CMVB Dec 2025: INNOVATION with Sheetal Ajmani, MD

Dr. Sheetal Ajmani on the INNOVATION of Social Prescribing

Our final gathering of 2025 set a fitting tone of healing and transformation, thanks to the empowering insights shared by Dr. Sheetal Ajmani of the Benjamin Goldberg Foundation, which integrates medicine and the arts to create meaningful change for those it serves. In front of more than 50 guests within The Garage Gallery at the Creative Well Arts Foundation, Dr. Ajmani shared her wealth of knowledge about the INNOVATION behind the healing arts.

Innovation, Dr. Ajmani argues, is born from instinct, from that “hunch” that calls us to dig deeper. For her, that hunch arrived during medical school when she began practicing yoga. It was during that time that she scribbled “East meets West medicine” in a journal, evoking the Ayurvedic teachings of her Indian heritage that were now also part of her yoga practice. “While I was all in on medical school, I knew there was more to healing than medicine… the concept of a whole mind, body and spirit called out to me.” For more than 20 years, she has been exploring that hunch.

In 2019, Dr. Ajmani serendipitously met Wendy Goldberg, founder of the Benjamin Goldberg Foundation, named after her late son, Ben, who was diagnosed with neuroblastoma when he was just five years old. In his memory, the foundation works with health systems to integrate the arts into ongoing healing modalities. In early 2023, the two women joined forces to bring the healing arts to the forefront of medical care in our local community (and beyond).

As the Benjamin Goldberg Foundation’s Medical Advisor. Dr. Ajmani now leverages her dual perspective to develop programs that educate and heal, including an annual Healing Arts in Medicine Conference. Passionate about sharing how the arts and social prescribing can be used to make a meaningful impact on the healing journeys of individuals, caregivers and communities, Dr. Ajmani and the Benjamin Goldberg Foundation partner with local arts organizations and artists to provide resources, tools and inspiration to children, caregivers and healthcare professionals through the Peace Out Portal.

Her proudest accomplishment to date has been the development of the Social Prescribing Pilot Program, which will provide critical data on the effects of social interventions – such as mindfulness and art practices – on cancer treatment.

Social prescribing connects patients with nonmedical, community-based activities like the arts to address [practical, social, and emotional factors that we know impact health] holistic symptoms, such as anxiety and loneliness, of poor health. While the concept of Social Prescribing has been adopted by 30 countries around the world, it has only recently become more resonant in the U.S. Through her work at the Benjamin Goldberg Foundation, Dr. Ajmani is working to change that.

“Social prescribing shifts the conversation from ‘what’s the matter with you?’ to ‘what matters to you.”

The data, Dr. Ajmani says, speaks for itself. She shared that research shows 20 percent of general doctor visits in the United Kingdom were related to nonmedical causes. After a year of incorporating Social Prescribing modalities, that number decreased by more than 50 percent. [Referenced from a phone conversation with the Head of Social Prescribing UK, Merton Burrough, on April 10, 2024. Similar statistics are referenced on page 4 here (42-50% reductions. Specific year not mentioned: https://socialprescribingacademy.org.uk/media/y0jjwhlk/nasp-impact-of-social-prescribing-on-health-service-use-and-costs.pdf]

As the Benjamin Goldberg Foundation prepares to spearhead its largest undertaking yet in 2026, Dr. Ajmani is hopeful that Social Prescribing will become a cornerstone in local medical practices.

“We are finally bridging the healing arts and medicine through evidence-based education, clinical research and community programming.”

That medical school “hunch” is paving the path for “East meets West medicine” to become the norm in our local community. To learn more about Dr. Ajmani’s work and find ways to get involved, visit benjamingoldbergfoundation.org.

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Written by CMVB volunteer blogger Valeria L. Palmertree

Join us every third Friday in 2025 as we explore, along with 236 other cities in 69 countries around the world, 12 new themes in a face-to-face community format. Recent themes have included Cycle, Revival, Punk and Soft. December’s theme is KOORSO, and our featured speaker is Kip Poole of Yorkie’s and The CROP Foundation.

CM also has virtual field trips and a database of previous talks to enjoy and explore at home.