Education Required to Become an Art Therapist

Art Therapists are a valuable part of the therapeutic community

Art therapy standards have been developed as a way to assist educators in developing effective graduate programs. These standards are overseen by the American Art Therapy Association (AATA). The basic requirements for becoming a registered art therapist are listed below. A complete list in more detail can be found at www.atcb.org.

Master's Degree

You will need to obtain a master's degree if you want to become an art therapist. If you have a master's degree in a different field, you will need to obtain one specific to art therapy. The two master's programs that will suffice in pursuing a career in this field are either one in art therapy or one in counseling or a related field with an emphasis in art therapy.

Prerequisite Classes

You will need to receive your master's degree from a program that is certified by the AATA. However, before entering you need to complete some preparatory courses at the bachelor's degree level. These required classes are all listed at Art Therapy Credentials Board, Inc. (www.atcb.org). You can also find the list of accredited master's programs at this website.

Specific Requirements

Graduate programs are required to mandate that students admitted into the art therapy program complete certain requirements no later than twelve months after entering the program. Some of these include a minimum of 18 semester hour credits in studio art and a minimum of 12 semester hour credits in psychology (including developmental and abnormal psychology).

Supervision

After receiving your master's degree, you will need to seek out work experience. This needs to be supervised by an individual approved by the accreditation board (ATCB). This supervised experience is the second part of the licensing requirement.

Continuing Education

Education requirements do not end with certification. Once you are certified, you will need to accumulate continuing education credits (CECs) in order to remain certified. To find out more about these CECs and any other information about certification, go to the ATCB website.

References

• Art Therapy Association: Requirements and List of Approved Universities
• Art Therapy Credentials Board: Certification Requirements
• Art Therapy Credentials Board: Continuing Education