MIAA warmly welcomes you to join the 2026 Conference, exploring the theme Vitality. Hope. Strength. This year we gather in person at our new venue, RACV City Club, 501 Bourke Street, Melbourne CBD. We look forward to connecting with many of you there.
The conference theme: Vitality. Hope. Strength. invites us to reflect on how we, as therapists, hold and nurture space for clients as they navigate their inner worlds while living within a changing global landscape marked by environmental uncertainty, cultural shifts, and shared challenges that shape the human experience. Together, we will explore how music, imagery, and mindful presence cultivate resilience, inspire hope, and support meaningful transformation.
Book your tickets now!
Keynote speaker
We are delighted to announce our keynote speaker, Dr Sonia Donnellan, who will be joining us for this year’s conference.
Dr Sonia Donnellan is an artist, therapist, and mother of three daughters, bringing over a decade of experience facilitating therapy groups and working individually with adults. Her practice spans a range of clinical settings and diverse client groups, including women experiencing postnatal depression, adults navigating complex mental health challenges and trauma, and individuals living with cancer and associated existential concerns.
A professionally trained and registered Gestalt Therapist and Art Therapist based in Melbourne, Sonia has also contributed to tertiary education, teaching visual arts at universities across Victoria and South Australia.
Sonia’s current interests include the therapeutic potential of nature-based approaches, particularly as a means of deepening attunement to self, others, and the wider environment. She has witnessed how creative, relational processes can foster connection, expand capacity, and support resilience.
She places strong emphasis on the role of vulnerability and authentic expression within therapeutic work, recognising the power of creative modalities to support insight and shared meaning-making in both group and individual contexts. Grounded in present-moment awareness, Sonia encourages an embodied approach to therapy, supporting clients to attune to their sensory and emotional experiences while engaging creativity as a vital resource for growth, integration, and wellbeing.
Conference Program
Download here.
Please note that the program is subject to minor changes as final confirmations are received.
