PRE-ART THERAPY
THIS IS A GOOD CAREER for those who are people centered and interested in helping youth, adults, and the elderly with mental health and emotional problems. Such students are interested in using the power of art to heal by combining studio art with the study of psychology. Analytic, team oriented, and adept problem solvers will find this an interesting and challenging field. Therapists work in psychiatric and medical hospitals, rehabilitation centers, mental health facilities, day treatment centers, nursing homes, schools, homeless shelters, correctional settings, and in private practice. Art Therapists have helped people who have undergone trauma, loss, acute and chronic physical illness, emotional disturbance, or who struggle with depression, retardation, developmental disabilities, and addictions. Art therapy was used extensively in assisting victims of 9/11 and bereaved through trauma treatment, and is being used with soldiers returning from Iraq and Afghanistan.
COURSES & INTERNSHIPS HELP YOU PREPARE for a career in art therapy through coursework in psychology and studio art. Students receive intensive experience in painting and ceramics and a strong foundation in figure study. In your upperclass years, concentrate on one medium and develop a portfolio for admission to graduate school in art therapy. A graduate degree is required to practice art therapy. Adrian has numerous internship sites that allow students to experience working with a variety of populations. An internship is required of all pre-art therapy students. Most complete more than two internships.
THIS IS A GOOD CAREER for those who are people centered and interested in helping youth, adults, and the elderly with mental health and emotional problems. Such students are interested in using the power of art to heal by combining studio art with the study of psychology. Analytic, team oriented, and adept problem solvers will find this an interesting and challenging field. Therapists work in psychiatric and medical hospitals, rehabilitation centers, mental health facilities, day treatment centers, nursing homes, schools, homeless shelters, correctional settings, and in private practice. Art Therapists have helped people who have undergone trauma, loss, acute and chronic physical illness, emotional disturbance, or who struggle with depression, retardation, developmental disabilities, and addictions. Art therapy was used extensively in assisting victims of 9/11 and bereaved through trauma treatment, and is being used with soldiers returning from Iraq and Afghanistan.
COURSES & INTERNSHIPS HELP YOU PREPARE for a career in art therapy through coursework in psychology and studio art. Students receive intensive experience in painting and ceramics and a strong foundation in figure study. In your upperclass years, concentrate on one medium and develop a portfolio for admission to graduate school in art therapy. A graduate degree is required to practice art therapy. Adrian has numerous internship sites that allow students to experience working with a variety of populations. An internship is required of all pre-art therapy students. Most complete more than two internships.
GRADUATE SCHOOLS AND EMPLOYERS in this field look for artists who enjoy working with others, building relationships with diverse clients and other members of the treatment team.
OUR ALUMNI:
What can you do after Adrian College if you focus on Art Therapy here? Pre-Art Therapy graduates have gained valuable work experience in social agencies and further built their resumes for admission to graduate school by working as Residential Care Providers, Recreational Therapists, and Sheltered Workshop Directors. To advance in the field and practice of art therapy, you must have a graduate degree. Our alumni have an outstanding acceptance rate to graduate school and have been accepted to some of the leading programs in the county including: Eastern Virginia Medical School, George Washington University, NYU, Seton Hill University, University of Louisville, Ursaline University, and Wayne State University. The benefit of significant experience in art and psychology, along with an internship will allow you more latitude in your career choices upon graduation.
Adrian alumni who are practicing art therapists work in a variety of settings, including one who is employed in the hospital where she interned while at Adrian College, working with outpatient adults. Another works with hearing-impaired children, another in a hospice program and end of life therapy, while yet another has a practice with the elderly in a nursing home.
- Applicants must have the temperament and maturity to work in the mental health field.
- Strong communication skills are also required to document sessions, present about art therapy, and conduct research.
- Associated fields include counseling, social work, and helping people in a variety of other settings. These include community mental health, sheltered workshops for the handicapped and emotionally disturbed; in non-profit youth agencies such as the Boys and Girls Club, YMCA, and Big Brothers, Big Sisters; and hospitals and nursing homes.
- We recommend that you gear your coursework and internship experience to helping others before you go on for your Master of Art Therapy. Art therapy programs are very competitive, and generally having experience in a related field is deemed important by AT programs and makes you a stronger applicant.
OUR ALUMNI:
What can you do after Adrian College if you focus on Art Therapy here? Pre-Art Therapy graduates have gained valuable work experience in social agencies and further built their resumes for admission to graduate school by working as Residential Care Providers, Recreational Therapists, and Sheltered Workshop Directors. To advance in the field and practice of art therapy, you must have a graduate degree. Our alumni have an outstanding acceptance rate to graduate school and have been accepted to some of the leading programs in the county including: Eastern Virginia Medical School, George Washington University, NYU, Seton Hill University, University of Louisville, Ursaline University, and Wayne State University. The benefit of significant experience in art and psychology, along with an internship will allow you more latitude in your career choices upon graduation.
Adrian alumni who are practicing art therapists work in a variety of settings, including one who is employed in the hospital where she interned while at Adrian College, working with outpatient adults. Another works with hearing-impaired children, another in a hospice program and end of life therapy, while yet another has a practice with the elderly in a nursing home.