Caroline Eshak-Liuzzi, founder and visionary behind Creative Art Therapy Australia (CATA), seamlessly integrates her background in architecture and planning with a profound, personal evolution in the arts. Her transformative enquiry, which began after completing her Master’s degree, led her to spend five years immersed in creative practice. This deep engagement with the arts unveiled their undeniable power to reshape internal realities and significantly improve mental health. This realisation became a beacon of hope for the children at Marysville Primary School, who had experienced overwhelming loss following the devastating 2009 Black Saturday bushfires. Caroline's hands-on work in disaster relief shaped CATA’s ethos and instilled a commitment to trauma-informed and person-centric practice that remains central to its mission today.

With this commitment, Caroline pursued and earned her Master’s degree in Dramatherapy, bringing a new lens to CATA’s service delivery. Her newly shared knowledge broadened the scope of creative arts therapies, strengthening CATA’s ability to deliver solution-based, participant-centred interventions that address various complexities and mental health challenges across multiple sectors. Under her leadership, CATA has solidified its position as an industry leader, continuing to deliver transformative services that emphasise inclusivity and cultural sensitivity.

Caroline’s revolutionary vision is to establish Australia’s first Centre of Excellence in Creative Art Therapy, where the arts aren’t just supplementary, but central to mental health care. This ambitious initiative seeks to transform mental health services, positioning creativity - through dramatherapy, dance, movement, music, and visual arts - as the cornerstone of changing lives. The Centre will be a beacon of excellence, where people experience care that is not only trauma-informed but inclusive and culturally attuned to the needs of diverse communities.

Under Caroline’s leadership, CATA is poised to disrupt traditional mental health care models, pushing boundaries and setting new pathways in industry standards. Her vision brings the arts into direct conversation with health, creating a paradigm where creativity is seen as a powerful tool for emotional recovery, resilience, and growth. This Centre of Excellence will not only provide evidence-based therapeutic interventions but will also influence policy, advocate for the integration of the arts in healthcare, and serve as a national hub for innovation in mental health support. It will deliver services across the spectrum of mental health care, focusing on prevention, acute care, and recovery. It aims to reduce the incidence of mental health crises while offering tailored support for those in acute phases of illness and facilitating comprehensive recovery programs that promote long-term psychological resilience and well-being.