Acknowledgement of Country

We acknowledge the Traditional Owners of the lands and waters throughout Australia, and pay respect to the Elders past, present and emerging. We recognise the importance of connection to culture, land, kinship and community to the health and wellbeing of Aboriginal & Torres Strait Islander families. We acknowledge the cultural practices and traditions still carried out today and being passed down to future generations.

Welcome

On behalf of the National Conference Committee, I warmly invite you to join us for the 48th National Conference of the Australian Music Therapy Association in Melbourne and/or online in September-October 2022.

This years’ theme, focused on mental health, promises to be an inspiring starting point for our conference. Mental health and wellbeing are common threads connecting music therapy practice across age groups, settings, and populations. Therefore, we look forward to posters, presentations, and workshops from all areas of music therapy practice. Our Scientific Chair, Professor Katrina McFerran has elaborated on the conference theme. Kat encourages us to expand our view beyond humanistic approaches which focus on the potential of the individual and consider how music therapy impacts families, groups, communities and how music therapists can advocate for broader changes in the systems that are responsible for many challenges people face.

We are excited to announce that we will be offering a hybrid conference this year, with both face-to-face and online options.

We look forward to seeing you all in September-October this year for what promises to be an intellectually rich and socially engaging conference.

Kate Aitchison

AMTA Conference Convenor