Diploma in Holistic Integrated Creative Arts Therapy (HICAT)

The College of Conscious Living is a Mind Body Education licensed training provider, offering the internationally, industry accredited Holistic Integrated Creative Arts Therapy training course, throughout Queensland. We are also an approved IICT training provider.

Holistic Integrated Creative Arts Therapy is a mental health profession that uses the creative process of art making to improve and enhance the physical, mental and emotional well-being of individuals of all ages. 

This diploma allows you to create your own business and/or implement the skills into your current job role. Upon completion of the HICAT course, you will be able to live a life filled with creativity and self-expression, as you help other people to live happier and healthier lives.

Our courses are held in a face to face environment with a high level of support and encouragement in developing your own unique style and skill set as a Holistic integrated creative arts therapist and/or holistic counsellor.

**Suitable for persons over 18 years old, including matured aged students

**No previous experience or qualifications required

**No artistic experience necessary

**Not suitable for persons suffering clinically diagnosed mental health issues

COURSE LOCATIONS, VENUES & DATES:

Brisbane North Campus: Paddington Community Hall

Next course intake:

Tuesday July 27th 2021 - Tuesday December 14th 2021

Gold Coast Campus: Carrara Community centre

Next course intake:

Friday July 30th 2021 - Friday December 17th 2021 

Sunshine Coast Campus: Yandina Sunshine Coast

Next course intake:

Wednesday July 28th 2021 - Wednesday December 15th 2021

Course Dates for 2022 - TBA

One weekday per week for six months from 9 am to 2.30 pm, plus ten hours home study per week. The course has 20 modules. 

Additional Info:

There is a **materials list you will be required to purchase, which should cost you under $200. These materials will be used in class and for your homework during the course. They can be purchased at any Officeworks store. 

**Materials list will be emailed to you upon enrolment and payment.

For more info on enrolment or to speak with a course facilitator, please click the CONTACT US button below

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. On-campus students will have around 5 hours of homework per week (mostly art projects, some essays and meditation practice). 

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
• Left brain/right 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-judgement
• 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

Course Outcomes:
Graduates receive the MBEd Diploma in Holistic Integrated Creative Art Therapy and can use the letters Dip.HICAT(MBEd) after their names.Graduates can also join the International Institute of Complementary Therapists and the Complementary Medical Association and get professional insurance. They will also be provided with a full year of free membership to the Holistic Integrated Creative Arts Therapists Association. 

You will graduate with the skills, knowledge and confidence required to set up your own Holistic Integrated Creative Arts Therapy Practice; run workshops, work with groups and see individual clients, in either general practice or specialising in specific areas of interest, if you wish. You may also be able to seek employment within some organisations who value holistic and complementary therapies. This is a professional, practical training course where you will explore a wide range of creative arts while learning the essentials of working as a Holistic Integrated Creative Art Therapist, in a safe, extremely supportive and fun-filled environment, with a highly experienced holistic therapist trainer. 

All information is evidence-based and will prepare you for a professional career. This course is also suitable for personal development. (MBEd) Diploma of Holistic Integrated Creative Art Therapy is the use of art, music, drama, dance/movement, poetry/creative writing, play, storytelling and sandplay within the context of therapy, counselling, rehabilitation, and holistic healing. HICAT enhances physical, mental and emotional functioning and well-being. Holistic therapists work with the whole person and assist people in becoming self-empowered through supporting them on a journey of self-exploration and personal growth, incorporating the body, mind, emotions and spirit. This course is evidence-based. 

It connects clinical research with ancient traditional wisdom; developing the mind, expanding creativity, building confidence and self-awareness, realigning the body’s cells, reconnecting with the essence of joy and awakening the spirit. If helping people rediscover their innate creativity and playfulness, while developing skills to overcome physical, mental and emotional hurdles and live happier healthier lives, is how you would like to make your living, this course is for you!  

Accreditation: 

There is a wide range of Holistic and Complementary Therapies Modalities which do not fit into Government Education and Training Frameworks. These include Yoga, Holistic Counselling, Meditation and Holistic Arts Therapies, just to name a few. Because the range of Holistic and Complementary Therapies is so vast, it is not always in the best interest of the end user for them to be regulated by the Government and so these industries are regulated by reputable industry bodies. 

It is not that they are unregulated, just industry regulated. In order to practice as a therapist under these modalities you still need industry recognition and to be able to get professional indemnity and liability insurance. Modality-based Associations are usually owned by the same people who own training colleges within that industry. They only focus on that particular modality and they often only accept membership from graduates of their own training courses. There is nothing essentially wrong with that. 

Provided there is plenty of transparency, value and support for members and the course you are going to study in not ONLY accredited with a modality-based association. If it is, it could mean the college has simply started an association to provide accreditation for their own course. Many modality based associations only approve of a specific style, technique, tradition or lineage of that therapy. 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 may offer training courses and professional development training but there is no requirement for members to participate. 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 accredited with the International Institute of Complementary Therapists and the Complementary Medical Association. Both have an excellent global reputation and a rigorous screening process. 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. Mind Body Education courses are all evidence-based and incorporate a wide variety of techniques and styles.

This is a professional level, industry accredited training course: We believe that when people are provided with grounded, evidence-based information about how their bodies, emotions and minds work, in a safe and supportive environment, the potential for healing and personal growth is enormous.

Knowledge is power and we, as therapists and teachers, must place that power in our client's hands. All of our training materials are evidenced based and industry accredited with the International Institute of Complementary Therapists and the Complementary Association. You will learn about positive psychology and explore the link between emotional, physical and psychological well being. You will emerge from this training course with the wisdom and confidence required to practice as a Holistic Integrated Creative Art Therapists. 

We will guide you toward starting your own private practice in this important and exciting field. You will have ongoing support through our graduate's social media group to keep you informed, connected and inspired. You will be able to join the IICT and the CMA, for your professional association and insurance. You will also receive membership to the Holistic Integrated Creative Arts Therapists Association (HICATA) and the International Meditation Teachers and Therapists Association (IMTTA) , free for your first year.

This includes a lot of resources, networking opportunities and ongoing support to help you establish your own holistic private practice. 

You will be able get public liability and professional indemnity insurance (providing there is no reason why you are personally unable to be approved). You will have all the knowledge, resources, tools and support you need to create a personally and professionally rewarding career where you can work for yourself and make a great income.

Best of all, you will be able to help hundreds of people live happier, healthier, more creative lives.

"Discover how to reach your full potential.  Learn to develop your inherent talents of creativity and leadership."

Holistic Integrated Creative Arts Therapy (HICAT) is not the same as Art Therapy.

In Australia and many other countries, HICAT graduates can use the title HICAT practitioner, Holistic Integrated Creative Arts Therapy Practitioner Creative Arts Facilitator or Creative Therapist. If you live outside of Australia or New Zealand you may use the title Creative Arts Facilitator or Creative Therapist. 

HICAT is a modality that uses a wide range of creative ArtS which enable people to connect with the creator inside themselves.
HICAT is empowering and does not require an 'expert' to interpret the finished piece or monitor the creative process in any way.
All that is needed is an open heart that can hold a safe space to share beautiful, gentle, creative tools.

HICAT graduates should not advertise themselves as an Art Therapist - Some people in that industry own the words and they get very upset when other healers use those words.
 

In fact, we believe HICAT is much more than art therapy - it is Holistic (treats the whole person) and Integrated (it combines and incorporates many types of artistic modalities) and it is Creative (bringing out and connecting with the creator who can no longer feel like a victim) and it is the ArtS ( the artSSSSS, not Art - it's just not the same word :-) ) and it is a beautiful gentle Therapy (therapy seeks to provide healing through action).
 

AS a HICAT Practitioner you can register with the International Institute of Complementary

Therapists and the Complementary Medical Association, and get professional insurance to practice in the following 27 countries: Oceania: Australia & New Zealand UK and Europe: United Kingdom, Ireland, Germany, France, Spain, Portugal, Denmark, Gibraltar, Liechtenstein, Iceland, Belgium, Luxembourg, Greece, Latvia, Sweden, Channel Islands, Norway, Estonia, Austria, Malta, Isle of Man, Netherlands South Africa (covered under the EU/UK insurer) United States Canada It is most certainly legal for HICAT graduates to practice as HICAT Practitioners in all of the above countries. 

"A great course for those who desire to know more about themselves in order to assist others in their life's journey. Participants will be confident to orchestrate that through art and creative projects. You will gain all the appropriate knowledge required from the informative course material. The course modules are easy to follow and understand, and the teachers are great! I personally enjoyed meeting up every Tuesday, loved the personal interactions and the ability to share and connect with like minded individuals."

Kerry

"This course is fabulous. I have not studied since leaving school in the seventies, I have loved every minute in the classroom and doing the homework. I thoroughly recommend the course!"

Margo

"I loved the HICAT course not only for it's focus on creativity but the learning it offered about so many different forms of creativity that really opened my mind and heart to what I could do as a business. The content covered about running your own business was both practical and valuable.  I feel empowered to fulfill my dream of earning an income doing something I love." 

Kylie

"I came across HICAT last December after I had been looking for my own form of non clinical therapy for my girls to do after I had separated from my husband earlier that year.
It dawned on me that I now had an opportunity to do my own study to help other children in need. This is when I came across HICAT, this course couldn't have come at a better time in my life with my current circumstances of ending my marriage. Not only was I able to heal myself and help my children to heal through the therapy practices, i was introduced to a beautiful group of like minded people who were all on their own journeys.

The course covered so many wonderful types of therapies as well as well as basic the phycology behind why humans behave the way do after a trauma, and ways in which we would be able to help them when we graduated.

I cant recommend Sanja enough with her own holistic approach  to teaching  and also being able to relax and have fun with the group.

I am forever happy I found HICAT and I am looking forward  to helping others with my new found skills. "

Larissa

"I just finished the Holistic Integrated Creative Arts Therapy diploma. It's given me the tools and inspiration to take my counselling service to the next level. It gave me the nudge and the confidence to start running a men's group again. Personally, it's given me a better understanding of my limiting beliefs/habits, and more traction to recover from them."

Andy

"I am so glad I followed my heart and passion and enrolled in the HICAT course with Sanja at the College of Conscious Living. The course provided me with valuable tools, knowledge and confidence to find work and set up my own business. If you enjoy being creative and like to  help others, then I would highly recommend this course for you. I particularly liked the face to face intimate teaching style and flexible delivery. I was blessed to meet some amazing women in my course who I now call friends. Thank you so much for your time and dedication Sanja."

Angela

"Signing up to the HICAT diploma course was meant to be a way I could educate myself to incorporate holistic creative art therapy into my painting class business, what I gained was not only professional skills but a whole new me on a personal level.

Working through the course I met beautiful like minded people and had continuous support and encouragement from Sanja our course teacher. With this nurturing and educational environment I saw myself grow to levels I never expected and learnt such valuable tools and skills professionally. The modules were well explained and practiced in a way that made each week a pleasure to attend. I was incredibly nervous having not studied since high school but once started found the content and delivery of the modules   easy to understand. The ongoing support from Sanja was outstanding. 

I have now on a professional level been able to successfully create and run my first holistic art retreat and day workshops to help others through the healing power of creativity. 

On a personal level I am now able to support myself in ways I never have before, I now know so much more about myself and hold myself in a more loving relationship.

I never would have imagined the outcome of signing up to this course, it is by far the best thing I have done and would highly recommend it to anyone who is looking for growth and excellent education in holistic creative art therapy."

Bec

"The HICAT course is a wonderful exploration of your own creativity combined with valuable education and a journey of self discovery that is an amazing gift, particularly in our modern world.    Whilst it was not always easy the support of Sanja and my classmates was something I will treasure forever.  Only by being willing to explore our inner selves can we heal our hearts and truly connect with our body, mind and soul. I would highly recommend it to everyone."

Kylie