Creative therapies for mental health

art and music creative therapies pilot program

Murray PHN is funding new music and art therapy services for people living with moderate to severe mental health conditions in Albury Wodonga, Castlemaine and Robinvale.

Services are delivered by creative therapists – allied health professionals who use art, music and movement as a therapeutic approach to support mental health and wellbeing – and are part of a national Australian Government pilot program that ends on 30 June 2027.

The three pilot locations were chosen because of a demonstrated need for mental health services and a local creative therapy workforce in each of the communities. Following completion of the pilot, it will be independently evaluated by The University of Queensland’s Institute for Social Science Research.

The creative therapists delivering the program are allied health clinicians who are registered with one of the following professional bodies:

Community consultation

In order to design accessible creative therapy services, Murray PHN consulted with community members in Robinvale, Castlemaine and Albury Wodonga. This included face-to-face community focus groups, stakeholder interviews, yarning circles and a digital survey with people with lived experience of mental health conditions, carers and local creative therapists.

Summary reports

Access creative therapies for mental health

Creative therapies services are free for people with mental health conditions, with both group and individual music and art therapy programs available. There are services for children in all three communities, as well as services for adults in Castlemaine and Robinvale.

You can access the services through referral from another health professional, or by referring yourself; contact the service provider in your community for further information.

Pilot locations

  • Albury Wodonga | Gateway Health Wodonga: Child and Family Health Program – group and individual music and art therapy programs are available for children and young people up to 18 years of age. Call 02 6022 8888
  • Castlemaine | Dhelkaya Health – art therapy for individuals aged 13 to 65 experiencing mental health challenges, living in Mount Alexander and Macedon Ranges shires. Includes individual art therapy and six-week closed art therapy groups for adults. Newcomers or those looking to reconnect with the community can join the program’s open art therapy group. Call 03 5471 3555
  • Robinvale | Mallee Family Care – available for children and adults in the Robinvale community. Call 03 5023 5966 or email mfc@malleefamilycare.com.au

For further information

Catherine Threlfall, Creative Therapies Pilot Project Lead
cthrelfall@murrayphn.org.au

Last Update: March 27th, 2026

Murray PHN acknowledges its catchment crosses over many unceded First Nations Countries, following the Dhelkunya Yaluk (Healing River).

We pay our respects and give thanks to the Ancestors, Elders and Young people for their nurturing, protection and caregiving of these sacred lands and waterways, acknowledging their continuing cultural, spiritual and educational practices.

We are grateful for the sharing of Country and the renewal that Country gives us. We acknowledge and express our sorrow that this sharing has come at a personal, spiritual and cultural cost to the wellbeing of First Nations peoples. We commit to addressing the injustices of colonisation across our catchment, and to listening to the wisdom of First Nations communities who hold the knowledge to enable healing. We extend that respect to all Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples.