Art therapy is an established mental health profession that uses the creative process of art making to better and heighten the concrete, mental and emotional well-being of people at all ages.

It is based on the belief that the creative process involved in artistic self-expression helps people to resolve conflicts and problems, develop interpersonal skills, manage behavior, reduce stress, increase self-esteem and self-awareness and achieve insight.

Art therapy integrates the fields of human development, visual arts and the artistic process with models of counseling and psychotherapy. Art therapy is used with children, adolescents, adults, older adults, groups and families to assess and treat:

  • Anxiety, depression and other mental/emotional issues
  • Mental disease
  • Substance corruption and other addictions
  • Family and relationship issues
  • Corruption and domestic violence
  • Social/emotional difficulties related to disability or illness
  • Personal trauma, mail-traumatic stress disorder and loss
  • Physical, cognitive and neurological problems
  • Psychosocial difficulties related to medical illness

Some fine art therapists work as office of a health care team that includes physicians, psychologists, nurses, mental health counselors, marriage and family unit therapists, rehabilitation counselors, social workers and teachers. Together, they decide and implement a client'southward therapeutic goals and objectives. Other art therapists piece of work independently and maintain individual practices with children, adolescents, adults, groups and/or families.

If y'all're considering this career, keep in mind that an art therapist needs certain personal qualities – such as sensitivity, empathy, emotional stability, patience, interpersonal skills, insight into human behavior and an understanding of creative media. An art therapist must be an attentive listener and a keen observer. Flexibility and a sense of humor are likewise invaluable.

Working Conditions

Art therapists work in a wide variety of settings including:

  • Hospitals and clinics, both medical and psychiatric
  • Outpatient mental wellness agencies and day treatment facilities
  • Residential treatment centers
  • Halfway houses
  • Domestic violence and homeless shelters
  • Customs agencies and nonprofit settings
  • Sheltered workshops
  • Schools, colleges and universities
  • Correctional facilities
  • Elderberry intendance facilities
  • Art studios
  • Individual exercise

Salary Range and Outlook

Salaries for art therapists vary widely, co-ordinate to a 2009 survey conducted by the American Medical Association. Salaries for those just beginning in the career are mostly around $30,000 to $40,000 while those with feel may earn salaries over $100,000. Keep in mind that salaries volition vary considerably, depending on experience, location and type of practice.

Bookish Requirements

Art therapists must accept a primary'due south degree in fine art therapy or counseling or a related field with an emphasis in art therapy and must consummate the required core curriculum as outlined in the American Art Therapy Association's (AATA) education standards.

AATA-approved fine art therapy programs generally consist of 48 to 60 semester credits (or approximately 18 months to ii years of full-time education). The typical curriculum includes:

  • History and theory of art therapy
  • Techniques or do in art therapy
  • Application of art therapy with people in unlike handling settings
  • Understanding of grouping art therapy and counseling methods and skills
  • Upstanding and legal problems of art therapy do
  • Art therapy assessment
  • Standards of practice in art therapy
  • Cultural and social diversity
  • Thesis or culminating project

In improver, each art therapy student must consummate a practicum or internship, involving a minimum of 700 hours of supervised art therapy do, at to the lowest degree half of which must be spent working directly with patients in private, grouping or family formats.  There also are opportunities for specialization (i.due east., specific patient age groups, do settings and types of intervention).

After receiving a master's degree in art therapy, accumulating the required number of supervised hours and submitting professional references attesting to your competency, you may apply to become a registered art therapist (ATR) through the Art Therapy Credentials Board (ATCB).  Subsequently being granted the ATR, you so tin sit for the board certification (ATR-BC) examination. The exam is offered once a year at various locations throughout the United States.

Learn More than About a Career as an Art Therapist

  • Take a look at the "For Students" section of the American Fine art Therapy Association'southward website.

Resources

  • American Art Therapy Association
  • Fine art Therapy Credentials Board

The American Art Therapy Association reviewed this career profile.