Post-Conference Masterclass 

Conference Overview

Location: Sydney, Australia

Venue: Novotel Sydney Darling Square

Dates: From Friday 17 – Sunday 19 July, 2026.

Post conference AutPlay Therapy Masterclass Training, Monday 20 – Tuesday 21 July, 2026 

Time: 9am – 5.30pm

Expected Attendance: Up to 200 mental health and allied health professionals working with children and young people including, play therapists, art therapists, drama therapists, counsellors, social workers, psychologists, school counsellors, mental health nurses, occupational therapists and others. 

Expected Exhibits: 6 vendor exhibitor tables

Expected Sessions: Up to 30 presentations, workshops, master classes and panels over 3 days in-person conference. 

18 CPD hours: Up to 18 points/ hours for three days (includes certificate of attendance).

Format: 3- day, in person conference

Theme: Celebrating Diversity with Play, Art and Drama Therapy

The 2026 SCCC Conference will feature cutting-edge mental health research and practice in creative therapies, alongside exemplary practical applications shared by local and international experts. Anticipating an audience of approximately 200 domestic and international delegates, the event seeks to enhance the professional capabilities of frontline child therapy providers, academics, researchers, and private practitioners. Through offering insights into play therapy, art therapy and drama therapy service delivery across various sectors, the conference endeavours to enrich attendees' understanding and proficiency in the field

Conference Theme

The theme for this Creative Therapies Conference is A World of Wonder: Celebrating Diversity with Play, Art and Drama Therapy

This theme celebrates the diversity of children and young people we work with and support in the counselling profession. Through the playful lens of the Alice in Wonderland story, we invite you to a World of Wonder in exploring so many ways we can use Play Therapy, Art Therapy and Drama Therapy to support inclusive, equitable and effective therapeutic practice.

This conference aims to provide valuable and innovative insights, impart practical tools to enhance your professional competencies, address complex challenges, to understand and support diversity in the child counselling profession.  

Through engaging presentations, research reviews, interactive workshops, case studies, and collaborative activities, our presenters are expected to inspire, educate, and equip you to bring even more creativity to your clinical practice, expand your perspectives, and contribute meaningfully to the advancement of the creative therapies in the counselling of children and young people. 

The conference will share research, work, case studies, projects, programs, insights, lived experience and ideas that fall into the four streams below exploring the creative therapy opportunities with children and young people with a focus on promoting inclusiveness and equity. 

1.     Neurodiversity Stream - Curious Minds, Unique Paths

2.     First Nations Stream - The Path Back Home: Story, Culture & Connection

3.     Trauma & Healing Stream - Finding Safe Ground in Unfamiliar Lands: Creative Healing Journeys

4.     Gender Diversity Stream - Wonderfully Ourselves: Journeys of Identity & Becoming