Questions on Art Therapy?
The idea of art therapy interests me quite a bit, and i might want to pursue that as a career, but i am confused on what it actually is. i know people & children can express themselves, but where does the psychology/therapy come in? &about how much do art therapists earn? &do i need to be skilled in art myself, & take art classes? thanks:)
oh and does anyone know if UCSD and/or UC Berkley have art therapy majors? thanks!
"Art therapy involves helping those with emotional and psychological difficulties to deal with their problems through a cooperative process of discovery. Clients are encouraged to come to their own understanding of what their art reveals, facilitated by the therapist, who helps to negotiate interpretations of the client’s drawings, which are created through a therapeutically oriented art-making process."
http://art-therapy.concordia.ca/
(from concordia university’s art therapy department website )
The program at Concordia is offered as a graduate program, and you are required to either have done your undergrad in fine arts, or take a certain number of fine art classes. I don’t know how other schools organize their curriculum, but I think that’s definitely a good place to start your research, the person I talked to when I called the Concordia department was immensely helpful and answered all my questions 
(I ended up deciding art therapy wasn’t for me at that time)
As for salary, from the few conversations I’ve had about this, I hear it can be a difficult avenue, that many art-therapists do it for love while holding a day job to pay the bills. But this may only be true for some, ie for people who choose to work for themselves, and build up a client base from the ground up. Something to look into.
hope I could be helpful
Filed under: Psychology and Therapy
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"Art therapy involves helping those with emotional and psychological difficulties to deal with their problems through a cooperative process of discovery. Clients are encouraged to come to their own understanding of what their art reveals, facilitated by the therapist, who helps to negotiate interpretations of the client’s drawings, which are created through a therapeutically oriented art-making process."
http://art-therapy.concordia.ca/
(from concordia university’s art therapy department website )
The program at Concordia is offered as a graduate program, and you are required to either have done your undergrad in fine arts, or take a certain number of fine art classes. I don’t know how other schools organize their curriculum, but I think that’s definitely a good place to start your research, the person I talked to when I called the Concordia department was immensely helpful and answered all my questions
(I ended up deciding art therapy wasn’t for me at that time)
As for salary, from the few conversations I’ve had about this, I hear it can be a difficult avenue, that many art-therapists do it for love while holding a day job to pay the bills. But this may only be true for some, ie for people who choose to work for themselves, and build up a client base from the ground up. Something to look into.
hope I could be helpful
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