Comments for Art Therapy Blog || News, Ethics, New Technology & Interventions

Comment on Web Design as Art Therapy by Liz

Liz — Mon, 06 Feb 2012 03:32:31 +0000

Great point Sarah! Thanks for the encouragement :)

Comment on Web Design as Art Therapy by Sarah L.

Sarah L. — Tue, 31 Jan 2012 04:48:08 +0000

Liz-I guess they don’t know about tumblr. Undeniable proof that website design/image-focused blog keeping can be therapeutic for a large population. Thanks for carrying the torch on this.

Comment on Apple Store + Liz Beck = iPad demo!! by Rita

Rita — Thu, 26 Jan 2012 05:55:55 +0000

Wish I could be there! Have fun!!

Comment on Thinking of becoming an Art Therapist? by Liz

Liz — Wed, 25 Jan 2012 23:02:29 +0000

Hi Jane!

You don’t need to do another undergrad :) You’ll simply need to take a few psychology courses on the undergrad level to meet the pre-requisites of art therapy grad school.

There is no certificate in art therapy except for those who already have a Masters Degree in a mental health field :(

Before you spend the $$ on pursuing art therapy, definitely volunteer with an art therapist first. Grad school is really expensive and art therapists salaries are low considering the level of education we have. You may also want to take a look at similar career paths that offer a wider range of job prospects, such as Occupational Therapy or perhaps getting a Counseling MA (or something mental health related) and then pursuing the certificate in art therapy.

Also, please read Cathy Malchiodi’s 7-part series “So You Want To Be An Art Therapist”…here’s the link to #1…but definitely read all 7 when you have a chance: http://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/the-healing-arts/201101/so-you-want-be-art-therapist-part-one-art-therapy-career-path

Thanks for stopping by!

Comment on Upcoming Seminar by Liz

Liz — Wed, 25 Jan 2012 22:56:43 +0000

Glenda, you’re so right! Things are changing so quickly that it’s hard to keep up…staying flexible is a huge part of being a professional in today’s day and age.

But, since you’re definitely one of many who feel this way, at some point technology will offer a solution to this issue…whether it’s that things become so intuitive and easy to interact with that it’s not a problem to learn something new, or whether there’s some other innovation that happens, allowing us to keep up seamlessly…I guarantee this is a problem people are working on and will one day be addressed :) Think of how much easier computers are to use now in comparison to 1990. All this innovation in 20 years! Things are moving even more quickly now, so it’ll take less time to see the amount of improvement we saw with computer usability.

The first step is to begin using new technology so that you can get used to this new pace of learning, which is what you’re doing :)

Thank you for your words of encouragement!
- Liz

Comment on Thinking of becoming an Art Therapist? by Jane

Jane — Tue, 24 Jan 2012 22:41:19 +0000

Hi Liz,

I earned my Bachelor of Fine Arts and now I am realizing I want to try to pursue art therapy– is there ANY way one can be an art therapist without having to go back to Undergrad again? Or in other words, what is the quickest possible way to go about this? Is it possible to just earn a certificate and not go through more years of school ($$$)? Thank you so much if you do get the time to read this! Thanks, take care

Comment on Find Artx Directives by gayle torres

gayle torres — Tue, 17 Jan 2012 05:03:58 +0000

I am an art therapist beginning to work with a schizophrenic population.

Comment on Upcoming Seminar by Glenda Needs

Glenda Needs — Sat, 14 Jan 2012 07:50:04 +0000

Hi Liz,
I am coming kicking and screaming into the new technological age. Not because I don’t see enormous value in it both from a business perspective and also as a means of understanding my client’s world of communication, but because I no sooner master one thing than I am off chasing another. I wish I could come! I hope it’s a stunning success. Glenda

Comment on Art Therapists are Recreation Therapists? by Liz

Liz — Fri, 30 Dec 2011 19:56:47 +0000

I hope you’re right, Paige. If art therapy is a valid profession, then why can’t it stand alone, like marriage and family therapy? Instead, art therapists gain certification in these fields (marriage and family therapy, counseling, etc…), making art therapy an adjunct, even though it shouldn’t be. We’ll see what happens…but I think it was a poor decision on AATA’s part.

It would be great to hear what AATA’s rationale was for this move. Too bad their blog and social media are dead, so it’s pretty difficult to communicate with them about our thoughts and needs.

Comment on Art Therapists are Recreation Therapists? by Paige

Paige — Wed, 28 Dec 2011 06:08:49 +0000

As someone who just got their Masters and is working in recreation/rehabilitation I feel like we have a bit of an identity crisis as a field. Though our education has such a clinical basis, as art therapists it seems as though we fill so many diverse roles–it’s hard to define what exactly an “art therapist” does. Being hired for different roles–primary therapist, rehabilitation, recreation, social work, psycho education, etc–we are tailoring art therapy to these roles rather then creating our entirely new role as “art therapist.” In my mind it’s not particularly a bad thing that an art therapist can function in so many different modalities, but it will be a tough road to start defining how the art therapist fits into both these roles, and the general role of “art therapist.”

It makes me sad that we are classified under “recreation,” but at the same time the degree required to practice art therapy qualifies us for so much more. I’m not completely hopeless on the idea that our field will begin to stake out a more accurate and strong identity, but I definitely think that we have a lot of work to get there.