If you want to help people rediscover their innate creativity and playfulness—while overcoming physical, mental and emotional hurdles to live happier, healthier lives—then this course is for you!
💚 Holistic Integrated Creative Arts Therapy (HICAT) is a mental health profession that uses the creative process of art‑making to enhance physical, mental and emotional well‑being for individuals of all ages.
🌱 HICAT practices can be used across many different settings and with a wide variety of clients.
Supporting Children & Families
HICAT provides valuable tools to help children express and process emotions, build confidence, improve focus and strengthen concentration. It is especially beneficial for children on the autism spectrum and offers meaningful support for their families.
Enhancing Well‑Being in Aged Care
Creative arts therapies can significantly improve the quality of life for older adults—reducing loneliness, restoring a sense of purpose, and offering support through emotional challenges often experienced later in life.
Corporate & Workplace Wellbeing
HICAT skills are increasingly in demand in corporate environments. They help create positive workplaces, reduce stress, and minimize bullying.
🌟 These creative approaches also boost leadership, teamwork, innovation, productivity and overall workplace performance, making them powerful tools for team‑building programs.
Please note: This training course does not lead to government‑regulated higher education awards.
Practical topics covered in this course include:
🎨 Art Therapy (paint, watercolour pencils, charcoal & oil pastels)
🏺Tactile Therapy (sculpture, clay, construction, Sandplay & environmental art-making)
🎶Music, Tribal Rhythms, Medicine Drums & Sound Therapy
💃Dance & Movement Therapy
🎭Role Play, Storytelling, creative writing & Drama Therapy
Theory topics covered in this course include:
🌿The cause & effects of stress
🌿The mind/body connection
🌿Physiology of the brain
🌿Unconscious beliefs and mental
patterns
🌿Exploring emotions
🌿History of art therapy
🌿Creative therapies & health
🌿Why creative art therapies are
effective
🌿Creative art therapies as emotional
healing
🌿Creative art therapies for recovery &
rehabilitation
🌿Art & developing intuition
🌿Drawing from within
🌿Colour & emotions
🌿Sound, vibration & the bodies cells
🌿 The creative process
🌿Art appreciation Interpretation &
diagnosis
🌿Compassion & non-judgment
🌿Learning Styles & personality types
🌿Managing groups
🌿Supporting clients
🌿Working with PTSD
🌿Working with anxiety disorders
🌿Working with grief & loss
🌿Working with children
🌿Working with depression
🌿Working in medical settings
🌿Developing community arts projects
🌿Meditation for every day
🌿Meditation in action through art
🌿Meditation with music and
movement
🌿Gratitude & art journaling
🌿Holistic counselling skills for creative
arts therapists
🌿Networking & referring
🌿Ethics, safety & professionalism
🌿Setting up your own practice
🌿Creating a specialised practice
🌿Resources, materials & equipment
🌿Marketing for creative arts therapists
🌿Legalities, insurance and joining
associations
This course combines a multitude of exciting and inspiring creative modalities.
Each of your classes will be divided into theory and practice sessions.
A great deal of time will be spent exploring and participating in the creative arts and a wide variety of meditation styles, including movement meditation, mantra meditation, chakra meditation, guided creative visualisation, mindfulness and Zen Meditation. Studies will include attending classes, reading, watching videos, completing art projects, writing essays and answering quizzes.
There are some fieldwork components where you will need to involve a classmate, friend or family member or visit a professional practice, business or centre but we will guide and assist you with this.
Popular Questions
01Is this course accredited?
Short answer: Yes!
Long answer: There is a wide range of holistic and complementary therapies modalities which do not fit into the Government Training Frameworks in most countries. These include Yoga, Holistic Counselling, Meditation and Holistic Arts Therapies, just to name a few.
These modalities are industry regulated instead of government regulated. It is not that they are unregulated, just industry regulated. In order to practice as a therapist under these modalities you need industry recognition and to be able to get professional indemnity and liability insurance. Industry-based Associations are not owned by the same people who own the training colleges. They are separate, not associated with the colleges and non-bias. Their purpose is to protect the end-user and maintain the integrity of holistic and complementary therapies. They accept members from a very wide variety of different therapeutic modalities. They are not concerned with the specific styles, techniques, traditions or lineages. They are concerned with the quality, educational content, course outcomes, scope of information, where that information originated and the integrity of the course provider. They have a rigorous process which course providers must adhere to before they provide accreditation for any training courses.
Our courses are recognized with the International Institute of Complementary Therapists, the International Practitioners of Holistic Medicine and the Complementary Medical Association. All have excellent global reputations and rigorous screening processes. We are very proud to have their stamps of approval. Our graduates can join the IICT and the CMA, and get professional practitioner insurance, in 26 countries around the world.
02What is the course structure?
Each of your classes will be divided into theory and practice sessions. A great deal of time will be spent exploring and participating in the creative arts and a wide variety of meditation styles, including movement meditation, mantra meditation, chakra meditation, guided creative visualisation, mindfulness and Zen meditation.
Studies will include attending classes, reading, watching videos, completing art projects, writing essays and answering quizzes.
There are some fieldwork components where you will need to involve a classmate, friend or family member or visit a professional practice, business or centre but we will guide and assist you with this.
You will have a regular class time, where you will receive contact and connection with your classmates and information and guidance from your teachers.
03What materials and equipment do I need to complete the course?
- You will need to be able to read and write in English.
- Access to a computer with internet connection.
- Email access.
- Be able to open and read PDF’s (we can help you with this).
- A moderate level of computer literacy (send emails, internet, upload documents and photos).
- Ability to watch and listen to videos on YouTube.
- You will be provided with a materials list that will cost no more than $150 AUD. This will include all the art materials and resources you will need throughout your course. You do not have to purchase all the items at once.
- Time management skills - You need to set aside 10 hours study time each month between classes to complete your course on time.
04Will I be able to get support when I need it?
Absolutely!
Our teaching team is very available. You will be able to contact your teacher directly via email. You can make appointments to have your teacher telephone you.
Our exclusive students Facebook page is very active and you will be able to connect with your teachers and other students. You will be able to join our regular classes where you are encouraged to participate, ask questions and get support.