Career Blog Post - Art Therapist

Image from Florida State University College of the Fine Arts Website

An art therapist is a trained professional in art and therapeutic practices who works with a range of clients to help with mental, emotional, and physical needs.

They set up sessions with clients, one-on-one or in group settings, plan their sessions, attend meetings, and use art to help their clients improve.

Art therapists need a master's degree as well as 100 hours of supervised practicum and 600 hours of supervised art therapy clinical internship to be eligible to be a certified art therapist. Plus, preparatory training at a prerequisite level in studio art methods in a variety of two- and three-dimensional art media and processes is required. This whole process will allow someone to obtain Commission on Accreditation of Allied Health Education Programs (CAAHEP) accreditation.

For majors/programs, majoring in art therapy for undergraduate school can be helpful but is not necessary. A master's degree in counseling is also required, usually with a focus on art therapy. Noted colleges for art therapy by the American Art Therapy Association are Notre Dame of Maryland University, Dominican University of California, and Mars Hill University.