Association was originally founded in 1985 under the name “Professional Association for Creative Psychotherapy and Art Therapy”, and since May 2022 we have been operating under the name “gpk – Professional Association for Art Therapy”.

With almost 500 members, we are the largest professional and professional association of art therapists in German-speaking Switzerland. We are open to prospective, trained and retired art therapists from all five disciplines: Movement and Dance Therapy, Drama and Speech Therapy, Design and Painting Therapy, Intermedia Therapy, Music Therapy.

Our members work in one of the five areas of medical-therapeutic, psychotherapeutic, social, pedagogical and cultural fields of our society. As self-employed persons or employees (in health care facilities or in social, educational and cultural institutions), our members support children, adolescents and adults in special phases of life and/or illness situations.

The gpk is a member of the OdA ARTECURA (Organisation of the Working World for arts therapy), which is responsible for executing the higher professional examination for the profession oft art therapist with a federal diploma. Since 2012, Dance and Movement Therapy has been recognised by the Swiss Confederation as an art therapeutic method.

The gpk is a Basic Full member of the EADMT, the European Association Dance Movement Therapy since 2009.