Art therapy greenlit as college major

The Ministry of Education has approved "art therapy" as an undergraduate major, recognizing the rising importance of the practice in addressing mental health and supporting social care for vulnerable communities.

The decision, made by the ministry on April 28, marks the first time art therapy has transitioned from an informal or interdisciplinary elective study into a standardized, mainstream undergraduate degree program on the Chinese mainland.

The approval was driven by growing institutional and public awareness surrounding mental health and the benefits of the use of art therapy in treatment.

Experts said that the decision was also a response to a substantial talent shortage in the sector, as the demand for qualified art therapists has surged in hospitals, schools, community centers and rehabilitation institutions.

The establishment of a dedicated undergraduate program is expected to significantly expand the workforce and improve service quality.

Industry observers emphasize that employment prospects in art therapy are broad, spanning healthcare, education, social work and private practice. By formalizing the educational pathway, policymakers aim to cultivate skilled professionals capable of meeting the growing social and therapeutic needs of communities nationwide.

According to a blue book on mental health in China released in 2023, an estimated 16.7 percent of Chinese teenagers experience mental health issues, while more than 95 million people nationwide suffer from depression or anxiety disorders.

If earlier reforms highlighted the convergence of art and technology, the inclusion of art therapy signals the growing importance of the intersection between art and health.

With China facing rising demand for mental health services, an aging population and increasing attention to emotional well-being, policymakers are looking beyond traditional healthcare systems for solutions, and art therapy offers a promising avenue.

The discipline employs music, visual arts, dance, drama and other creative forms to support emotional expression, psychological recovery and social development. Unlike conventional talk-based therapies, practitioners argue that artistic expression can reach individuals who struggle to communicate verbally, including children with autism, older adults with cognitive decline and people experiencing psychological distress.

On May 12, the Central Academy of Fine Arts announced that its application to establish an undergraduate art therapy program had been officially approved.

According to the academy, it was among the first art universities in China to explore the discipline independently. Drawing on its century-long tradition of art education, distinguished faculty and strong foundation in aesthetic research, the academy has spent years building a comprehensive training framework. Its curriculum integrates theory, multicultural studies, artistic expression, clinical practice, research and community engagement, supporting a tiered talent-development pathway that spans undergraduate education, specialized advanced training and master's-level research.

Building on this foundation, the academy has also developed an interdisciplinary platform that combines academic research, talent cultivation, clinical therapeutic practice, public service and the exploration of industry standards, helping to shape the future development of art therapy.

Together, these efforts are aimed at cultivating a new generation of art therapy professionals — individuals trained not only in artistic creation and psychological theory, but also grounded in community practice and human-centered care.

The educational system has been moving in this direction for decades. In 1997, the Central Conservatory of Music took the lead in establishing China's first music therapy research center.

From 2004, institutions such as the Sichuan Conservatory of Music and the Shanghai Conservatory of Music successively launched undergraduate programs in music therapy, while the Central Academy of Fine Arts also developed academic directions related to art therapy.

In 2019, the Arts Therapy Research Center at the School of Art and Media at Beijing Normal University was established, enrolling its first cohort of doctoral students in art therapy. In 2023, the university expanded its offerings by admitting master's students in dance therapy.

A milestone was reached in 2025, when Nanjing Normal University was approved to launch China's first undergraduate program in dance therapy.

The latest policy change now brings these efforts fully into the formal undergraduate education framework.

"The era of promoting health through the arts has arrived," said Lin Yi, a professor at the School of Arts at Peking University and vice-president of the China Arts Administration Education Association. She said that the inclusion in the national undergraduate catalog marks the beginning of a more standardized and systematic approach to talent cultivation.

She added that Chinese universities have actively explored art therapy education for years, with programs emerging in music, dance and visual arts, gradually forming a growing training system at both undergraduate and postgraduate levels. The policy reflects a growing understanding that artistic value cannot be measured solely through performance, exhibition or commercial success.

At Wuhan Conservatory of Music in Hubei province, students in the music therapy program spend six semesters participating in supervised clinical practice. They observe sessions in hospitals, rehabilitation centers and special education schools before gradually assuming responsibility for treatment plans themselves.

Associate professor Xu Fengping recalled one encounter that illustrates the field's potential. During a music therapy session with autistic children, she and her students began responding to the children's spontaneous drum rhythms.

"When we answered their rhythms, they looked up," she said. "They felt their expression had been heard and accepted." According to Xu, this ability to bypass verbal barriers is what makes artistic interventions unique. "Art becomes a channel," she said. "It can reach deep emotional experiences that words sometimes cannot."

Ma Guoqiang, honorary chairman of the Henan Federation of Literary and Art Circles and honorary chairman of the Henan Artists Association, said that the inclusion of art therapy in the national undergraduate program catalog is far more than the addition of a new academic discipline. "This is about bringing art back to its educational and humanistic roots," he said, highlighting its significance for aesthetic education.

Ma said that the essence of art has always carried a therapeutic dimension. "In ancient times, scholars played the zither to calm the heart, practiced calligraphy to cultivate temperament, or splashed ink to convey emotion. The goal was never merely technical mastery, but the cultivation of character, the settling of the spirit and the harmonization of emotion."

He said the establishment of an art therapy undergraduate program is a catalyst for art to enter society more comprehensively. "From rural cultural vitalization and the shaping of urban public spaces, to the aesthetic development of young people and the enhancement of national cultural literacy, art will become a foundational force in nurturing the social and spiritual ecosystem," he said. "This is not only a humanistic concern for individual lives, but also a positive shaping of society's collective spirit. When art sheds its utilitarian veneer and becomes an essential part of everyday life, society itself will become warmer and more harmonious."

However, as art therapy sits at the intersection of art, psychology, education and healthcare, universities must balance artistic training with clinical competence, ensuring graduates possess both creative sensitivity and therapeutic expertise.

Another challenge involves theory building. As universities expand programs, experts have called for knowledge systems grounded in Chinese cultural contexts and social realities. Standardization presents an additional hurdle: curriculum design, professional certification, employment qualifications and evaluation systems all require clarity.

The distinction between "therapy" and "healing" further complicates matters. As China's public health agenda increasingly emphasizes prevention alongside treatment, arts-based interventions have growing potential in student mental health, dementia prevention, maternal well-being and community care.

Li Hongju, director of the art therapy research center of Beijing Normal University, said that China's art therapy field is at a critical juncture, transitioning from "unregulated growth" toward "standardized development".

"The immediate priority is to establish clear talent evaluation systems and professional ethical standards," she said. "Only by defining the boundaries between professional art therapy, general art education and recreational art training — while specifying course content, practitioner qualifications, practical procedures and ethical guidelines — can we prevent industry-wide homogenization and ensure the healthy, orderly development of the field."

Li said that as art therapy encompasses diverse modalities, including painting, calligraphy, music, dance, drama and crafts, each discipline has its own therapeutic logic, suitable contexts and target populations. "Art therapy can support adolescents through emotional guidance and campus mental health services, serve older adults through wellness and rehabilitation programs, assist special-needs populations, and even provide stress relief in workplace settings," she said.

As the first university in China to launch an undergraduate major in dance therapy, Nanjing Normal University is committed to integrating special education with arts-based therapeutic practice. Liu Shanshan, head of the university's dance therapy teaching and research department, has developed a curriculum and classroom model widely regarded as a key reference in the field. In her classes, students are not required to master complex choreography or performance-level techniques; instead, the focus is on physical relaxation and emotional awareness.

"Through simple, gentle movements and free bodily expression, we guide students to perceive their physical and emotional states and to release inner feelings," Liu said.

She added that dance therapy differs fundamentally from traditional dance education. "Conventional training emphasizes technical precision, aesthetic form and performance skills. Dance therapy, by contrast, has no fixed movement standards and no judgments of beauty or ugliness. What matters is creating an inclusive, safe and relaxed environment where the body becomes a direct language for emotional expression," she said.

chennan@chinadaily.com.cn