Creative Therapy Adelaide – Year in Review 2024

Wow, what a year it has been for Creative Therapy Adelaide! As 2024 comes to a close, we’re taking a moment to reflect on our journey, achievements, and the exciting plans we have for the future.

This year has been a milestone for us, with a focus on innovation, creativity, advocacy, and continuing to provide high-quality services that make a difference in people’s lives. Here’s a snapshot of what we’ve been up to:

Service Highlights:

• This year, we welcomed Music Therapist Luke Dowsett and Speech Therapist Louise O’Reilly to the team. Their contributions have been awesome, especially with Luke leading a Dementia Care program at the Older Persons’ Mental Health Service at Northgate House, which led to the creation of a music therapist role at the site.
• We completed our mid-term NDIS registration audit and confirmed our position as a quality provider. We also supported individuals in accessing music therapy through the Lifetime Support Authority, Compulsory Third Party Insurance, and Return to Work SA.

Looking ahead to 2025, we can’t wait to continue to support people and are excited to provide more people in aged care and rehabilitation with our creative services.

Advocacy and Community Impact:

• We continued to engage with the community by offering presentations and professional development opportunities about music therapy to colleagues in the allied health and government sectors. This included sessions with Two Way Street, The Brain Injury Research Unit, OTFC, ActivOT, Therabees, and more.
• We launched our community music program Shake It Up! in partnership with the Burnside Council. This initiative has paved the way for the development of more mainstream services at our Torrensville clinic in 2025, aimed at making music therapy more accessible to young families.
• We hosted our first Creative Showcase, where participants in music therapy worked towards performance goals as part of their therapy journey. It was a significant moment for them to overcome emotional and attentional regulation challenges and share their achievements with family and friends. We couldn’t be more proud of what they accomplished.

Your support has been instrumental in helping us reach more people in our community, thank you for your referrals and spreading the word about what Creative Therapy offers!

Research and Innovation:

• This year, we partnered with The University of Adelaide’s Speech Pathology Department and hosted four students who conducted research as part of their Honours projects on our Talk’n’Tunes early childhood music therapy and speech therapy program for children under five. In 2025, we’re excited to expand and enhance the Talk’n’Tunes program based on the insights gathered from this research.
• Seven of our team members attended the 49th Annual Music Therapy Conference at the University of Western Sydney’s Parramatta campus in September 2024, with six of them presenting on their work.

Our commitment to innovation ensures we remain at the forefront of allied health services, leveraging evidence-based practices to create meaningful change.

The Year Ahead:

• We’ve had a challenging time in the music therapy community and beyond, as more has come to light about the support of music therapy within the NDIS. There is a lot of advocacy and work to be done over the coming months to ensure music therapy has its rightful place as a therapy support and is available to participants in the interest of choice and control, so people can choose the evidence-based supports that work for their unique needs, but we are optimistic! You can read more about our advocacy here.
• We’re excited to welcome Esther Lange to the team, a new speech pathologist with a musical inclination. She’ll be with us from Week 1, Term 1, and we’re looking forward to you meeting her.

Holiday Closure:

Our team will be taking a well-deserved break over the holiday period. Creative Therapy Adelaide’s last day will be Monday 23rd Dec and reopen on Monday 6th January 2025.  Our admin email will be monitored during this time, but for non-urgent matters, we’ll get back to you in the new year.

We want to extend a huge thank you to our clients, team, and supporters. We look forward to getting creative with you in 2025!

Wishing you a safe and joyful summer break.

Warm regards,

Natalie Oliveri & The Creative Therapy Adelaide Team