#ABOUT
Welcome to
Creative Therapy Adelaide
Adelaide’s leading allied health practice for creative arts therapy services.
Our mission
To transform lives with meaningful therapy that draws on creativity.
Our promise
- High-quality - always informed by research and best practice.
- Fun and creative - never boring.
- Simplicity - less paperwork, more meaningful interactions.
Our founder's story
Natalie Oliveri founded Creative Therapy Adelaide with a vision to provide high quality, creative therapy in the community. Her passion is to work with people of all ages to build their capacity for daily functioning and to improve their health and well being through musical engagement and activities. Natalie’s mission has been to build a team that can carry the Creative Therapy values that hinge on understanding a person’s strengths and building on those to help them to achieve their goals.
Natalie began her music therapy career after obtaining post-graduate qualifications in the Masters in Music Therapy through the Melbourne Conservatorium of Music’s Music Therapy training program. She started out facilitating classroom-based music therapy programs to children 5-18 years with profound and multiple disabilities at a special education centre in Adelaide and was shaped as a music therapist through her role as Clinical Specialist with Sing&Grow Australia delivering music therapy services to children 0-5 years and their parents in the community. This work took her home visiting and providing group sessions for families experiencing hardship, mental illness, those engaged with child protection services, families with children with disabilities and families that wanted to aid their children’s development through music.
Today Natalie continues to advocate for music therapy as a practice and profession, with a mission to provide greater access to creative therapies (and music!) in her community.
#CREATIVITY
Creative experience, creative wellbeing.
We work with people of all ages to build their capacity for daily functioning, to improve their health and well being through creative engagement and activities.
Creativity
We believe creativity is the key to growth and development. People who engage in the creative arts therapies are able to access more neural pathways when they engage in music, dance, art and drama.
Research-informed
Our team participates in peer supervision and work together to ensure our best-practice offering is always to a high standard, informed by evidence and specifically tailored to the individual.
Family-centred
When working with children and adults alike, our creative therapists build capacity, knowledge and skills in parents and caregivers, so they feel supported to make decisions for the person they care for.
Strengths-based
We focus on what you can do, and use it as a starting point to grow capacity, learn new skills and foster wellbeing. Many people are exceptionally creative and connect profoundly with music and the arts.
Meet the team
Meet the individuals behind Creative Therapy Adelaide.
Natalie Oliveri
Managing Director | Registered Music Therapist
Natalie is a Registered Music Therapist and also Director at Creative Therapy Adelaide. Natalie has been a practising music therapist since 2015 and is Neurologic Music Therapy trained. She has worked for not-for-profit, Sing&Grow Australia and partnered with organisations to provide private and community music therapy programs. Her passion is working with families of young children to support them to gain confidence in using music at home in ways that support child development and build rich and positive home environments through music engagement. Her approach is strengths-based and family centred and she believes all people should have access to enriching experiences through the creative arts.
Natalie’s primary instrument is voice.
Rowan Harding
Senior Registered Music Therapist
Bec Morris
Senior Speech Therapist
Bec is a speech therapist who completed her Bachelor of Applied Science in Speech Pathology (Honours) at Flinders University and has been practising for 20+ years. She supports people of all ages to develop their communication and express themselves fully. She has extensive experience in supporting people with all types of brains, be they autistic, with a learning or intellectual disability, or any developmental disability. She takes an individual approach to understanding the person’s strengths and harnesses their motivations to communicate and connect with others. She believes in an optimistic approach to therapy and building a sense of growth and fulfilment with people. Bec focuses on making her speech therapy sessions engaging, interesting and creative, because she knows that we learn best when we are feeling positive and expressing ourselves! Bec also plays piano and loves being joyful with all forms of music.
Ri Na Yu
Registered Music Therapist
Rina is a Registered Music Therapist who completed a Master of Creative Music Therapy at Western Sydney University and a Bachelor of Classical Performance majoring in piano at the Australian Institute of Music. She later furthered her music therapy education by completing Neurologic Music Therapy Training. Her music therapy experience ranges from working with children to elders with a wide range of disabilities. Rina’s passion lies in making meaningful connections with clients, whether that is through playing favorite songs or connecting through improvisation. Rina’s approach in her clinical work is flexible and tailored to the individual with a focus on developing emotional well-being, self-expression, and relatedness to others with the aim of using music to support everyday life. Rina’s primary instruments are cello and piano.
Mioi Forster-Nakayama
Registered Dance Movement Therapist
Mioi is passionate about making connections with children and adults through movements and dance. She says, “When I move and dance, I feel free, joyful. and confident.” That is what participants can experience with her in the safe space she provides. Mioi completed her Master of Dance Movement Psychotherapy at Goldsmiths, University of London and is a qualified clinical supervisor. Her ten-year-clinical experience ranges from working with people with Autism, ADHD, traumas, attachment issues, anxiety and depression. Mioi has worked in schools, mental health hospitals, and prisons in the U.K, and Japan. She is a trauma and attachment focused psychotherapist with a great understanding of culture, ethnicity and neurodiversity.
Amy Deegan
Service Coordinator | Developmental Educator
Amy is Creative Therapy Adelaide’s Service Coordinator. She is a Registered Developmental Educator and has experience within aged care, early intervention settings, with school aged children and adults within supported employment. Amy worked as a support worker for many years with adults and is a kind and caring individual who ensures all of our participants are supported. She is passionate about ensuring people living with a disability have good quality of life and their rights are upheld.
Kun Koh
Registered Music Therapist
Kun is a registered music therapist and holds a Master of Music Therapy at the University of Melbourne and a Bachelor of Contemporary Music majoring in piano at Australian Institute of Music. Kun has worked in special school and hospital settings to support people with neuro-rehabilitation, global developmental delay, Autism Spectrum Disorder, anxiety and depression. Kun believes everyone should have the opportunity to engage in music and have the freedom to express themselves creatively. Kun takes a person-centred approach and aims to draw the people around the participant into music therapy sessions, making positive and meaningful memories the group can share. Kun’s primary instrument is piano.
Lucy Leane
Speech Therapist
Matteo Giordano
Business Development Manager
Matteo is a qualified and experienced business manager with several years of experience across multiple industries. At Creative Therapy Adelaide he provides support to the therapy team and ensures the operations of the clinic work harmoniously.
Matteo’s primary instrument is bass guitar.
Tiffeny Warnest
Front Desk Support
Meet Tiffeny, our wonderful administrator with a natural knack for connecting with people of all ages through her authentic and welcoming personality. With over a decade of experience in administration and customer service, she excels in providing exceptional support to our team. Tiffeny’s background in business ownership, aged care, and property management brings a unique and valuable perspective to her role. But Tiffeny isn’t just all business! She knows how to sprinkle some fun into the workplace. When she’s not dazzling us with her administrative brilliance, she loves embracing the great outdoors, spending quality time with her family, staying active at the gym, and getting creative in the kitchen!
