We pay our deep respects to the First Peoples of Boon Wurrung Country where we will meet.

CREATIVE MENTAL HEALTH FORUM AND SELF CARE RETREAT

Friday 14th – Monday 17th May 2021

Inverloch RACV Resort, Bass Coast, Victoria.

 

This training event is proudly endorsed by PACFA for 11 hours of continuing professional development.

 

The Creative Mental Health Forum and Self Care Retreat supports the goals of the ACTivate Arts Therapy campaign in

showcasing how the Creative Arts Therapies are holistic, person centred, inclusive and value lived experience.

We welcome Professor Anne (Dan) Harris, Director of Creative Agency Research Lab,

ARC Future Fellow, Associate Dean, Research & Innovation, School of Education, RMIT University.

Profits from this forum/retreat will be donated to support CATA’s work

employing qualified Arts Therapists to work with families of children receiving end of life care. 

Presenters include:
 
Your Host, Dr Carla van Laar MCAT, Prof Doc ThAP, AThR, author of Bereaved Mother’s Heart and Seeing Her Stories
Special Guest Presenter, Professor Anne (Dan) Harris, ARC Future Fellow, Associate Dean, Research & Innovation, School of Education, RMIT University www.creativeresearchhub.com
Dr Amanda Musicka-Williams, MDMT, PhD, Dramatherapist and Graduate Researcher CATRU, University of Melbourne
Dr Alisoun Neville MCAT, PhD, AThR, NDIS Arts Therapy training provider, Author and Advocate
Tara Harriden MMH, PhD candidate, AThR, Founder Whole Hearts and Minds, Leader in Indigenous Research in Art Therapy
Trish Thompson M Counselling, Clinical member PACFA, psychotherapist and accredited supervisor
Svetlana Bykovec MThAP, AThR, Lead Art Therapist for Creative Art Therapy Australia (CATA)
Michelle Smith RN, Masters of Art Therapy Candidate. Aboriginal Arts and Health Worker.
 
 
Your Self Care Workshop Facilitators are:
 
Lee Agius MCAT AThR, award winning Creative Arts Therapist, Founder Artful Warrior Mental Health Therapy Service
Anjali Sengupta, Grad Dip DMT, Dance-Movement Therapist and Founder Embracing Spirit
Michelle Morgan MThAP AThR, Founder Cocoon Creative Arts Therapies, Creator of Mandala Soul Oracle Cards
Melissa Nelson-Campbell MThAP AThR, Lived Experience Practitioner and Primary School Art Therapist
Jiancong (Eric) Zhang MA Art Therapy, AThR, Founder Unfold Art Therapy, NDIS Art Therapist
Natalie Poole, Grad Dip DMT, Masters candidate, Dance-Movement Therapist and Five Rhythms Teacher
Chris Petrie, MThAP, AThR, Founder Upbeat Arts, NDIS Arts Therapist
Bronwyn Roberts, BPsySc, Chief Happiness Officer: Let’s Laugh, Laughter Yoga Wellbeing Master Trainer, Skillful Mind Mindfulness Teacher
 
 
$600 registration fee covers core program, Friday night Welcome Dinner, morning and afternoon teas, and is payable in 3 instalments.
Registration does not include accomodation or meals other than the Welcome Dinner.
 
The core program includes:
Welcome Dinner
Morning mindful activities
6 x keynote presentations
6 x 1.5 hour experiential workshops
Optional wellness activities for self-care including dance, yoga, art making, swimming and walking.
Surfing, Stand Up Paddle Boarding and Snorkelling are available as optional add ons at affordable prices.
 

Experience for yourself how:

Creative practices support mental health

Contemporary Arts Therapists are working to promote and recover mental wellbeing

Arts Therapies are inclusive, holistic, trauma-informed and socially relevant.

The 2021 Creative Mental Health Forum and Self-care Retreat is an opportunity to look after yourself and learn

while enjoying good company and restorative time in the living world.

It is hosted only two hours drive from Melbourne in the beautiful surrounds of the Bass Coast Bunurong Marine Park and township of coastal Inverloch.

This Professional Development event is suitable for Creative Arts Therapists, Psychotherapists, Health and Allied Health Professionals, Educators and Caring Professionals who are interested in understanding more about creative approaches in mental health care.

The Creative Mental Health Forum and Self-care Retreat includes:

Cultural awareness, welcome dinner and keynote

Creative Mental Health workshops and presentations

Participation in wellness practices including mindfulness, dance, swimming, nature walks, surfing and paddle boarding

Time to relax, explore and connect with your friends and colleagues

Exhibition of Creative Mental Health projects

“Decolonising Therapy” lived experience experts panel discussion on the future of Creative Mental Health in Australia.

We will keep updating this page as more details are confirmed.

Please register now to ensure your place. 

“Welcome to Country and Cultural Discovery Walk” with Sonia Weston.

“Welcome to Country and Cultural Discovery Walk” with Sonia Weston.

Get ready for a very personal experience being Welcomed to Country by Sonia Weston at the 2025 Creative Mental Health Forum and Collective Care Retreat in the beautiful coastal town of Inverloch. … Read More

“Promoting Creative Healing and Preventing Human Trafficking” with Nepalese Activist and Psychologist, Anuradha Acharya.

“Promoting Creative Healing and Preventing Human Trafficking” with Nepalese Activist and Psychologist, Anuradha Acharya.

Members of the 2025 Creative Mental Health Forum extend a heartfelt welcome to Anuradha Acharya, an inspiring leader who will be joining us in May 2025.

Anuradha, or ‘Anu’ is a compassionate psychologist with over 15 years of experience dedicated to supporting survivors of violence, sexual exploitation, and trafficking in Nepal. Her unwavering commitment focuses on helping survivors heal and grow after these traumas. This has led Anu to discover and embrace arts-based and creative approaches as healing modalities. … Read More

“Making our Marks”: ND Affirming Creative Arts Therapy with Freya Pinney.

“Making our Marks”: ND Affirming Creative Arts Therapy with Freya Pinney.

Making Our Marks: Reflections on ND Affirming practice by neurodivergent creative arts therapists explores the perspectives of neurodivergent identifying CATs and what ND affirming practice means to them.

This research project involves 7 ND identifying CATs participating in collaborative co-inquiries and interviews. … Read More

Printmaking: The Nature of Reciprocity with Melinda Jane and Emma Fayelecaun.

Printmaking: The Nature of Reciprocity with Melinda Jane and Emma Fayelecaun.

How might we bring ourselves into meaningful relationships with other bodies, both human and non-human, using embodiment, reciprocity and expressive play?

Using creative printmaking as our primary modality, the invitation will be to explore connection, kinship and reciprocal relationships, with place, with materials and with others. … Read More

Outdoor Play Therapy with Kim Wood, Founder of Heartwood Health Farm.

Outdoor Play Therapy with Kim Wood, Founder of Heartwood Health Farm.

Outdoor Play Therapy with Kim Wood - experience and learn about it for yourself at the 2025 Creative Mental Health Forum.    Introducing Kim WoodMeet Kim Wood, a biologist turned

Inverloch Pop-Up ART CO – the evidence of participation

Inverloch Pop-Up ART CO – the evidence of participation

Image: A young visitor admiring artist Martha Breninger's "Ocean Goddess" soft sculpture. We created a driftwood shrine for her, and many visitors to the ARTCO created soft colourful pom-poms to

Dr Carla van Laar – advocating for Creative and Experiential Therapists

Dr Carla van Laar – advocating for Creative and Experiential Therapists

Advocacy for Creative and Experiential Therapies Part of my role as Convenor of PACFA's College of Creative and Experiential Therapies (CCET),is a pivotal job in actively shaping the landscape of mental

CCET’s monthly professional development webinar series launches on 3rd September with an Introduction to Dramatherapy from Dr Amanda Musicka-Williams!

CCET’s monthly professional development webinar series launches on 3rd September with an Introduction to Dramatherapy from Dr Amanda Musicka-Williams!

Join PACFA's College of Creative and Experiential Therapies (CCET) for an introductory presentation on Dramatherapy by Dr. Amanda Musicka-Williams:Explore key international definitions and approaches to dramatherapy practiceLearn about the range

RADICAL CREATIVITY with Dr Carla van Laar and Melanie Knight

RADICAL CREATIVITY with Dr Carla van Laar and Melanie Knight

Rhythm in Flow - Dance Meditation   Dancing is a way of knowing ourselves beyond the physical. Dancing is a way of processing what is stored in the body Dancing

CRAFTING IDENTITY – A BARBIE ART THERAPY WORKSHOP with Michelle Morgan and Alana Stewart

CRAFTING IDENTITY – A BARBIE ART THERAPY WORKSHOP with Michelle Morgan and Alana Stewart

Crafting Identities - a Barbie Art Therapy Workshop   Recently, Mattel released Art Therapist Barbie. She’s the first Barbie in a mental health profession. She’s young, light-skinned, casually dressed, sits

TEXTURAL TRUENESS: LIVED AND LIVING EXPERIENCE with Bree Till

TEXTURAL TRUENESS: LIVED AND LIVING EXPERIENCE with Bree Till

Textural Trueness: Authenticity, Preservation and Permeable Boundaries of Lived and Living Experiences as Sustainable Resources to Support Diverse Populations.    Bree Till is a carer and art therapist with training

ART THERAPY IN POST-CONFLICT RECONCILIATION AND DETAINEE REHABILITATION with Chanudi Wickramasinha

ART THERAPY IN POST-CONFLICT RECONCILIATION AND DETAINEE REHABILITATION with Chanudi Wickramasinha

Exploring the Role of Art Therapy in Post-Conflict Reconciliation and Detainee Rehabilitation    Art Therapist, Chanudi Wickramasinha is joining us in May 2024 to share learnings from her fascinating work

Henry De Oleveira – Actor and Theatre Maker

Henry De Oleveira – Actor and Theatre Maker

Introducing Henry Meet Henry De Oleveira, a dedicated actor and theatremaker based in Naarm /  Melbourne. He graduated from Federation University's Arts Academy in 2021 with a Bachelor of Performing

STRENGTHENING THE VESSEL with Ann Soo Lawrence

STRENGTHENING THE VESSEL with Ann Soo Lawrence

Strengthening the Vessel in the Ebb and Flow: Creative approaches in working with refugees and asylum seeker experiences.    Hosts of the 2024 Creative Mental Health Forum are delighted to

Dr Carla van Laar – Artist and Creative Arts Therapist

Dr Carla van Laar – Artist and Creative Arts Therapist

Artist’s Statement I pay my respects to the Boon Wurrung People, on whose traditional lands this exhibition takes place. I honour them, their elders and ancestors. They have inhabited, cared

PLAYBACK THEATRE LIVE AND REAL with A/Prof Drew Bird

PLAYBACK THEATRE LIVE AND REAL with A/Prof Drew Bird

Playback Theatre - Live and Real    The Creative Mental Health Forum and Collective Care Retreat is delighted  to welcome Associate Professor, Dramatherapist Drew Bird as a specialist workshop presenter

COnnect in a CO-creative space in one of our workshops – something for everyone

COnnect in a CO-creative space in one of our workshops – something for everyone

Inverloch's new Pop-Up ART CO is providing plenty of opportunity to get your creative holiday juices flowing with a range of creative workshops suitable for adults, teens and children this

COme on in and enjoy Inverloch’s pop-up ART exhibition featuring local artists

COme on in and enjoy Inverloch’s pop-up ART exhibition featuring local artists

The former accountants offices in the heart of Inverloch are being re-invented as a colourful, vibrant, artist-led space for local artists to exhibit their art work and connect with visitors

CO-llaborate on our CO-mmunity installations at ART CO

CO-llaborate on our CO-mmunity installations at ART CO

Our reception area is set to be transformed by collaborative community installations and you are invited to participate!Pom-pom Bomb the driftwood sculpture with up-cycled wool and yarnChatterbox Corner - fold

Experience the Practice-led, Creative Approach to Supervision with Dr Carla van Laar’s “Supervision Studio”

Experience the Practice-led, Creative Approach to Supervision with Dr Carla van Laar’s “Supervision Studio”

Art is a Way of Knowing There is a difference between making art to "express something", and making art as a form of inquiry, using creative process as a means

BIRTHING THE NEW PARADIGM, TOGETHER with Marianne Wobcke

BIRTHING THE NEW PARADIGM, TOGETHER with Marianne Wobcke

Birthing the new paradigm, together.    Hosts of the 2024 Creative Mental Health Forum are honoured to be joined by Indigenous Midwife, award wining Arts and Health Practitioner and PhD