I'll share with you the five steps to become an art therapist in the U.S., in 2019.
I am Youhjung and I was trained as an art therapist and currently working on a freelance basis.
If you are still deciding or you're just curious about becoming an art therapist
this will definitely help you have more clarity on what's really involved in becoming an art therapist in 2019
The very first step is to study psychology,
studio art or other related field for your undergraduate degree.
You want to have or be almost done with a bachelor's degree and make sure you have credits in psychology and
studio art. Usually it's 12 credits in psychology and 18 credits in art.
The second step is to find
graduate or therapy programs and apply to them. To become an art therapist in the U.S.,
you need at least a master's degree as a minimum. You want to make sure that the program that you attend to is
AATA approved - which means "American Art Therapy Association" approved or accredited.
That way is easier for you to get your licensure or certification in the future.
Currently there are
20 states that have graduate art therapy programs and I know
definitely that the big cities and urban areas have more programs; so I know New York
Pennsylvania, and Illinois, have the most number of programs while some other states like, Alaska
Georgia, or Texas don't have any programs at all.
So if that's the case where you're living in and there's no program in your state
You might have to consider moving to a different state or you can also do a online or distance learning program.
To apply for the programs you will need to have some relevant experience so that could be through work or
It could be through volunteer experience. And you also need a portfolio.
In addition, you need all the usual college application materials like resume, statement of purpose,
recommendation letter, transcript, and all that stuff. For a list of programs that you could go to, you can visit the AATA web page (www.arttherapy.org)
Or you can also download my free checklist PDF, which I have linked below in the description box.
It has all of the detailed steps and some resources that you would need to to become an art therapist
Also,
let me know why you are interested in becoming an art therapist. I would love to know what your story is.
The third step is to finish and graduate from your art therapy master's program. (Receive your degree)
During your education you'll go through internships, working in different places as an art therapy intern
You'll do a thesis project,
take psychology and art therapy courses, and your professors are most likely our therapists currently
practicing in the field as well as other therapists and
psychologists.
You'll also be making art in classes as part of experiencing different materials and
directives and you'll most likely to be doing art in your own time. And
finally, you'll probably be seeing a therapist for yourself during your education and training because you need to experience
what's it like to do therapy to become a therapist and it's always helpful to have a therapist too.
Be coming an art therapists can involve a lot of inner work.
The fourth step is to work on your
certification or licensure after you graduate. This part will look
different depending on which state you're living and working in. Some states have
licensure for art therapists and some states don't. If they don't have a state license then you will be working towards your
ATR-BC
certification, which means that you will become a Registered and Certified Art Therapist. (To get that) what you will be doing as you'll be
working as an art therapist under an art therapist supervisor and
also be taking the art therapy (board) exam. You could be working as an art therapist,
you could be volunteering and getting hours. You could be having a
similar role or position at work, but you'll definitely going to be
providing art therapy under supervision.
Usually the (total) hours are
thousand hours of direct client contact and
this can depend on whether
you graduated from AATA approved program or not and what kind of master's degree you have.
If there is a state license in the state you're living in then you will probably be working towards that licensure and
the certification at the same time and usually the
requirements can overlap, for the most part, but you'll have to look into that. (Always research your state's requirements)
This will involve working a certain number of hours under supervision under a therapist,
or maybe an art therapist and
also taking an exam in the areas of counseling or in the areas of
psychotherapy
or you might be just using your ATR-BC (board certification) exam as
one of the requirements for this licensure. The number of hours that you will be providing therapy or art therapy can range
depending on the state, so it could be from one thousand hours to three thousand hours.
And
finally after that you gain your certification and license you'll be working as an art therapist.
You could be working at different places and you can also own a private practice and see clients on your own.
This journey to become an art therapist might take two or more years for the master's degree and
a few years in addition to that to become licensed or certified in the U.S.
If you want a detailed list of all the steps I mentioned in this video and more
resources, you can go download my checklist PDF.
And again, it's in the description box below and please like this video if you want to see more
information on art therapy as a career.
Thank you for watching and I'll talk to you next time. Bye! :)