Art Therapy is a profession regulated by the American Art Therapy Association (AATA) and credentialled by the ATCB. Registration (ATR) requires the completion of a master's degree in art therapy or a related field with specified art therapy coursework. The degree must include supervised practicum. Following graduation, a specified number of post-graduate clinical hours under supervision by an art therapist, must be completed. Once the art therapist has become registered, s/he may apply to take a certification exam. After passing this exam, the art therapist may used the initials ATR-BC. For detailed information on training and credentials, contact ATCB (Art Therapy Credentials Board). ATCB oversees the awarding of professional credentials.
The American Art Therapy Association is the professional organization that defines and monitors the field as a whole. It sponsors a professional journal (Art Therapy), an annual conference and regional symposia. St. Louis hosted the annual conference in 2000. AATA also provides approval to selected training programs. These programs are evaluated periodically and must conform to the prevailing standards of training established by AATA membership. AATA has developed a strong Code of Ethics and Standards of Professional Practice, and clinicians offering art therapy are advised to review and adhere to those standards. Unfortunately, art therapy is not regulated as a licensed profession by very many states, so compliance with AATA’s standards by non-registered art therapists is voluntary. In addition, art therapy is not licensable in most states, so many art therapists select training that encompasses both art therapy and a related mental health discipline that is licensable.
Education is available in colleges and universities and in a few post-graduate training institutes. AATA can furnish a listing of programs offering training.Locally, (St. Louis area) an AATA-approved Master of Arts degree in art therapy is offered at Southern Illinois University at Edwardsville. Students can elect to take counseling coursework as part of this program to qualify for counselor licensure. Webster University offers an undergraduate certificate within the fine arts department, and George Warren Brown School of Social Work at Washington University offers a yearly learning skills lab (an introductory course) in art therapy for social work students.
The Art Therapy Center also sponsors continuing education for art therapists and allied professionals periodically. Past workshops have included an experimental supervision workshop for therapists ("Through the Mirror of the Other") and a series of workshops in somatic psychotherapy by Ruella Frank, PhD, Gestalt psychologist and Movement Educator of New York. Carol Lark also offers individual and group supervision for art therapists and for allied health professionals.Currently ATC is offering an art and action methods supervision group for clinicians. This group is a good introduction to the use of expressive arts in therapy.
Experiential
learning is a cornerstone of art therapy education. Until the student experiences
art being used in the service of self-discovery and therapeutic processes,
no reading can truly bring theoretical concepts to life. Clinicians and
students who are interested in incorporating art therapy into their work
are encouraged to take an art therapy course, participate in an art therapy
group, or work individually with an art therapist before using art therapy
tools.