This is one of my favorite quotes by Picasso...it very much applies to art therapy as well.
Thursday, March 30, 2023
Tuesday, March 21, 2023
How do you become an art therapist?
I get a lot of questions about how to become an art therapist. Of all places, Forbes Advisor came out with a fairly informative and comprehensive article on how to do just that. Check it out if you are interested in art therapy or just wonder what exactly we do:
https://www.forbes.com/advisor/education/become-an-art-therapist/
How To Become An Art Therapist:
Requirements For Art Therapy
Requirements For Art Therapy
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Talk therapy may not work for everyone, and using only traditional language can create a barrier to expressing and working through individuals’ needs and emotions.
Art therapy integrates psychotherapy with studio art and the creative process to support clients’ personal and relational needs. As a regulated profession, the requirements to become an art therapist include obtaining a master’s degree and completing experience hours.
In this article, we overview what an art therapist does, the steps to become one and some of the top skills required to be an effective practitioner.
What Does an Art Therapist Do?
Art therapists conduct art therapy sessions with individuals and groups to improve clients’ physical, emotional or cognitive well-being. Art therapists consider their clients’ goals and objectives to design and carry out therapy sessions or programs based on observations and interviews with family members, among other factors.
To assess their clients’ needs, art therapists use artistic processes such as sculpting, drawing and painting to draw conclusions and make recommendations. After developing an individualized treatment plan, an art therapist guides their client through artistic self-expression to promote recovery from a specific challenge.
Art therapists work with clients in various settings, including schools, prisons, shelters, hospitals and nursing homes.
Art Therapist Salary
According to Payscale, the average art therapist earns $49,000 per year. Art therapists earn about 15.9% less than the average annual salary for all occupations nationwide, according to data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.
In 2021, the American Art Therapy Association (AATA) released a member demographics report showing a large salary range for art therapists. The most common salary range reported (33.1% of respondents) was $50,000 to $79,999 per year.
What’s the Difference Between an Art Therapist and a Counselor?
The terms “therapy” and “counseling” are often used interchangeably. This is an understandable misconception since both practices involve trained mental health professionals who help clients navigate mental health conditions and other issues. However, art therapy departs from counseling in a significant way.
Counselors typically use talk-based sessions to help their clients cope with challenges and develop positive skills and behaviors. Art therapists provide a more integrative approach, helping their clients express themselves visually or symbolically through the creative process that art allows.
Additionally, counselors often have a more narrow focus and address singular issues such as substance abuse, behavioral disorders or mental health. Art therapists typically assist in improving their client’s physical, cognitive and emotional well-being holistically.
How to Become an Art Therapist
Earn a Bachelor’s Degree
Your bachelor’s degree should include significant coursework in both studio art—which includes drawing, painting, sculpting and other creative mediums—and psychology.
Earning a bachelor’s degree in art therapy is the most direct way to become eligible for an art therapy master’s program, but only some institutions offer a bachelor’s degree in art therapy. Alternatively, you might double-major in psychology and art, or you might major in one subject and minor in the other.
Earn a Master’s Degree
Ultimately, a master’s degree in art therapy or a mental health discipline is required before you can become an art therapist. These programs often take two years to complete and require an internship and advanced art therapy coursework.
Complete Experience Hours
After graduating with a master’s degree in art therapy, you can pursue the Registered Art Therapist (ATR) credential or the Board-Certified Registered Art Therapist (ATR-BC) credential. Both credentials are administered by the Art Therapy Credentials Board (ATCB) and require candidates to complete between 1,000 and 1,500 hours of direct client contact using art therapy. We’ll go into more details on professional credentials in the next section.
Apply for Credentialing and Licensure
The ATCB oversees testing and credentialing for art therapists. The ATR and ATR-BC credentials are the most common for art therapists, with the ATR-BC being the highest-level credentialing option.
Most states do not offer professional art therapy licenses, but the following do, according to AATA:
- Connecticut
- Delaware
- New Jersey
- New Mexico
- Kentucky
- Mississippi
- Maryland
- Oregon
- Tennessee
- Virginia
- Washington, D.C.
In addition, Texas, New York, Pennsylvania, Wisconsin and Utah regulate art therapy under other professional licenses. Licensure details differ by state, so if you live in a state that requires art therapists to become licensed, make sure to check its specific requirements.
Professional Credentials for Art Therapists
The ATR is the primary credential for art therapists and comes with a stringent set of education and experience requirements. An art therapist must become an ATR before they can become an ATR-BC.
Education
According to the ATCB, ATR candidates must have completed at least 18 semester credits in studio-based art courses at the undergraduate or graduate level. A qualifying visual arts portfolio may count for up to six studio art credits.
Prospective ATRs must have a master’s degree or higher and have completed significant coursework in mental health and art therapy content. Mental health coursework must include the following areas:
- Psychopathology/abnormal psychology
- Psychological assessment
- Human growth and development
- Counseling/psychological theories
- Research
And graduate-level art therapy coursework should cover the following:
- History or foundations of art therapy
- Theory of art therapy
- Techniques of practice in art therapy
- Application of art therapy with people in different treatment settings
- Art therapy assessment
- Ethical and legal issues of art therapy
- Social and cultural diversity as it pertains to art therapy
- Standards of good art therapy practice
- Group art therapy
- Systems in art therapy
Candidates whose graduate degrees did not meet all requirements may complete the mandated coursework outside of a degree program.
Experience
Internship or practicum. Credential candidates must complete a practicum or internship within a graduate-level academic course. The ATCB requires at least 700 hours of a supervised art therapy internship or practicum, including at least 350 hours of providing art therapy services directly to individuals or groups.
If an ATR-BC or Art Therapy Credentialed Supervisor (ATCS) teaches a candidate’s internship/practicum course, this reduces the number of client contact hours required for licensure.
Client contact hours. After earning their graduate degree, candidates seeking ATR credentialing must complete client contact hours. Candidates who completed their internship or practicum under a current ATR-BC or ATCS need at least 1,000 hours of post-education work with clients using art therapy. At least 100 of these hours must be supervised.
For candidates who did not complete their internship or practicum in a course taught by an ATR-BC or ATCS, the ATCB requires 1,500 hours of direct client contact using art therapy. At least 150 of these hours must be supervised.
Becoming an ATR-BC
This is the highest credential an art therapist can earn. Current ATRs do not need to complete additional education or experience prerequisites to become ATR-BCs, but they need to pass the Art Therapy Credentials Board Examination (ATCBE). The ATCBE is a national exam that tests candidates’ comprehensive knowledge of the clinical skills and theories applied in art therapy.
Top Skills for Art Therapists
In addition to expertise in studio art and mental health, an art therapist should have a handful of core soft skills.
Communication
Verbal and nonverbal communication are essential aspects of the therapist-client relationship. It’s imperative for art therapists to be able to connect meaningfully with their clients. This connection can help with building trusting relationships and creating a safe space for artistic expression, especially when clients struggle to share their emotions verbally.
Familiarity With Art
Art is a broad field that includes various disciplines like drawing and painting, sculpture, graphic design and photography. Art therapists should be confident in a variety of artistic practices to meet their clients’ varying needs. Fortunately, the educational pathway to becoming an art therapist often includes courses covering artistic ability and art history.
Active Listening
Active listening is different from passive listening, which allows clients to share their thoughts without disruption. Active listening involves the ability to ask pertinent questions for clarification or more details and restate what a client has said to ensure the therapist understands the client correctly.
Active listening is particularly crucial for clients who struggle to communicate their thoughts and feelings effectively when dealing with various challenges and emotional obstacles. Active listening allows the therapist to understand the depth of their client’s emotions, build rapport and tailor a treatment plan.
Patience
Having patience with clients communicates an art therapist’s care for their clients’ needs, especially as clients may struggle with expressing their emotions. Further, each client enters art therapy on a unique timeline and may not make progress as quickly or smoothly as expected. Unmet expectations and impatience can often result in frustration or even annoyance on the therapist’s part, which can be detrimental to client growth.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) About Becoming an Art Therapist
How do I start a career in art therapy?
Can I be an art therapist without a master’s degree?
How long does it take to become an art therapist?
Monday, March 06, 2023
Therapy is not linear
This is something I tell my clients often. Many expect there to be linear improvement when they come to therapy, but it's more often like 2 steps forward, 1 step back. It takes time to make changes and try new things, and it's not going to be a straight line on a graph. Perhaps this could be encouraging to you today as you may feel you aren't progressing in therapy. It does take time, but don't give up.
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