Art Therapy

Art Therapy History & Overview

History of the Art Therapy Program

In 1998, the post-masters’ Art Therapy certification was expanded to a Master’s program in Art Therapy. This program was designed to meet national standards for registration (ATR) through the Art Therapy Credentials Board (ATCB). It received its initial Approval in 2003 (7 year approval) by the American Art Therapy Association. In 2010, the program was granted re-approval for 7 years. In 2018, the Art Therapy Program received accreditation from the Commission on Accreditation of Allied Health Education Programs (CAAHEP).

Art Therapy Program Mission Statement 

The Art Therapy program mission is to provide higher education and training in the theory and application of psychology in a variety of settings. Our curriculum promotes values of ethical practice, social responsibility and cultural pluralism; and our classes promote self-exploration, empowerment and whole person learning. We seek to balance traditional and contemporary perspectives in the field of psychology. We educate students to become informed and effective practitioners and change agents in our complex world. 

Art Therapy Specialization 

The Art Therapy Specialization (AT), combined with Clinical Mental Health Counseling (CMHC), provides a comprehensive curriculum that enables students to acquire the basic conceptual and relational competencies needed for the professional practice of art therapy. These competencies are developed through a combination of required cours work, electives, practical experience, and a supervised internship. The curriculum is designed to meet all of the educational requirements for the licensing of Mental Health Counselors in the state of Washington. It is also designed to meet the educational requirements for Provisional  Art Therapy Registration (ATR-P) through the American Art Therapy Association (AATA). 

Faculty Snapshot

The AT/CMHC MA Program has one full-time Core Faculty member, five full-time Teaching Faculty members, and one Affiliate (Part-time) Teaching Faculty member.  All are licensed clinicians, registered and board-certified art therapists, active participants in the profession, contributing citizens to the AUS community, and seek to uphold the science-practitioner model of reflective inquiry, experiential learning, social justice, and professional ethical conduct.   

 Art Therapy Program Goals 

• To train ethical and culturally competent practitioners who are able to integrate and apply theory in practice.

• To prepare practitioners who are able to demonstrate competency in art materials and an understanding of the creative process with individuals, groups, couples, and families. 

• To prime practitioners who are able to proficiently utilize assessments, diagnostic materials, and treatment planning. 

• To develop practitioners who are able to conduct and interpret research through their culminating master’s project or thesis. 

• To cultivate practitioners who have a foundation in human development along the lifespan. 

• To develop practitioners within an area of specialty in either Clinical Mental Health Counseling or Couple and Family Therapy.

• To cultivate professional identity and career development through methods of assessment with diverse clients. 

Required Classes Before Pre-Internship Practicum

1. Family of Origin Systems in the Creative Arts Therapies

2. Multicultural Perspectives in the Creative Arts Therapies

3. Communication and Counseling Skills

4. Psychopathology

5. Psychodiagnostics and Treatment Planning

6. Ethics in Creative Arts Therapies

7. Counseling Theories and Practice I

8. Counseling Theories and Practice II

9. Group Art Therapy

10. Trauma, Disaster Response & Crisis Counseling

11. Survey of Addiction: Introduction to Addiction Counseling Fundamentals

12. The Counseling Profession and Identity 

13. Human Growth and Development Across the Lifespan

Practicum Requirements

The pre-internship practicum is a course taken in two consecutive quarters upon completion of the pre-requisite courses listed below, and prior to internship. The pre-internship practicum affords students the opportunity to work with real clients in a variety of settings under university supervision.  The student will begin to develop clinical skills, apply theory to practice, and be better prepared for the internship experience. The many settings for pre-internship practicum sites provide students with an opportunity to be introduced to diverse community agencies and organizations.  

Students will complete a minimum total of 100 hours of work over the two consecutive quarters, with a minimum of 40 of these hours being some form of direct client contact of a therapeutic nature. Art therapy students will complete hours by seeing clients at the Antioch University Clinic and at an off-campus location. A student can expect to be at a pre-internship practicum site an average of 3-4 hours/week over the course of the two quarters, and engage with clients in some way for 2 of those hours. Some examples of the type of direct client contact include assisting with a parenting group, assisting in a life-skills group for older teens/young adults, co-facilitating Life Review activities in a nursing home, engaging clients in a drop-in shelter or day treatment center, or working with a children’s social skills group utilizing expressive therapy activities. All activities should be consistent with those performed by a Master’s level mental health professional.    

Supervision of a student’s pre-internship practicum work is provided through the “Art Therapy Pre-Internship Practicum” course COUC5920. However, the agency does need to provide a designated contact person on-site, for administrative purposes, oversight of the student’s time, and guidance in agency policies and procedures. This contrasts with the clinical internship, in which the agency provides the necessary clinical and administrative supervision of a student’s work. All sites must be approved by AUS, and students can find a list of approved pre-internship practicum sites on Sakai at Sakai/Clinical Training Hub/Resources/Pre-Internship Practicum. Students are responsible for securing an interview with one or more approved sites the 1-2 quarters before they are to begin pre-internship practicum, and the final decision on placement rests with the agency.

Application Process

All students are required to apply for practicum the quarter prior to their intended start date. Students should complete the following process, by the end of Week 3 of the quarter prior to the quarter in which they intend to start practicum:

• Complete COUN-5905: Pre-Internship Practicum Orientation 2-3 terms before practicum.

• Complete COUN-5915: Counseling Practicum Preparation the term before practicum.

• Complete an application form (this is available in a Google form document).

• Meet with your academic advisor and discuss the practicum experience and obtain advisor’s signature on the Pre-Internship Practicum Advisor Meeting Form.

• This application will then be reviewed by all CMHC faculty present at the Student Competency Review meeting that occurs during Week 4 of each quarter. Students who are determined to be eligible to proceed to Pre-Internship Practicum will be cleared to register for these two courses during their registration period (typically Week 6).

All applications for PIP are reviewed by the faculty as a gatekeeping measure. Turning in an application is not a guarantee of approval. If the faculty do not approve a student’s application, this information will be communicated to the student promptly and the student and their academic advisor should meet to create a plan to help the student meet standards for entering practicum. 

Students will not be able to register for practicum courses without completing this process in full and on time.

The Pre-Internship Practicum experience will include seeing live clients in the AUS Clinic. Students registered for the courses will receive instructions and orientation materials for the clinic in COUN-5915: Counseling Practicum Preparation. Also, prior to the beginning of their first quarter of Pre-Internship Practicum, students should arrange for a secondary practicum site which needs to be approved by the PIP Coordinator.  The PIP Coordinator can help students identify a suitable site. 

Prior to the practicum, this form is then submitted to the MA Clinical Training office so that after registering for the course, students will receive orientation materials for the AUS Clinic. For off-campus practicum sites, students will complete a copy of the Pre-Internship Practicum Contract (available on-line on the AUS MA Clinical Training Hub) and have it signed by all the designated parties. This contract outlines the general duties the student will perform at the assigned practicum site and the time frame for the practicum. This Contract will be signed by the student, the Agency Contact Person, and the “Pre-Internship Practicum” instructor, and will be uploaded to the student’s Supervision Assist account.. This finalizes the practicum process.  Students will complete their hours with a combination of hours from the clinic and an off-campus practicum site.  

While in the “Pre-Internship Practicum,” students will account for hours spent in the clinic and at the practicum site using the Supervision Assist Hours log tools. 

These tools mirror the procedures that are required for Internship. Students will keep track of hours weekly, accounting for direct client contact and all other (indirect) activities in Supervision Assist. Logs for any off-campus practicum site will be approved by the Practicum Instructor assigned to the student. (Note: in Internship the Site Supervisor will be responsible for approving site-base clinical hours.) Hours accrued by students in the AUS clinic are also approved by the Antioch Instructor/Supervisor on Supervision Assist. 

Internship Requirements

The AT/CMHC internship must conform to the following minimum criteria:

•  700 Onsite agency hours over at least four consecutive quarters.

•  At no time may AT/CMHC students complete an internship in less than four quarters.

• 300 total hours of direct client contact for the CMHC requirement

• 350 direct client contact hours must incorporate the use of Art Therapy, and may include CMHC hours.

50 hours of individual supervision with at least 25 hours of this supervision based on direct observation (one-way mirror, co-therapy, videotape, or audiotape). 12 of the 25 hours of direct observation must be documented on the Supervision Observation Form (available on Sakai), and signed by the Onsite Supervisor.

Onsite Supervisors must be licensed with a master’s degree in the behavioral sciences, and have at least two years post master’s experience. It is recommended that the student choose a supervisor with previous training or experience as a clinical supervisor. If the proposed on- site supervisor has not had any training in supervision, they will be required to complete a no fee 5-hour training course offered by the MA Clinical Training Office. This training is scheduled individually with the Director of Clinical Training.

Students are required to follow the Management of Electronic Client Records CMHC explained in a document of the same name on the AUS MA Clinical Training Hub.

The above internship hours are typically completed within a 16-20 hour work-week in a community mental health setting, and receive support with additional weekly Case Consultation hours. No student may complete an internship in less than four quarters or register for fewer than 14 credit hours (the combined total for both courses).

Defining Art Therapy Hours

This list comprises some of what would constitute an art therapy hour. Remember to practice within the limited scope of your training. If you are not sure if a session would constitute an art therapy, consult your supervisor. 

• Creating art in a session 

• Engaging with art materials or found objects in a creative/expressive manner

• Using metaphor and symbolism (e.g. storybuilding, narrative art therapy, imagination)

• Utilizing your art therapist identity and training to engage in the therapeutic process beyond talk therapy

• Viewing and discussing art

• Museum based art therapy

• Discussing art history in context of mental health

• Reflecting on client’s art and artmaking

• Engagement of interventions on the ETC

• Utilizing telehealth features (whiteboard, virtual background, emojis, etc.) to express how the client is presenting that day

• Utilizing digital creative media platforms

• Creative writing/journaling

• Utilization of technology assisted art therapy (ex.: virtual reality art therapy, online sandtray, etc.)

Reflection Questions

Can you maintain your integrity as an art/drama therapist and use creativity to promote growth and healing? 

Can you maintain your integrity and call what you did in session a creative intervention?

Application for Graduation

The term before you plan on graduating, be sure to meet with your academic advisor to go over information. In addition to this advising meeting, the following steps should be followed: 

Anticipated Graduation Date (AGD) of SU23-SU24 Process:

1. Student sets their Anticipated Graduation Date (AGD) via their AUView account. 

2. Student Applies for Graduation https://www.antioch.edu/departments/registrar/graduation/ and on MyAntioch on Gradution tab. 

3. Student Applies for Tickets for Graduation https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLScCgNG15K7evpgGeWKAUWw-Pt5NlVxWSHCWxID-4_gAGQIAXw/viewform

4. Student purchases AUS CMHC Regalia at Jostens https://www.jostens.com/apps/store/customer/1118567/Antioch-University/?rc=150

5. Student contact for General Questions about Commencement CFT/CMHC/AT/DT Program Contact: Travis Adams – mapsychapps@antioch.edu

6. Student Official transcripts can be ordered through the National Student Clearinghouse at http://www.studentclearinghouse.org/.

7. AU Registrar completes Degree Audit based on AGD and if the student is still taking courses, confirms AGD based on completion of their "outstanding" courses 

8. Advisor confirms with the Registrar (cc's Advisee) that they have reviewed their Advisee's DAR (in AUView) as a part of their Graduation Application and acknowledges that the Advisee will graduate based on the AGD of SU23-SU24.