Events

Soundscapes: Connect. Co-Create. Expand.

The conference theme Soundscapes invites us to:

● Explore the dynamic interplay of connection, creativity, and expansion in GIM practice
● Honour Helen Bonny’s foundational principles while embracing emerging musical and cultural influences
● Consider musical elements in shaping the therapeutic process in GIM practice
● Consider how soundscapes—including nature sounds, spontaneous improvisation, and diverse musical genres can be utilised in GIM practice
● Explore music’s transformative role in emotional and spiritual healing
● Explore the intersection of diverse clinical presentations and modifications of music
psychotherapeutic techniques

This year keynote address will be delivered by ARIA-nominated pianist and composer Nat Bartsch. She will share her experiences and approaches creating soothing music from the perspective of an artist.

Nat will guide us through the creation of several projects influenced by music therapy, mindfulness, radical acceptance and humanism: Forever, and No Time At All, her acclaimed lullaby album for parents and children; Hope, her response to the challenges of 2020, and Forever Changed, her newest project, celebrating neurodiversity; and Seeking Solace, a compilation for Hush Foundation inspired by discussions with female inpatients at Cabrini Mental Health Clinic. These recordings are often played in clinical contexts, as well as chosen by individuals as a soundtrack to deeply personal moments including childbirth, caregiving, and in the hours before death.

With lived experience of neurodiversity, mental illness and caregiving; and a 17-year career spanning jazz, classical and children’s music; Nat’s unique story showcases the importance of living artists creating music for co-regulation – between the artist and their work, artist and audience; between caregiver and receiver; therapist and client.

Nat will explain her creative approach to creating this music, the impact of her work in several communities; and the experience of creating and listening to music as a tool for regulation, processing emotions and ‘fizzy feelings’.