Art Therapy Programs

Art Therapy is a psychology subspecialty that uses therapeutic art-making to improve and enhance the physical, mental and emotional well-being of people going through trauma, illness or mental health issues. It is a form of expressive therapy that uses the creative process to not only make art, but to work through personal difficulties.

Walden University

Featured Programs:
BS in Psychology - Graduate School Prep

Southern New Hampshire University

Featured Programs:
BA in Psychology/Child & Adolescent Development (Online)

Professionals in this area, though highly specialized, understand the specific benefits of art therapy in the grand scheme of a patient's rehabilitation or treatment. The brain often uses art to make sense of personal issues and traumas that may be going on in a person's life. By unlocking the freedom to create and express, an art therapist helps a subject learn more about their issues and work through them in a non-threatening manner.

Useful Art Therapy Resources

• American Art Therapy Association
• International Art Therapy Organization
• American Cancer Society: Art Therapy

Capella University

Featured Programs:
MS in General Psychology (Online)
MS in Child and Adolescent Development

Post University

Featured Programs:
BA in Psychology (Online)

Art Therapy Methods of Operation

Art therapists do not place limitations on their patients. They understand that the creative process can be a very complex one, and that the process itself is probably the most important part of successful treatment. By giving their patients the tools to create and the guidance to express themselves through art, therapists in this field are able to help their patients come to a greater understanding of their issues.

Observation, interrogation, and evaluation are all important parts of the art therapist's job. If one is considering going into this profession, he need not be a Picasso or Michaelangelo. He must simply understand the creative process and, more importantly, help patients to understand how they can unlock it to deal with issues in their lives.

Kaplan University

Featured Programs:
BS Psychology (Online)

Northcentral University

Featured Programs:
MA in Health Psychology (Online)

Careers in Art Therapy

An art therapist can find extensive career support through the American Art Therapy Association's Career Center. In addition to working directly with patients in clinics and hospitals around the country, one may also serve as a laboratory assistant. To excel in this career field, one must be comfortable working with children and adults that have developmental disabilities.

The good news is that many of these jobs can be available to candidates with just masters degrees in the field of psychology as long as there is some degree of specialization. Attaining a Ph.D, however, will improve one's chances greatly of working in the field. Art therapists generally find work in metropolitan areas and earn an average in the low to mid $70,000 range annually.

Chicago School of Professional Psychology

Featured Programs:
MA in Applied Forensic Psychology (Online)

Art Therapy Education and Training

Many states require those seeking an art therapy degree to complete supervised field training in addition to coursework. It may be difficult finding this specific major in the standard course catalog, though larger universities tend to have a more diverse field from which to choose. Art therapy internships may require one to work in a supervised role as a lab assistant, where research and patient interaction are the norm.