Day: October 25, 2009

Periodically, I receive emails or comments asking if I can recommend an Art Therapist for a family member or friend, or if I accept private clients.

Since I am currently unlicensed in the state of California, I have made the decision not accept private clients. The LPCC (licensed professional clinical counselor) bill has passed, and I expect that to be licensed sometime in 2011. I am excited about the prospect of having a private practice, and will let you all know when it does happen.

Here are my suggestions on how to find an Art Therapist in your area:

Search for an Art Therapist by credential, state and country through the Art Therapy Credentials Board (ATCB). Please take in mind that the credentials listed on the ATCB website are for the license of ATR (registered art therapist) or ATR-BC (board certified art therapist), which applies to the United States. While there are some ATRs in other countries, Canada especially, you may find little information if your search terms are for outside the USA.

Most local Art Therapy Association chapters have a list of private practice therapists in the area. Find your local art therapy chapter in the USA here. To find an art therapy chapter in an area outside the USA, either do a google search (see below) or check the website of your national art therapy association.

Google search the terms “art therapist” and your local area, such as “art therapist and Bay Area”.

Here’s a question posted originally posted on my contact page;

Hello, my name is Jenie Hooper and I am a current student at Georgia Southern University. I graduate in December with my Bachelors in Psychology and I also have a Associates Degree of Art. I’m very interested in becoming an Art Therapist. However I’m having trouble finding a place where I can volunteer to gain some experience before going to graduate school to become an Art Therapist.

I wish the AATA website, which has been recently updated and is soooo much better than before, had a section for people interested in volunteering with art therapists. Since they don’t, here are my suggestions (and if anyone else would care to add some, please do).

Email your local Art Therapy Association chapter, letting them know that you want to volunteer and whether they can send out a mass email to all their members, asking for anyone interested to contact you.

Join LinkedIn and become a member of the various art therapy groups that have popped up. Post your request on the LinkedIn group(s) of your choice.

Contact the Director of the Art Therapy Masters level program in your area. Perhaps he/she will be able to put you in contact with a colleague or know of more resources in your area

Join an art therapy group on Facebook. You can post your question there. Similar to LinkedIn, most art therapy groups on fb are global in nature, making it less likely that someone in your community would see your question and respond.

Good luck in your search, Jenie!