A Rapid Scoping Review of the Literature. In: Barrett, F.S., Preller, K.H. (eds) Disruptive Psychopharmacology. Current Topics in Behavioral Neurosciences, vol 56. Springer, Cham.
- Golden, T. (2018). Writing with incarcerated teen women: Trauma-informed pedagogy, health, and gender equity. In Lockard & Rankins-Robertson (Eds.), Prison Pedagogies: Learning and Teaching with Imprisoned Writers. Syracuse, NY: Syracuse University Press.
- Golden, T. (2018). Subalternity in juvenile justice: Gendered oppression and the rhetoric of reform. In Pauszek, J., Girdharry, K., Lesh, C., and Parks, S. (eds) Best of the Journals in Rhetoric and Composition 2018. Anderson, SC: Parlor Press.
Golden, T. (2017). Pop Heresy: Songwriting at the Edge of the Speakable. In Erickson, G. and Schweizer, B. (Eds), Reading Heresy: Religion and Dissent in Literature and Art. Berlin and Boston: De Gruyter Press.
Videos and Articles:
Ongoing Blog with Psychology Today:
- “The Art of Refusal: Far from being an end, an emphatic “no” is often a vital first step toward change”
- “The 3 Pillars of the Creative Mindset: A framework for moving beyond limitations to create meaningful transformation”
Tasha Golden on Arts and Mental Health
“Arts on Prescription: An Emerging Model of Mental Healthcare” in Psychology Today
Select List of Peer-Reviewed Publications
Website:
TashaGolden.com
