Arts Therapies Business Summit
November 1-2, 2025
Prices are in Canadian Dollars.
Full time students will benefit of 30% discount upon presenting proof of enrollment in an academic institution.
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DAY 1, November 1, 2025
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CARLA VAN LAAR
Creative Care, Anywhere: The 2025 Creative Mental Health Forum — Building Sustainable Ecosystems of Practice
Dr Carla van Laar presents the international launch of her new documentary 2025 Creative Mental Health Forum, filmed on BoonWurrung Country, Australia. Over four days, therapists, artists, educators, and community members gathered to explore how creativity, community, and collective care can reshape mental health and wellbeing.
In this special screening and discussion, Carla reflects on the Forum’s evolution from a small peer gathering to a national and international movement, highlighting its model of a values-based, sustainable approach to creative arts therapy. She shares insights on bridging creative health and experiential therapies, building community ecosystems of care, and sustaining livelihoods that honour creativity, culture, and collective wellbeing. Drawing from her experience establishing the College of Creative and Experiential Therapies (CCET) within the Psychotherapy and Counselling Federation of Australia (PACFA), she illustrates how staying true to core values amidst challenges can foster systemic transformation.
Participants will experience the film in full, followed by a reflective discussion on how creativity and care can shape ethical, thriving practice in today’s complex world. This session will explore how creativity can sustain both personal practice and wider cultural change.
Learning Objectives:
By the end of this session, participants will be able to:
1. Identify key principles of values-based and community-centered approaches to creative mental health practice as demonstrated in the 2025 Creative Mental Health Forum.
2. Describe how creativity, collective care, and place-based knowledge can sustain therapeutic practice and support the development of community ecosystems of care.
3. Evaluate how core values and cultural context can inform ethical decision-making and guide the development of sustainable, creativity-informed therapeutic livelihoods.
In this special screening and discussion, Carla reflects on the Forum’s evolution from a small peer gathering to a national and international movement, highlighting its model of a values-based, sustainable approach to creative arts therapy. She shares insights on bridging creative health and experiential therapies, building community ecosystems of care, and sustaining livelihoods that honour creativity, culture, and collective wellbeing. Drawing from her experience establishing the College of Creative and Experiential Therapies (CCET) within the Psychotherapy and Counselling Federation of Australia (PACFA), she illustrates how staying true to core values amidst challenges can foster systemic transformation.
Participants will experience the film in full, followed by a reflective discussion on how creativity and care can shape ethical, thriving practice in today’s complex world. This session will explore how creativity can sustain both personal practice and wider cultural change.
Learning Objectives:
By the end of this session, participants will be able to:
1. Identify key principles of values-based and community-centered approaches to creative mental health practice as demonstrated in the 2025 Creative Mental Health Forum.
2. Describe how creativity, collective care, and place-based knowledge can sustain therapeutic practice and support the development of community ecosystems of care.
3. Evaluate how core values and cultural context can inform ethical decision-making and guide the development of sustainable, creativity-informed therapeutic livelihoods.
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EMERY HURST MIKEL
Overcoming Roadblocks and Leading Your Own Path
Emery is an art therapist, entrepreneur, and mentor whose career bridges creativity, psychotherapy, and business development. While navigating between opportunities that she felt more connected with and wearing diverse hats, Emery discovered her passion for helping mental health professionals build sustainable, purpose-driven careers.
Her presentation delves deeply into the psychological roadblocks that often prevent clinicians from pursuing their professional visions—fears of inadequacy, self-doubt, perfectionism, and discomfort with business identity.
Drawing on her experience as both a therapist and entrepreneur, Emery encourages practitioners to integrate creativity, self-awareness, and confidence into their business journeys. Her approach reframes private practice not as a commercial pursuit, but as an extension of one’s therapeutic calling—where authenticity and imagination become essential tools for both personal and professional fulfillment.
Learning Objectives
By the end of this presentation, participants will be able to:
1. Identify common psychological barriers that can interfere with building a sustainable private practice, including fears of inadequacy, perfectionism, and discomfort with business identity.
2. Reflect on how creativity and self-awareness can support confidence and alignment when making professional choices and developing one’s career as a therapist.
3. Reframe the idea of private practice as an extension of one’s therapeutic identity, rather than a purely commercial endeavor.
Her presentation delves deeply into the psychological roadblocks that often prevent clinicians from pursuing their professional visions—fears of inadequacy, self-doubt, perfectionism, and discomfort with business identity.
Drawing on her experience as both a therapist and entrepreneur, Emery encourages practitioners to integrate creativity, self-awareness, and confidence into their business journeys. Her approach reframes private practice not as a commercial pursuit, but as an extension of one’s therapeutic calling—where authenticity and imagination become essential tools for both personal and professional fulfillment.
Learning Objectives
By the end of this presentation, participants will be able to:
1. Identify common psychological barriers that can interfere with building a sustainable private practice, including fears of inadequacy, perfectionism, and discomfort with business identity.
2. Reflect on how creativity and self-awareness can support confidence and alignment when making professional choices and developing one’s career as a therapist.
3. Reframe the idea of private practice as an extension of one’s therapeutic identity, rather than a purely commercial endeavor.
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HEPHZIBAH KAPLAN
From Vision to Practice: London Art Therapy Centre
The presentation explores the inspiring journey of building a thriving creative therapy organization from the ground up. Tracing her path from working within established institutions to founding a small private practice and ultimately scaling it into the London Art Therapy Centre, the speaker shares how her vision evolved through openness to new opportunities and collaboration. She discusses the development of her organizational model, the values that guide her leadership, and how she continues to create innovative and meaningful programs that not only serve clients but also nurture and sustain her team of therapists. This presentation offers insight into balancing growth, creativity, and care in the art therapy profession.
Learning Objectives
By the end of this presentation, participants will be able to:
1. Describe key stages in developing and scaling an art therapy practice from a solo model to a collaborative organizational structure.
2. Identify leadership values and decision-making approaches that support both client care and therapist wellbeing within a growing creative practice.
3. Explain how openness to opportunity, collaboration, and community relationships can contribute to sustainable program development in art therapy settings.
Learning Objectives
By the end of this presentation, participants will be able to:
1. Describe key stages in developing and scaling an art therapy practice from a solo model to a collaborative organizational structure.
2. Identify leadership values and decision-making approaches that support both client care and therapist wellbeing within a growing creative practice.
3. Explain how openness to opportunity, collaboration, and community relationships can contribute to sustainable program development in art therapy settings.
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AMANDA CHEN-LEE
Art for Good: Creating a Social Entreprise for the Communitity
Amanda’s journey with Art For Good exemplifies how a social enterprise can merge creativity with community care. Founded in Singapore, Art For Good was born from Amanda’s belief that art has the power to heal, unite, and empower. Her model integrates business sustainability with social impact, creating art therapy and community art programs for children and adults, particularly those from low-income backgrounds or living with special needs, disabilities, and rare disorders. Through this enterprise, Amanda has built a self-sustaining system that not only provides access to mental health support but also strengthens social inclusion through creative engagement. The organization’s inclusive art studio at Siglap Centre serves as a safe and welcoming space where art becomes both expression and advocacy — promoting better mental health, empathy, and understanding. By positioning Art For Good as a socially conscious business rather than a charity, Amanda demonstrates how entrepreneurship can be a powerful tool for long-term social transformation and community resilience.
Learning Objectives
By the end of this presentation, participants will be able to:
1. Describe how a social enterprise model can integrate art therapy with community care to promote mental health and social inclusion.
2. Identify strategies for designing art-based programs that are both socially impactful and financially sustainable, particularly when serving communities with limited access to resources.
3. Explain how inclusive studio spaces and community art practices can support belonging, empowerment, and advocacy for individuals with diverse needs and lived experiences.
Learning Objectives
By the end of this presentation, participants will be able to:
1. Describe how a social enterprise model can integrate art therapy with community care to promote mental health and social inclusion.
2. Identify strategies for designing art-based programs that are both socially impactful and financially sustainable, particularly when serving communities with limited access to resources.
3. Explain how inclusive studio spaces and community art practices can support belonging, empowerment, and advocacy for individuals with diverse needs and lived experiences.
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KERRYN KNIGHT
Aligning Purpose and Practice
In this presentation, Kerryn shares how her path as an art therapist has been shaped by her earlier background in marketing, business management, and her family’s jewelry design enterprise. Drawing connections between creativity, intuition, and entrepreneurship, she reflects on how each experience prepared her to found Empowered Art Therapy and Kindred Art Space. Kerryn discusses how she learned to recognize opportunities, trust her intuition, and adapt her services to meet the evolving needs of her community while maintaining balance and authenticity. Emphasizing flexibility, innovation, and self-care, she explores how running a values-based business in the helping professions requires both structure and openness to growth.
She will end with a small exercise that she offers to therapists during her courses.
Learning Objectives
By the end of this presentation, participants will be able to:
1. Identify how previous professional and personal experiences can inform and strengthen the development of an art therapy practice and business model.
2. Describe strategies for adapting therapeutic services to clients' needs while maintaining alignment with personal values, intuition, and ethical grounding.
3. Recognize the importance of balancing structure, flexibility, and self-care when running a values-based creative arts therapy practice.
She will end with a small exercise that she offers to therapists during her courses.
Learning Objectives
By the end of this presentation, participants will be able to:
1. Identify how previous professional and personal experiences can inform and strengthen the development of an art therapy practice and business model.
2. Describe strategies for adapting therapeutic services to clients' needs while maintaining alignment with personal values, intuition, and ethical grounding.
3. Recognize the importance of balancing structure, flexibility, and self-care when running a values-based creative arts therapy practice.
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JANEEN CAMERON
Growing at Your Own Pace: Crafting a Purposeful Practice Through Creativity and Alignment
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Special Guest
NICOLE McCANCE
The McCance Method: How to Build a 7-Figure Group Practice
Feeling maxed out on clients or craving more freedom? This presentation reveals the four foundational shifts that helped Nicole McCance scale to 55 therapists and multiple 7-figures in just 3 years. You’ll learn how to replicate yourself, stop trading time for money, implement her proprietary 5-Step Scaling Method, and fully step into your CEO role, so you can create more income, impact, and freedom in your practice without the overwhelm.
Learning Objectives
By the end of this masterclass, participants will be able to:
1. Describe the four foundational mindset and structural shifts required to expand a solo practice into a scalable group practice.
2. Explain how to “replicate” clinical work through hiring, training, and system-building so that income is no longer tied solely to direct client hours.
3. Identify the key components of a step-by-step scaling framework that supports sustainable growth without burnout.
4. Reflect on what it means to transition from clinician to CEO and evaluate how this role shift can increase both professional freedom and long-term impact.
Learning Objectives
By the end of this masterclass, participants will be able to:
1. Describe the four foundational mindset and structural shifts required to expand a solo practice into a scalable group practice.
2. Explain how to “replicate” clinical work through hiring, training, and system-building so that income is no longer tied solely to direct client hours.
3. Identify the key components of a step-by-step scaling framework that supports sustainable growth without burnout.
4. Reflect on what it means to transition from clinician to CEO and evaluate how this role shift can increase both professional freedom and long-term impact.
DAY 2, November 2, 2025
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LEAH GUZMAN
Staying Creative and True to Oneself
In this presentation and workshop, Leah Guzman, ATR-BC, reflects on her professional evolution from clinician and author to intuitive guide and creative business mentor. Grounded in authenticity and personal alignment, Leah shares how she shaped her career around values of joy, flexibility, and meaningful connection. She will discuss the process of designing her programs—bridging art therapy, intuitive coaching, and entrepreneurship—to support both personal and professional transformation. Leah focuses on how art therapists can expand their impact, sustain inspiration, and cultivate abundance while staying true to their core purpose. Participants will explore how integrating intuition and business vision can open new, fulfilling pathways for creative practitioners in today’s changing professional landscape.
Learning Objectives
By the end of this round table, participants will be able to:
1. Identify how personal values, intuition, and creative alignment can inform professional decision-making and career development in art therapy.
2. Describe strategies for designing services or programs that integrate art therapy, intuitive guidance, and entrepreneurship in ethical and meaningful ways.
3. Reflect on internal beliefs about worth, abundance, and identity, and how these beliefs may support or limit professional expansion.
Learning Objectives
By the end of this round table, participants will be able to:
1. Identify how personal values, intuition, and creative alignment can inform professional decision-making and career development in art therapy.
2. Describe strategies for designing services or programs that integrate art therapy, intuitive guidance, and entrepreneurship in ethical and meaningful ways.
3. Reflect on internal beliefs about worth, abundance, and identity, and how these beliefs may support or limit professional expansion.
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JOSÉ MIGUEL CALDERÓN, JUDITH ALALÚ, CARLES RAMOS, MIMMA DELLA CAGNOLETTA, PATCHARIN SUGHONDHABIROM, PATRICIA KI
Round Table: The Journey of Building Art Therapy Education
The Roundtable brings together six founders and /or directors of private art therapy training institutes from across the world. Each speaker reflects on their personal path to establishing a school—often beginning with a vision, a local need, or a moment of possibility—and the ongoing work required to transform that vision into a sustainable educational community.
The discussion explores how art therapy programs evolve over time, including the continuous redesign of curriculum to remain relevant to cultural context, professional standards, and emerging therapeutic approaches.
Participants share the successes, challenges, and unexpected lessons encountered while leading art therapy education in diverse environments. This conversation offers insight into what it means to sustain a school over many years, while staying rooted in values, creativity, and the needs of future art therapists.
Learning Objectives
By the end of this session, participants will be able to:
1. Describe key considerations in developing and sustaining an art therapy training program, institutional structure, and community relevance.
2. Identify common challenges and successful strategies used by school founders and directors to maintain long-term sustainability in educational settings.
3. Reflect on how values, cultural context, and evolving professional needs influence the ongoing revision and development of art therapy education.
The discussion explores how art therapy programs evolve over time, including the continuous redesign of curriculum to remain relevant to cultural context, professional standards, and emerging therapeutic approaches.
Participants share the successes, challenges, and unexpected lessons encountered while leading art therapy education in diverse environments. This conversation offers insight into what it means to sustain a school over many years, while staying rooted in values, creativity, and the needs of future art therapists.
Learning Objectives
By the end of this session, participants will be able to:
1. Describe key considerations in developing and sustaining an art therapy training program, institutional structure, and community relevance.
2. Identify common challenges and successful strategies used by school founders and directors to maintain long-term sustainability in educational settings.
3. Reflect on how values, cultural context, and evolving professional needs influence the ongoing revision and development of art therapy education.
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ASHLEIGH GURECKAS
Online Art Therapy in the Age of Visibility
In this presentation, Ashleigh reflects on her experience as an art therapist working with a strong online presence, and how expanding visibility can open new pathways for connection, accessibility, and professional growth.
She challenges the traditional assumption that art therapy must occur solely in clinical, in-person settings, and instead explores how thoughtfully sharing art processes online can introduce wider audiences to the therapeutic value of creativity.
Ashleigh addresses common fears around professional boundaries and ethics, emphasizing that integrity, supervision, and reflective practice remain central—whether work happens online or offline. By reframing visibility as education and gentle sharing rather than self-promotion, she invites art therapists to move beyond scarcity mindsets and consider how their authentic presence can build trust, expand reach, and create flourishing, socially engaged practices.
This presentation offers a grounded exploration of what it means to show up as both a therapist and a creative human in the digital age.
Learning Objectives
By the end of this presentation, participants will be able to:
1. Describe how online visibility can be used ethically to increase public understanding and access to art therapy.
2. Identify common fears and misconceptions related to therapist visibility on social media and how reflective practice and supervision can support ethical decision-making.
3. Evaluate how sharing creative processes in accessible ways can expand connection, build trust, and support practice growth.
4. Reflect on how shifting from a scarcity mindset to an education-oriented approach can sustain a meaningful and aligned art therapy business.
She challenges the traditional assumption that art therapy must occur solely in clinical, in-person settings, and instead explores how thoughtfully sharing art processes online can introduce wider audiences to the therapeutic value of creativity.
Ashleigh addresses common fears around professional boundaries and ethics, emphasizing that integrity, supervision, and reflective practice remain central—whether work happens online or offline. By reframing visibility as education and gentle sharing rather than self-promotion, she invites art therapists to move beyond scarcity mindsets and consider how their authentic presence can build trust, expand reach, and create flourishing, socially engaged practices.
This presentation offers a grounded exploration of what it means to show up as both a therapist and a creative human in the digital age.
Learning Objectives
By the end of this presentation, participants will be able to:
1. Describe how online visibility can be used ethically to increase public understanding and access to art therapy.
2. Identify common fears and misconceptions related to therapist visibility on social media and how reflective practice and supervision can support ethical decision-making.
3. Evaluate how sharing creative processes in accessible ways can expand connection, build trust, and support practice growth.
4. Reflect on how shifting from a scarcity mindset to an education-oriented approach can sustain a meaningful and aligned art therapy business.
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SHARON VENESS
What Means Building a Sustainable Small Business?
In this presentation, Sharon Veness examines the process of transforming her passion for art therapy into a sustainable professional practice. Drawing on her background in business and accounting, she explores the intersection between clinical work, financial stability, and entrepreneurial adaptability within the arts therapy profession. Sharon reflects on the evolving realities of establishing a private practice—moving from initial idealism to a deeper understanding of market dynamics, client niche attracted by her style, and long-term sustainability. She discusses strategies for maintaining a consistent income, developing new service offerings, and responding flexibly to shifting community and client needs. Her experience also highlights the intergenerational dimension of practice development, as she integrates her daughter into the business.
Learning Objectives
By the end of this presentation, participants will be able to:
1. Describe how business knowledge and financial planning can support the development of a sustainable art therapy practice.
2. Recognize how personal style, client needs, and market dynamics influence the formation of a practice niche and service offerings.
3. Identify strategies for maintaining consistent income and adapting services in response to changing community and client contexts.
4. Reflect on the role of relational and intergenerational collaboration in building and sustaining a long-term therapeutic practice.
Learning Objectives
By the end of this presentation, participants will be able to:
1. Describe how business knowledge and financial planning can support the development of a sustainable art therapy practice.
2. Recognize how personal style, client needs, and market dynamics influence the formation of a practice niche and service offerings.
3. Identify strategies for maintaining consistent income and adapting services in response to changing community and client contexts.
4. Reflect on the role of relational and intergenerational collaboration in building and sustaining a long-term therapeutic practice.
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ISABELLE DIERCKX
The Creative Therapist As an Independent Entrepreneur
In this presentation, Isabelle reflects on how her art therapy practice gradually grew from a very small solo practice while working in a hospital, into a community-centered business shaped by her values, vision, and desire for creative connection.
Rather than beginning big, her organization developed organically—rooted in her wish to gather art therapists, offer meaningful workshops, foster group experiences, and expand into individual therapy services.
She discusses the importance of defining a clear mission early in the process and returning to it as a guiding compass through growth, challenges, and change. Isabelle shares how staying aligned with yur mission can strengthen professional identity, support decision-making, and maintain coherence in both clinical and organizational development. Her story offers a perspective on building a sustainable art therapy practice that remains true to one’s values and intentions over time.
Learning Objectives
By the end of this presentation, participants will be able to:
1. Describe how personal values and community vision can inform the natural growth and direction of an art therapy business.
2. Explain the role of defining and maintaining a clear mission in guiding professional decisions and sustaining long-term practice.
3. Identify strategies for developing workshops, group offerings, and individual services that support connection and creative engagement.
4. Reflect on how aligning business development with core values can support authenticity, coherence, and sustainability in art therapy practice
Rather than beginning big, her organization developed organically—rooted in her wish to gather art therapists, offer meaningful workshops, foster group experiences, and expand into individual therapy services.
She discusses the importance of defining a clear mission early in the process and returning to it as a guiding compass through growth, challenges, and change. Isabelle shares how staying aligned with yur mission can strengthen professional identity, support decision-making, and maintain coherence in both clinical and organizational development. Her story offers a perspective on building a sustainable art therapy practice that remains true to one’s values and intentions over time.
Learning Objectives
By the end of this presentation, participants will be able to:
1. Describe how personal values and community vision can inform the natural growth and direction of an art therapy business.
2. Explain the role of defining and maintaining a clear mission in guiding professional decisions and sustaining long-term practice.
3. Identify strategies for developing workshops, group offerings, and individual services that support connection and creative engagement.
4. Reflect on how aligning business development with core values can support authenticity, coherence, and sustainability in art therapy practice
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CARMEN OPREA
The First Steps in Creating a Private Practice
In this presentation, Carmen offers a reflective and practical framework for art therapists and mental health professionals seeking to establish a sustainable private practice. Drawing on her professional experience within the Canadian context, she outlines the foundational steps involved in developing a practice—from initial planning to long-term maintenance—while acknowledging the variability of regulations and systems across countries. Beyond administrative and structural considerations, Carmen emphasizes the importance of cultivating motivation, resilience, and self-awareness throughout the process. She explores strategies for maintaining balance between professional aspirations and personal well-being, highlighting how healthy routines and boundaries can prevent burnout and support long-term fulfillment. This presentation invites participants to reflect on their own definitions of success and to approach the creation of a private practice as both a professional endeavor and a process of personal growth.
Learning objectives:
By the end of this presentation, participants will be able to:
1. Identify the key foundational steps involved in establishing and structuring a private practice.
2. Develop strategies to sustain motivation and professional engagement.
3. Implement approaches for maintaining a healthy work–life balance, fostering resilience, and preventing burnout.
Learning objectives:
By the end of this presentation, participants will be able to:
1. Identify the key foundational steps involved in establishing and structuring a private practice.
2. Develop strategies to sustain motivation and professional engagement.
3. Implement approaches for maintaining a healthy work–life balance, fostering resilience, and preventing burnout.
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SHARONA BOOKBINDER
Are You an Entrepreneur? What Is an Arts Therapies Business Plan?
Based on doctoral research about the professional success of art therapists and business skills, this session will provide an opportunity for art therapists to learn about building an effective entrepreneurial private practice and develop business skills. This is geared towards early-career art therapists who are underemployment vulnerable and at risk, in the field of art therapy. Art therapists can enhance their employability, self-worth and success as practitioners in the mental healthcare market, by understanding the function of a business plan, the ethics of social enterprise and transactional relationships. This session will also provide insight and strategy for intrapreneurship and promote the field of art therapy within organizations.
Art therapists will learn about building private practice and develop business skills. This is geared towards early-career art therapists who are underemployment vulnerable and at risk. Learn how to enhance employability, self-worth and success, by understanding the function of a business plan, the ethics of social enterprise and transactional relationships.
Learning objectives:
At the end of this presentation the participants will be able to:
1. Identify and describe the structure, components, and purpose of a comprehensive business plan within the context of therapy or creative practice.
2. Understand and apply the ethical principles underlying social enterprise and the concept of transactionality in community-oriented business models.
3. Develop and strengthen entrepreneurial and intrapreneurial skills to support sustainable, values-based professional growth and innovation.
Art therapists will learn about building private practice and develop business skills. This is geared towards early-career art therapists who are underemployment vulnerable and at risk. Learn how to enhance employability, self-worth and success, by understanding the function of a business plan, the ethics of social enterprise and transactional relationships.
Learning objectives:
At the end of this presentation the participants will be able to:
1. Identify and describe the structure, components, and purpose of a comprehensive business plan within the context of therapy or creative practice.
2. Understand and apply the ethical principles underlying social enterprise and the concept of transactionality in community-oriented business models.
3. Develop and strengthen entrepreneurial and intrapreneurial skills to support sustainable, values-based professional growth and innovation.
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