Hi all!! I am currently getting my BA in child psychology and minoring in drawing, painting, and printmaking. I am wanting to pursue my masters in art therapy because I have been dreaming to go into art therapy ever since I was a teen. However, I used to be set on working with adolescents. After working with toddlers for 6 years now I have realized that is my passion. Does anyone have any experience doing art therapy with toddlers? I know it is fairly niche so I wanted to know if anyone practices solely on early childhood age? Do we think this is sustainable and something I can pursue?

Hey creative arts therapists. I’m at art therapist working in inpatient psychiatry, but am soon giving a lecture on art therapy for inpatient psychology interns at a hospital. And of course, I’d like to use some of the lecture time for an experiential. I have a few ideas rolling around in my head- mostly around either mindfulness/relaxation or around personal strengths, as I recall feeling those helpful themes when I myself was an intern. But I’m curious if any of you have done staff art therapy directives/in-services (around those 2 aforementioned themes/goals, or otherwise) that you have found “successful” (whatever that might mean to you/your audience.) I’ve got about 20 minutes for this part, but am open to hearing longer format ideas too, for my brainstorming. Thank you!

Welcome to the weekly thread for questions and discussion about art therapy schooling. If you're considering studying art therapy, currently in a program, or preparing for applications, this is the place to ask questions and share experiences.

Use this thread for things like:

• Questions about art therapy programs or schools
• Application advice (portfolios, prerequisites, interviews)
• Program comparisons or recommendations
• Coursework or practicum questions
• Career path questions related to art therapy education
• General student experiences

To keep the subreddit organized, posts about art therapy education and training may be redirected here on Tuesdays.

Please be respectful, supportive, and share your knowledge if you can as many people here are navigating the same path.

ive been interested in art and psychology (even passed APs of those).

ive been drawn to the idea of helping others through art, specifically those dealing with trauma. but i was wondering what does an art therapist do every day? is it just the same as a regular family and marriage therapist?

i am a little intimidated by how long it takes to be an art therapist. i am a very smart kid, im not concerned about coursework being “difficult.” but theres realistically not a lot of art therapy jobs out there. compared to MFT and nursing for example. and the pay is quite moderate for the amount of schooling you dedicate to the profession.

Hey everyone, I'm really struggling to decide would be so grateful for some help. I studied BA Illustration and I'm looking to go down the route of Art Therapy but want to test if I am good at this avenue by picking up painting again and maybe teaching workshops to test the waters. May I ask what acrylic paints you would recommend? And same for sturdy but not overly expensive easels?

Paints wise, I'm wondering about:

• Liquitex Basics £16.30 for 400ml (bit pricy for me)
• Jacksons Art £9.90 for 500ml
• Daler Rowney System 3 £9 for 500ml
• Daler Rowney Graduate £7 for 500ml

I'd like bigger sizes so it's less plastic wastage (albeit sometimes there are some great small size versions out there). Is there anything I'm overlooking, or any you'd recommend please?

Thank you so much!

Reposting this fun activity 🩷🩷🩷

Welcome to the weekly thread for questions and discussion about art therapy schooling. If you're considering studying art therapy, currently in a program, or preparing for applications, this is the place to ask questions and share experiences.

Use this thread for things like:

• Questions about art therapy programs or schools
• Application advice (portfolios, prerequisites, interviews)
• Program comparisons or recommendations
• Coursework or practicum questions
• Career path questions related to art therapy education
• General student experiences

To keep the subreddit organized, posts about art therapy education and training may be redirected here on Tuesdays.

Please be respectful, supportive, and share your knowledge if you can as many people here are navigating the same path.

Hi, I just graduated with my MFA and I really want to be an art therapist. Ive always wanted that but my scholarships kept me in my current career field.

Is there a quick way to get certified? I have a certificate in Healing Centered Engagement and taught Social Emotional Learning in Public Schools. I want to provide Art Thearpy for all people. Is this a sustainable career path? I’m chronically ill and desperately need a career that pays well and gives health insurance.

Has anyone taken the post graduate certificate route? How was it?

Are there other options that I’m just not privy to?

P.S. (I don’t think I’ve taken any psychology classes)

A colleague and I both received an email from the ATCB this morning that was blank.

That was weird enough to prompt me to log in to the site. My profile is blank and it appears as though my credential did not renew despite having paid my dues in April.

Did this happen with anyone else? I submitted a note to the board through their contact form but they list current reply times as 10 days which is not… ideal… if my license showing as expired.

I'm recertifying now, asked for an extension because I haven't prioritized CE's not directly related to my job responsibilities. But as I recertify, it seems like they are expecting us to retake the exam?

Am I reading this right? I took and passed the exam when I got my LCAT and ATR-BC, there was never any mention of having to take it on a regular basis.

Hi! Is there anyone who use neurographica art as art therapy method. To mee it works very well that's why I'm very curious , how about others?

Welcome to the weekly thread for questions and discussion about art therapy schooling. If you're considering studying art therapy, currently in a program, or preparing for applications, this is the place to ask questions and share experiences.

Use this thread for things like:

• Questions about art therapy programs or schools
• Application advice (portfolios, prerequisites, interviews)
• Program comparisons or recommendations
• Coursework or practicum questions
• Career path questions related to art therapy education
• General student experiences

To keep the subreddit organized, posts about art therapy education and training may be redirected here on Tuesdays.

Please be respectful, supportive, and share your knowledge if you can as many people here are navigating the same path.

Hi everyone! I’m an art therapist based in the US. My state has licensure for art therapists, and I’ve heard that based on my masters program I might be able to apply for LMHC and be missing a few credits.
I’m wondering if any other art therapists have applied for additional licenses with your masters in art therapy, and what your experience has been, and any resources you may have. Thank you!

I've had 28 sessions with an art therapist on the NHS and it's been both incredible and heart breaking. I've been really vulnerable and cried a lot and not let my defences get in the way. I have experienced a lot of loss in my life and I don't feel strong enough to go to the final session, I'm also worried about how the ending will affect the therapist more than me. I'm devastated but I know he will have good supervision and colleagues to check in on him.

There are 2 sessions left. I have a gift for him that while inexpensive has been meticulously chosen. It means a lot for me that he has this gift more as a transitional object for me because I want him know how special he is.

What would happen if I left the gift but terminated therapy now? My feelings about this aren't important. I know it's me trying to avoid the pain of ending and protect him from that too. I'm going to write to pals and let them know how fantastic he has been so there is no ambiguity that this is something he did

Thank you for reading

how difficult would it be to find an art therapy internship in norway as an English speaker?
i may get my degree from metaforá online, so i am curious which place i can move to in europe that would have english opportunities

Welcome to the weekly thread for questions and discussion about art therapy schooling. If you're considering studying art therapy, currently in a program, or preparing for applications, this is the place to ask questions and share experiences.

Use this thread for things like:

• Questions about art therapy programs or schools
• Application advice (portfolios, prerequisites, interviews)
• Program comparisons or recommendations
• Coursework or practicum questions
• Career path questions related to art therapy education
• General student experiences

To keep the subreddit organized, posts about art therapy education and training may be redirected here on Tuesdays.

Please be respectful, supportive, and share your knowledge if you can as many people here are navigating the same path.

So I'm not a brand new art therapist, I'm like between my 5-10years working in art therapy, relatively young. I have my ATR, hoping to get BC soon. I've primarily worked in medical settings, mainly inpatient physical rehab and inpatient psych.

I'm currently working on a small 16-18 bed psych unit, general population. I recently clashed with my current supervisor on an issue, my supervisor is a creative arts therapist but has been working for 20-30 years.

I run an open studio group as the last group of the day, like a wind down group, almost everyday. Patients can make art, do word puzzles or coloring sheets, there's a radio in the room they can turn on and just hang out. It’s just a no pressure group. I try to intentionally be hands off with them so they can feel more independent. I’ve found my patients respond really well to it. I'd say typically 70% of our patients are fairly independent, 20% are responding/don't have the capacity to focus, and 10% are needing special attention/help. Obviously these numbers fluctuate depending on who's on the unit, it's always a mixed bag.

There are times during my open studio groups where I will use a work laptop and start to prep my notes. When I prep my notes I put in the time, topic, and click other generic checkboxes. For those of you who know Epic, it's built in that everything saves, I'm just clicking buttons for stuff to start filling in flowsheets. Then after the group I write the narrative and file the note. To preface I'm always extremely careful with any technology around pts. I sit in the corner of the room/back to the wall, I close my laptop if a pt starts moving towards me. Most times I’m sitting right next to the group room door that’s locked so I’m always monitoring who goes in and out. I don't have the laptop open all the time. I don't sit there and type notes in groups. I'm also watching and maintaining attention to my patients and their needs. I also make sure that everyone is settled and engaged, 30mins into the group is when I open the laptop to prep. I prep notes during my group, in the safest way I can, and this is the issue me and my supervisor clashed on. 

Now, I know pre-prepping/writing notes isn't uncommon. I worked in inpatient physical rehab and it was essential that you prep your notes. Some therapists in physical rehab even tried to do some narrative typing during a session if a pt was working independently (part of the reason I left physical rehab because I felt I was on my computer too much). Also, I worked at another psych unit and it was common practice when two therapists were running the group, one therapist would lead and the other sat back and started prepping notes on a laptop. When they were done prepping they would join the group and support. Narratives of the note are always written after the group. 

My one question is, do you as medical art therapists prep their notes? Second question is, does anyone in any way prep notes during a group (safely! can’t stress this enough)?

I’d also like to share that I understand the risks of me being on a laptop in a group.  I understand the physical safety, digital hippa, and my connection with the pts. I really want to stress that I’m being extremely safe, I’ve done this for years now and it’s never been an issue. My pts love open studio groups, they like the hands off approach, the unit is so small they really do need the independent time in the group room. Also, I’m respecting the new rule and I will not be using the laptop in group anymore and I’m 100% okay with that. I really do understand. I just know that I’m not the only one that does this. It feels like my supervisor is old school and has never experienced note prepping.

On a personal level I’m so conflicted because I had a feeling my supervisor was never a fan of me prepping notes in groups. My supervisor has never said anything until recently and made it sound like it came from our manager, but our manager is a nurse and is never around to see my groups so I’m confused where it’s coming from. 

The way I found out was through a group email my supervisor sent to me and my coworkers, stating that the laptop can’t be in group while we’re running a group. All of my coworkers know that I’m the only one who uses the laptop to prep notes. My co-workers felt embarrassed for me and I felt embarrassed from the email. I decided to ask my supervisor about it to ask if they could tell me more, thinking there was a specific incident. The conversation was basically a non conversation, they just seemed upset at me. I had to pull for information which seemed to make my supervisor more upset. I felt so uncomfortable. I legit woke up the next day crying because I’ve had such a good relationship with this supervisor. They’ve always been nice and supportive, and always had good communication with me. I don’t know what changed. 

Sometimes I feel like my supervisor is projecting because they are really bad with technology. They’re significantly older and can barely utilize the laptop. I feel like their thought process is: if I can’t use the laptop and run a group then no one can use a laptop and run a group. Thinking about it now I think my supervisor also doesn’t like that I prep notes in general. Because at the start of my day if I have time I’ll prep my notes before the group starts so I don’t have to do it during the group. When I was trying to have the conversation with them about the issue, they just said, “you can’t write a note before the group happens.” As if they don’t know how Epic works, you input the time of the service given, that’s what gets recorded when you put it in a note. 

Anyway, I would appreciate any input and support. I do feel like the situation wasn’t handled well. I was able to lean on my coworkers for support. I take a lot of pride and careful consideration to everything I do as an art therapist. I always put my pt’s safety and well-being first. I feel like my manager or maybe other nurses are making assumptions that I’m just on the laptop and not running group. Also I do feel my supervisor is holding animosity, not communicating things well, and maybe nursing is putting pressure on my supervisor. I know one thing for sure is that I will be asking my supervisor to communicate things to me in person first. If I’m doing something wrong I need verbal communication, not an email.

Hi everyone👋🏻

I'm travelling to the states in a few days. Will be staying with family at Baldwin Place. Are any of you aware if there will be any expressive art / therapeutic art workshops around the area, maybe in New York or Connecticut? I'll be there from the 20th June until July 1st.

Would appreciate some recommendations, don't even know where to start looking for some nice affordable options lol

I’d like to know the challenges of being art therapist ? do you regret it? If so why? In my mind I’d think less jobs and clients available for art therapy, is that true? Specifically in Canada

Welcome to the weekly thread for questions and discussion about art therapy schooling. If you're considering studying art therapy, currently in a program, or preparing for applications, this is the place to ask questions and share experiences.

Use this thread for things like:

• Questions about art therapy programs or schools
• Application advice (portfolios, prerequisites, interviews)
• Program comparisons or recommendations
• Coursework or practicum questions
• Career path questions related to art therapy education
• General student experiences

To keep the subreddit organized, posts about art therapy education and training may be redirected here on Tuesdays.

Please be respectful, supportive, and share your knowledge if you can as many people here are navigating the same path.

As the post says, I’m curious how others approached this from a funding perspective.
Mainly these 3 points;

- what state are you in?

- did you self-fund? Loans?

- how long did it take you to become profitable?