Art Therapy is a form of psychotherapy that uses creative modalities, including art-making, sounds, and movement to improve and enhance mental and emotional well-being.
Traditional counselling practices are also used. It differs from art making or performance arts in that the emphasis is on the process of creating, rather than on the end product.
How can Art Therapy help?
Diana Hickey works with clients experiencing a range of emotional, developmental, and behavioural challenges, offering therapeutic support that is strengths-based, relational, and creative. These include:
Traditional counselling practices are also used. It differs from art making or performance arts in that the emphasis is on the process of creating, rather than on the end product.
How can Art Therapy help?
Diana Hickey works with clients experiencing a range of emotional, developmental, and behavioural challenges, offering therapeutic support that is strengths-based, relational, and creative. These include:
- Self-Esteem & Identity Development
- Social Skills & Emotional Literacy
- Body Positivity & Embodied Awareness
- Resilience Training & Self-Regulation Tools
- Anxiety & Anger Management
- ASD (Autism Spectrum Disorder)
- ADHD & Executive Functioning Support
- Developmental & Learning Differences
- Personality & Behavioural Disorders
- Support through Grief, Loss & Major Life Transitions
- Palliative Care & End-of-Life Support
Diana Hickey, M.A.A.Th. Cl., ATR
Registered Clinical Arts Therapist | ANZACATA Professional Member | ACC-Approved ISSC Provider (Sexual Trauma)
With over 20 years of clinical experience in Aotearoa New Zealand, Diana Hickey is a trusted and compassionate therapist known for her respectful, creative, and trauma-informed approach. She works across a broad range of ages and needs—supporting children (7+), adolescents, young adults, whānau, and individuals navigating complex challenges.
Her practice is grounded in Te Ao Māori principles, particularly the values of manaakitanga (care and respect), whanaungatanga (connection and relationship), and tapu and noa (balance and sacredness), ensuring cultural safety and responsiveness in her work with Māori and all communities.
Areas of specialty include:
Her experience spans paediatric mental health, oncology and palliative care, trauma triage, special needs education, and creative arts interventions. She has worked in collaboration with Allied Health teams, tertiary institutions (University of Canterbury, Whitecliffe College), and in clinical and therapeutic supervision.
She is also a registered provider with:
Registered Clinical Arts Therapist | ANZACATA Professional Member | ACC-Approved ISSC Provider (Sexual Trauma)
With over 20 years of clinical experience in Aotearoa New Zealand, Diana Hickey is a trusted and compassionate therapist known for her respectful, creative, and trauma-informed approach. She works across a broad range of ages and needs—supporting children (7+), adolescents, young adults, whānau, and individuals navigating complex challenges.
Her practice is grounded in Te Ao Māori principles, particularly the values of manaakitanga (care and respect), whanaungatanga (connection and relationship), and tapu and noa (balance and sacredness), ensuring cultural safety and responsiveness in her work with Māori and all communities.
Areas of specialty include:
- Complex and Developmental Trauma (including CPTSD)
- Attachment Styles & Family Dynamics
- Child, Adolescent & Family Therapy
- Anxiety, Self-Regulation & Coping Mechanisms
- Self-Care & Resilience Skill-Building
- Chronic Pain & Somatic Distress Management
- End of Life, Grief & Bereavement Support
- Post-Traumatic Growth & Recovery Pathways
Her experience spans paediatric mental health, oncology and palliative care, trauma triage, special needs education, and creative arts interventions. She has worked in collaboration with Allied Health teams, tertiary institutions (University of Canterbury, Whitecliffe College), and in clinical and therapeutic supervision.
She is also a registered provider with:
- WINZ (Work & Income)
- PHO Networks
- VAS (Victim Assistance Scheme)
- The Cancer Society
- Gumboot Friday
- Youth and Adult Social Support Services across the Tasman region
Beannacht / Blessing
For Josie, my mother
On the day when
the weight deadens
on your shoulders
and you stumble,
may the clay dance
to balance you.
And when your eyes
freeze behind
the grey window
and the ghost of loss
gets into you,
may a flock of colours,
indigo, red, green
and azure blue,
come to awaken in you
a meadow of delight.
When the canvas frays
in the currach of thought
and a stain of ocean
blackens beneath you,
may there come across the waters
a path of yellow moonlight
to bring you safely home.
May the nourishment of the earth be yours,
may the clarity of light be yours,
may the fluency of the ocean be yours,
may the protection of the ancestors be yours.
And so may a slow
wind work these words
of love around you,
an invisible cloak
to mind your life.
John O’Donohue (1956-2008)
From: Echoes of Memory
For Josie, my mother
On the day when
the weight deadens
on your shoulders
and you stumble,
may the clay dance
to balance you.
And when your eyes
freeze behind
the grey window
and the ghost of loss
gets into you,
may a flock of colours,
indigo, red, green
and azure blue,
come to awaken in you
a meadow of delight.
When the canvas frays
in the currach of thought
and a stain of ocean
blackens beneath you,
may there come across the waters
a path of yellow moonlight
to bring you safely home.
May the nourishment of the earth be yours,
may the clarity of light be yours,
may the fluency of the ocean be yours,
may the protection of the ancestors be yours.
And so may a slow
wind work these words
of love around you,
an invisible cloak
to mind your life.
John O’Donohue (1956-2008)
From: Echoes of Memory
