Northern Ireland Group for Art Therapy (NIGAT)
NIGAT formed in 1976 and was co-founded by Rita Simon, Alice Graham, Brenda Blaney and Dorothy McCourt. NIGAT’s founding was inspired by Rita Simon, an art therapist who was a pioneer of art therapy in the UK in the 1940s and who first introduced art therapy to Northern Ireland in 1952. NIGAT holds true to the origins and focus of what NIGAT was founded on: Rita’s art therapy approach and her vision for NIGAT as a group promoting art therapy whilst also having a membership that is inclusive and open to all. Therefore, NIGAT continues to work to promote art therapy whilst also welcoming all, art therapists and non-art therapists to its events. NIGAT welcomes those interested in art therapy and also in wider health-related applications of the creative art process.
NIGAT became a Registered Charity (for tax purposes) in 1989 (XR36993). It is a membership organisation which is administered by a Voluntary Committee, elected annually at the AGM from within the membership group. NIGAT has been running three Day Meetings each year since 1976 and an annual Art Therapy Summer School since 1993.
As an art therapist, Rita Simon wrote and presented about art therapy and, before the profession’s statutory regulation, she used the terms ‘art therapy’, ‘art as a therapy’ and ‘art as therapy’ all interchangeably to refer to art therapy. After the profession achieved initially state registration in 1997 (CPSM) and then statutory regulation in 2001/2002 (HPC now HCPC), Rita referred to the profession and practice as ‘art therapy’. Rita was also a founding member of the British Association of Art Therapists (BAAT), the UK professional body. Therefore, NIGAT and BAAT Northern Ireland (a country group of BAAT) have a formal collaboration. For more information about BAAT NI, see BAAT NI.
In the UK, the profession for art as therapy / art as a therapy is Art Therapy / Art Psychotherapy. Art Therapy is a form of psychotherapy. In the UK this profession is statutorily regulated by the HCPC and it is one of the Allied Health Professions – in NI see Department of Health NI and NI Direct. To practise art therapy in the UK, a person must be HCPC Registered as an ‘art therapist’ / ‘art psychotherapist’ – see Check the Register (HCPC). These two legally protected titles are protected under criminal law.
NIGAT is open and inclusive and welcomes everyone – art therapists and non-art therapists – to its events.
For details of the NIGAT Committee, see https://nigat.net/committee/
For information on the origins and history of NIGAT, see https://nigat.net/history/
NIGAT is celebrating its 50th anniversary in 2026!
