Mental health and psychology

How to become an art therapist

Official title: Art therapist

Also called: Creative arts therapist, Arts therapist, Expressive arts therapist, Visual arts therapist, Drama therapist, Dance therapist, Creative writing therapist

Art therapists plan and manage art therapy programmes to improve clients' physical, mental or emotional wellbeing.

Main tasks

Monitor patient progress or responses to treatments
Record patient medical histories
Develop treatment plans that use non-medical therapies
Treat patients using psychological therapies
Evaluate patient outcomes to determine effectiveness of treatments
Analyse patient data to determine patient needs or treatment goals
Collaborate with health care professionals to plan or provide treatment
Interact with patients to build rapport or provide emotional support

How to become one

You need a qualification to become an art therapist. You need University Entrance to do the study or training for this job. Required: a relevant bachelor's degree OR a bachelor's degree in counselling, psychology or similar area OR a Bachelor of Dance Studies; a Postgraduate Diploma in Creative Arts Therapy OR a Master of Arts in Creative Arts Therapy OR a Master of Dance Movement Therapy. Other requirements: to be registered with ACC for sensitive claims work; to be a member of the Australian, New Zealand and Asian Creative Arts Therapies Association; to pass a police check; a driver licence.

See the full Tahatū profile

Ways in

University: Social Work & Community degrees, Offered by 3 universities in New Zealand
University: Psychology degrees, Offered by 6 universities in New Zealand
University: Creative Arts & Design degrees, Offered by 6 universities in New Zealand

Pay · Past change · AI and this job

Most common pay: $56,500 to $79,000 a year (median $69,000), a TEC estimate before tax.
Upper: $106,027 a year
TEC's pay figures are estimates only. TEC says they must not be used to set pay, in pay negotiations or in visa applications.
Change in the number of people doing this job between the 2018 and 2023 Censuses: Strong increase (TEC). This is past change, not a forecast.
People employed in the group Psychologists: 3,432 at the 2018 Census and 4,275 at the 2023 Census (+24.6%). Past change, not a forecast.
Generative AI can do relatively little of this work, by the ILO's global estimate.

Who does this work

About 300 people did this job at the 2023 Census (TEC).
In the group Psychologists, 77% of workers are female (sex at birth, 2023 Census).
Where people in the group Psychologists work (2023 Census): Auckland 34.3%, Canterbury 13.9%, and Wellington 13.6%.

Questions people ask

How do I become an art therapist?

How much does an art therapist earn in New Zealand?

The Tertiary Education Commission estimates median pay at $69,000 a year, before tax. Most common pay is $56,500 to $79,000 a year.

Has the number of people working as an art therapist grown in New Zealand?

It has grown strongly: TEC records a strong increase in the number of people doing this job between the 2018 and 2023 Censuses. This is past change, not a forecast.

Will AI change the work of an art therapist?

Generative AI can do relatively little of this work, by the ILO's global estimate.

Sources

Tertiary Education Commission (Tahatu Career Navigator): Tahatu career ideas: descriptions, tasks, pay estimates, people employed, employment change 2018 to 2023, entry requirements, registration, interest scores (Site scrape 2026-10 (816 career ideas, sitemap lastmod 2026-10-01)), CC BY 4.0, retrieved 4 October 2026
Stats NZ (via Figure.NZ): Census totals by topic for individuals 2013, 2018, 2023 (CEN23_TBT_004): employed by occupation, ANZSCO V1.3, summed to unit group (2023 Census (CEN23_TBT_004)), CC BY 4.0 (Stats NZ), CC BY 3.0 NZ (Figure.NZ), retrieved 4 October 2026
Stats NZ (via Figure.NZ): Census 2023: employed by regional council, occupation (ANZSCO V1.3 unit group) and sex at birth (2023 Census), CC BY 4.0 (Stats NZ), CC BY 3.0 NZ (Figure.NZ), retrieved 4 October 2026
International Labour Organization, Generative AI and Jobs: A Refined Global Index of Occupational Exposure (ILO Working Paper 140, Gmyrek et al.) (ILO Working Paper 140, May 2025, Annex Table A1), CC BY 4.0, retrieved 4 October 2026

This content is sourced from the Tertiary Education Commission through the Tahatū Career Navigator website (www.tahatu.govt.nz) and used under the CC BY 4.0 licence. All or some of the information has been modified by Peernovo. TEC has not approved, endorsed or tested these modifications. TEC will not be held accountable for any errors within this content.

Qualification information from NZQA, used under CC BY 3.0 NZ.

This work is based on/includes Stats NZ's data which are licensed by Stats NZ for reuse under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International licence. Census data via Figure.NZ.

Includes information from O*NET OnLine by the U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration (USDOL/ETA), used under the CC BY 4.0 license. O*NET is a trademark of USDOL/ETA. USDOL/ETA has not approved, endorsed, or tested these modifications.

Sources: Tertiary Education Commission, Tahatū Career Navigator (career ideas, pay estimates, entry requirements and study options, CC BY 4.0, modified by Peernovo); Stats NZ, 2023 Census (via Figure.NZ) and the National Occupation List (CC BY 4.0); NZQA qualification information (CC BY 3.0 NZ); O*NET interest scores (CC BY 4.0); ILO global generative AI exposure index (CC BY 4.0). Links between career ideas and ANZSCO groups, degree fields and broad job groups are Peernovo's.

These results are not official statistics. They have been created for research purposes from the Integrated Data Infrastructure (IDI), which is carefully managed by Stats NZ.

Graduate outcomes: these results are not official statistics. They have been created for research purposes from the Integrated Data Infrastructure (IDI), which is carefully managed by Stats NZ.

Updated 4 October 2026