Photo: Keith Stead
Hearth Therapy Studios
Sam Gummer
MA Art Psychotherapy (Dist), PGCE, BFA (Hons)
Creative Arts Psychotherapist
Specialist Teacher
Clinical Supervisor
Photographer and Artist
✓ ANZACATA - Registered Professional Arts Therapist 47284237
✓ PACFA - PACFA Reg.Registered Clinical 31695
✓ Specialist Teacher: UK & Vic, Aus Registered
Welcome!
Hi! I’m Sam Gummer, a Creative Arts Psychotherapist and Clinical Supervisor based at Barefoot Therapists in the Mornington Peninsula, Victoria. I am passionate about providing creative arts therapy in a supportive space where individuals can explore their emotions, process experiences, and navigate life’s challenges.
My practice is built on respect, curiosity, and inclusivity, ensuring that every person I work with feels heard and valued. I support individuals in ways that honour their unique perspectives, needs, and communication styles. Art becomes more than a tool in this process—it becomes a language for self-exploration, growth, and healing.
What is Creative Arts Therapy?
Creative arts therapy is a powerful therapeutic approach that helps people explore emotions, process experiences, and foster connection beyond words. Whether using visual art, music, movement, sand play or nature-based modalities, creative arts therapies provide a judgment-free space where identity, emotion, and personal experiences can be explored safely and meaningfully.
Clinical Supervision & Professional Support
In addition to therapeutic work, I provide clinical supervision online or in person on the Mornington Peninsula. I offer a reflective space for professionals to strengthen their practice, navigate challenges, and deepen their capacity for support. My approach to supervision integrates creativity, self-reflection, and professional insight, fostering ethical and sustainable practice for therapists, social workers, and educators.
A Space for Creativity & Growth
Above all, my work is about creating spaces where people feel seen, heard, and valued—where creative expression bridges insight, connection, and change. Creativity helps us understand what words alone cannot express, making art therapy a transformative process for emotional well-being.
Art, Creativity & Me
Art and creativity are central to my life and practice outside of work. I find inspiration in photography, art, music, swimming, and long walks with my Aussie Desert Dog, Luna Azul. My passion for creative expression underpins my therapeutic work, allowing me to think flexibly and intuitively with clients. Creativity is more than an outlet—it is a powerful means of connection, growth, and self-discovery, helping individuals explore their experiences and celebrate their unique strengths in all areas of life.
ABOUT SAM
Born in the UK, Sam moved to the Mornington Peninsula, Australia, as a baby before settling in Cooma, NSW. By six, she had relocated to Rio de Janeiro with her family. After several moves between Australia and Brazil, she returned to the Mornington Peninsula to board at Toorak Colleges and later graduated from the American School of Rio de Janeiro.
Sam's diverse upbringing shaped her empathetic therapy approach. She earned a Fine Arts degree and trained as an Art and Specialist Education teacher in Birmingham, starting her career with boys excluded from mainstream education and progressing to senior roles in special education.
With a passion for holistic therapeutic support, Sam completed a Master’s in Art Psychotherapy and gained experience at CAMHS, eventually establishing an art therapy service for the Warwickshire Youth Justice Department, working with young offenders and at-risk children.
In 2015, she returned to Australia and worked in a remote Aboriginal community in the Northern Territory, collaborating with local artists and contributing to the Aussie Desert Dogs rescue program. Sam gained valuable insights into the challenges faced by First Nations communities and continues supporting the community and the animal rescue initiative.
Now based on the Mornington Peninsula, Sam provides creative, neurodivergent-affirming, and trauma-informed Arts Psychotherapy for children and young people at Barefoot Therapists.
"The Embodied Image is one that is formative in a psychological sense. In its making, it changes something in the psyche of the artist. It articulates states for which there are no words. Therefore, words cannot substitute such an image."
Schaverien, J. (1991). The Revealing Image: Analytical Art Psychotherapy in Theory and Practice. London & New York: Routledge.
I acknowledge Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders as the first Australians and recognise their unique relationship with the land and water. I also recognise that the Mornington Peninsula is home to the Boon Wurrung / Bunurong members of the Kulin Nation, who have lived here for thousands of years and have traditional connections and responsibilities for the land we walk on.
I pay our respects to all Elders, past & present.
Always Was Always Will Be