Here’s a step by step tutorial on how to make your own Combat Paper – AKA paper made from fabric:

Watch Making Your Own ‘Combat Paper’: A Step-by-Step Tutorial on PBS. See more from PBS NewsHour.

And, in case you missed it, here’s a portion of the broadcast that aired yesterday:

Watch Combat Paper: Veterans Battle War Demons With Paper-Making on PBS. See more from PBS NewsHour.

Art Therapy Blog || News, Ethics, New Technology & Interventions - Liz Beck's blog about art therapy, ethics, new technology and interventions.

First, I want to explain what the blue model is and second, I hope to demonstrate why I believe art therapy is caught within its framework. To be clear, I’m not saying that art therapy is a dead-end career that won’t be supported in a post-blue model economy. Rather, I believe art therapy could be a viable career option in 10 or 20 years from now if we recognize the changes in our economy now and if we analyze how the current model of licensing, civil service and academia is changing. Just as no one could have predicted the internet at the beginning of the industrial revolution, I believe we cannot predict exactly how we’ll come out the other side. But, burying our heads in the sand will cause more disruption and hardship on art therapists and aspiring art therapists than opening our eyes to the reality of what’s happening.

And, I’m not claiming to be an economist or a historian as I write about this issue. I’m merely a person in her early 30s who is reflecting on her current career situation and why the promises fed to her all her life (work hard, get educated and you’ll do fine) are just not panning out…at least not in the way that my family, teachers and mentors always described.

What is the blue model?
The blue model is the post-great depression work structure in the US that most North Americans picture in our minds eye when we conjure up what a stable economy consists of.

My main go-to post-blue model thinker, Walter Russell Mead, explains:

“…most blue-collar and white-collar workers held stable, lifetime jobs with defined benefit pensions, and a career civil service administered a growing state as living standards for all social classes steadily rose. Gaps between the classes remained fairly consistent in an industrial economy characterized by strong unions in stable, [and] government-brokered arrangements with large corporations…High school graduates were pretty much guaranteed lifetime employment in a job that provided a comfortable lower middle-class lifestyle; college graduates could expect a better paid and equally secure future. An increasing “social dividend”, meanwhile, accrued in various forms: longer vacations, more and cheaper state-supported education, earlier retirement, shorter work weeks, more social and literal mobility, and more diverse forms of affordable entertainment. Call all this, taken together, the blue model.“

Is the Blue Model really crumbling?

Many people, much smarter than me, say so. But judge for yourself – is it a guarantee that young people will achieve more financial stability than their parents? No. Not at all! Blue collar and government jobs just aren’t around like they used to be. Even if you snag one, many don’t have job security. And if you do because you’re unionized, that won’t be lasting for very much longer. The cost of paying the benefits of unionized workers is getting so burdensome that pretty much no matter where you live in the US, you’ve heard about layoffs and pension cut backs to these types of workers.

But, what if you’re educated? Then you’ll do better than your parents, right? Not necessarily. It depends on the sector you work in and what you’re educated in. Not surprisingly, according to this study of median incomes posted by the Chronicle (hat tip), science and technology related jobs fare the best, while psychology and education jobs fare the worst.

So, are you telling me that I could be paying 40-80K for a BA and then another 40-80K for an MA, only to discover that I could be earning as little as $29K-$55K a year? Yes. That’s exactly what I’m saying. In many areas of the country that’s barely enough to rent an apartment and have a car, never mind affording to buy a home. Is that doing better than your parents? In most cases, no.

Now, let’s talk a little more about job security. Do you know anyone under the age of 50 who’s only held one job their whole lives? How about someone who’s been at the same company for over 10 years? I know I don’t. In fact, in many areas it’s looked down upon to stay with the same company for too long. It means you’re not growing and risk being “typecast” in your career.

Don’t even get me started on the cost of education, early retirement and other promises of the Blue Model.

But as Walter Russel Mead points out, we’re actually past the collapse of blue industry, as evidenced by the changes that have already taken place and described above. It’s the government (and quasi-government) jobs that are currently being shaken up. At this point, I believe art therapy is a quasi-government job that is at 5-alarm risk of going down with the ship.

Why do I consider art therapy at risk?

• Many art therapy jobs rely on government funding. If government jobs are going down, so are the jobs that rely on government money.
• Art therapy usually adjunct. If government funding is drastically reduced, anything seen as non-essential will be removed from the services offered by (mental health) institutions.
• Art therapists are resistant to integrating new technology into their practice.
• Art therapy schools are not listening to students or clients to define their curriculum. For example, students are not taught how to integrate digital art making into their practices or how to ethically navigate online therapy and social media as therapists. We all know that public school education for our kids is inefficient and has difficulty keeping up with the times. But, there is no excuse for programs that charge upward of 60K to learn what I consider the old way of practicing art therapy. To stay modern, art therapists must know how to meet their clients where they’re at – meaning that if clients are better able to connect and reach their therapeutic goals while using a tablet or a computer, then art therapists should feel comfortable in that space. Just as they should feel comfortable introducing clay into a session when it’s warranted, even if the art therapist isn’t an expert on sculpture making.
• Tuition to become an art therapist is outrageous in comparison to median earning potential. We will lose great minds and talent in the field simply due to this fact.
• Licensing is complicated and oftentimes does not serve the purpose of protecting the client. Instead, it’s used to shut out otherwise qualified professionals and prevent (art) therapists from being mobile. I believe this has a lot to do with the crumbling blue model system – people are trying to stake claim to space on board the Titanic. Again, frustration with these issues will cause people to switch careers to professions that care if you’re competent and qualified, not whether or not you can jump through hoops.

Is there reason to be hopeful?

I believe there are many reasons to be hopeful, and I plan to outline them in my next post. But, allow me to leave you with this inspiring video – there is much to look forward to!

Art Therapy Blog || News, Ethics, New Technology & Interventions - Liz Beck's blog about art therapy, ethics, new technology and interventions.

Hi Liz,

I just stumbled upon your blog via my crazy search for details about art therapy. I realize you must be getting a lot of similar questions about grad school for art therapy but hopefully this one won’t add too much of a burden. I just completed my last undergrad exam for my BA in Montreal and have an Masters in Art Therapy offer lined up at a school in the US. While it’s so exciting to actually be a step closer to working with children with special needs, the financial burden as you’ve pointed out is steep. While the school in the US costs 40000/term for me as an international student, a University in the UK costs approx 18000/term (for MSc in Art Psychotherapy). Half the price?!

It’s frustrating enough that the US school is super fast and wants me to respond to the offer by the end of April, the UK school on the other hand has just been working on a different time frame and I’m having my interview tomorrow. Aside from the horrible timing, there’s also the greater problems of financing a masters and like you’ve mentioned to many others the long term consequences from that.

So I guess much of my dilemma stems from the fact that the US school, as an art school, obviously has a lot more resources available. While I cannot guarantee that the education may be worth double the cost, I am fairly confident that the US school is able to provide a certain quality of education. On the other hand, the UK school appears to have less emphasis on art. While I know that the professional credentials in the two countries differ, I was wondering if you knew any information about how art therapy is used in the States vs. Europe. From your experience, have you interacted with any art therapists who work in North America that obtained their degree elsewhere in the world?

Also, from a financial perspective, would it be worth paying double the price to study at well-resourced arts school as compared to a much lesser known university college who may have less updated information for the field of art therapy?

I realize I might have gone too far in depth into the situation and I definitely don’t expect all answers to be answered. But any insight into this situation would be of great help. Essentially I’m trying to leave my options open to the extent that after my masters I’m not limited to working in a certain area in the world but also not limiting myself because of student loans/ financial burdens.

Thanks!

Hi,

Your question is an interesting one! I’m not sure how much I can help with the specifics, but I have a few questions for you that may help you along with your decision.

• Where do you want to live after you’re done with Grad School? If it’s anywhere in the US, I can almost guarantee that you will not get a state license if you study outside the US. Getting a state license is not only essential in order for you to accept medical insurance (which is a complicated issue, even if you are licensed), it also opens you up to 10x more jobs than what you would be qualified for sans license. If you want to live in Canada, check-in with the art therapists in the province you want to settle down in. If I’m not mistaken some provinces have regulated art therapy as a profession and others have not. Again, you need to be sure you qualify for any licenses that art therapists in that province usually fall under.
• Are you aware of the earning potential of an art therapist in the state or province you want to live in? Can you survive on this salary taking into consideration living expenses and paying off your student loan debt? (Please see my post on being a new mom and an art therapist)
• Have you looked into Concordia University’s art therapy program? From what I hear it’s a high quality education and Concordia has a strong fine arts department. (They also have drama therapy too…) Also, if you’re already living in Quebec, you’d qualify for in-province tuition, which is so much less than anywhere else in Canada (despite what the protesters are saying!) It maybe worth putting off your MA to pursue this option, simply for the cost savings and the fact that Concordia offers a great education too.

I think the main difference between the practice of art therapy in North America vs. Europe is the theories that are used as a foundation for the practice of art therapy. There are some theories/modes of practice that are only popular/taught in Europe and not the US/Canada and vice versa. So, the coursework will be different and so will the length of study. I believe you can get an MA in 1 year and a PhD in 2 in Europe. I also hear that art therapy is very well respected in the UK, whereas you can be doing ok as a North American art therapist or struggling, depending on the region you live in.

Lastly, I don’t think an art school would necessarily be a better place to teach/learn art therapy. I went to Drexel – fine arts was not their strong suit – and I got an excellent education that was very clinically oriented. I preferred that approach more simply because it was more academically rigorous than other schools that seemed more art focused. But, that was my personal preference and doesn’t necessarily mean that one is better than the other…as long as you can hold your own in a clinical meeting once your degree is completed.

As I’m sure you’ve noticed from reading my other posts, I’m not a fan of student loan debt and I advise you not to go into debt to become an art therapist. The reality is that we’re paid so little that it’s very hard to makes ends meet without a student loan payment – never mind with $500-$1000 of student loans to pay off every month for the next 30 years. I’ve also been asking people interested in pursuing art therapy to seriously consider whether there’s another career path that would be just as fulfilling, but allows you to earn more money and have more job prospects after graduating, e.g., occupational therapy. I would hate for you to follow the art therapy dream only to meet the harsh reality that I and so many art therapists have recently.

I hope this helps! Remember – art therapy will always be around. You don’t need to rush into anything simply because you received an acceptance letter.

Thank you for writing,

- Liz

Art Therapy Blog || News, Ethics, New Technology & Interventions - Liz Beck's blog about art therapy, ethics, new technology and interventions.

Can you support yourself as an art therapist?

Earning 40K a year in the Bay Area is very possible as a single or coupled woman with a roommate/cohabitation situation in a rented apartment. If rent for a 2 bedroom apartment is $1500, your paying $750 out of your take home pay, which is approx $2800/month. If you have student loan debt, you maybe paying up to $1000 per month on that, leaving you with only 50% of your take home pay for transportation, eating out, doing fun things and even saving some for a rainy day. It’s doable.

But, what happens if you want to buy a home? You and your partner decide to buy a home in Fremont (because there’s no way you’d be able to buy one in SF!) for $400 000 – an extremely reasonable price for a home in the Bay Area. How much of a loan will you need to take out? Do you have 20% to put down? That’s 80K. No? Then you’re going to be taking out a jumbo loan (anything over 400K) for the full amount and paying Private Mortgage Insurance (PMI)…maybe $200 a month on top of you mortgage payment. So, that means your monthly expenses for your home will be approx $2350/month, plus property tax (maybe $5000 a year) = $2700/month. Ouch! That’s about 100% of your take home pay! And that’s not even counting what you owe in student loans! Your partner’s salary would have to make up the difference.

Let’s say your partner’s salary can make up the difference, so you buy the house. And, at some point you decide you want a baby. When you bought your home, was your salary a part of the equation? If so, and your family needs your salary in order to pay for the monthly expenses, who is going to care for your child? If you’re lucky enough to have family that you trust nearby, then maybe you have a solution. But, daycare for an infant can easily be $1000/month. What if you’re blessed with twins (like I was) and would be paying $2000 a month for childcare? Maybe it makes no sense for you to work because the cost of childcare is equal or more than you can earn. But, if you’re not working, how can you justify the amount of schooling and student loans you took out in order to become an art therapist?

I’m in a similar predicament. I’ve grown as a person and my needs and my family’s needs have grown, but my art therapy salary has not. My reality is that it’s actually not worth it to work as an art therapist because what I would spend in childcare obliterates my salary. This is one of the major motivating factors that propelled me into learning new skills that not only could help supplement my income, but so that I can eventually make a career shift – from art therapy into the technology sector.

Now, I have no problem with those who choose to stay and home and do so without any reservations. I wish I was one of those people. I love my family and am willing to sacrifice. But I have to ask myself – why did I spend all this money on an education in something that will not grow with me? If I had this realization 8 years ago I would’ve almost certainly chose another path.

But this is the path I’m on, and I’m clearing the brush to create a new, undefined, but nonetheless fulfilling road for myself. I have no clue where I’m going, or where I’ll end up, and I’ll probably continue with art therapy on a low simmer. Thanks for sticking with me through the process! I’d love to hear how others are faring.

Art Therapy Blog || News, Ethics, New Technology & Interventions - Liz Beck's blog about art therapy, ethics, new technology and interventions.

Hi Liz!

I am considering returning to school for an MA in Art Therapy and have quite a few questions for you. I am 25 years old with a MST in Elementary education, certified in NJ to teach K-5 and students with disabilities. After earning my degree I received a Fulbright to go teach English in Malaysia for a year. I returned about a year ago and have been struggling to find a teaching position, or any job with a salary for that matter. During my time abroad things about my life and my career choice became more clear to me and I have decided I do not wish to pursue a career in education. (Although I think it’s a very admirable profession!)

Art, photography and painting particularly, is something I have always been incredibly passionate about. I’ve come to realize that it’s something that needs to be an integral part of my life. Earlier, I never had enough confidence in myself as an artist to think that I could somehow make a career out of it. I had been interested in the little I knew about art therapy, but never bothered to pursue or study it. I now realize much more how art is more about the creative process than the outcome.

What originally attracted me to teaching was the thought that I would be helping people. That ultimately, I would be making a difference in the lives of others. I really enjoy making art, I enjoy working one-on-one with children and adults, and I am incredibly patient. At the end of the day I want to have been able to employ all of these things in order to impact others positively, which is why I feel Art Therapy is the right career for me.

I feel like I am finally in the direction of the right path but there are a lot of important factors to consider. I have about $60,000 in existing student loan debt. I am working full-time as a nanny and continuing to apply to full-time teaching and entry-level salary positions in order to pay off this debt. Therefore it is very important to me that I plan this next step in my life carefully before taking out even MORE loans and accruing MORE debt. I am in the process of scheduling information interviews with university programs that have been approved by the AATA in NY, NJ and PA (Drexel’s program looks fantastic) in order to choose the program that is best for my needs. I would like to set up some sort of internship or shadowing experience with an art therapist who works in a nearby facility or organization so that I can confirm that this is the direction I want to go in. (I did work at a children’s hospital in the Bronx for 5 months before Malaysia where I worked alongside an art therapist and liked it.) I am also trying to find out more about what the job market is like for an art therapist. I have read the job prospects are excellent, yet when I do job searches nothing really comes up. I know therapists average about $35-45,000 a year and while making $ is not important to me I do need to make sure I can support myself and pay off my loans upon finishing my MA program.

So I am hoping you can help with answering the following questions:
- Can you recommend an organization or a resource to contact for an internship/shadowing experience in the tri-state area? I tried emailing the AATA weeks ago but no one has responded.
- To your knowledge, what is the job market like for art therapy? Is there a certain area of the country where that field is in higher demand? I am not at all opposed to relocation.
- Are there any other alternative routes to the end goal I have in sight?

Really anything and everything you can share with me would be so GREATLY appreciated. I wouldn’t mind your personal opinion either! What would you do in my shoes?

I’ve found your blog incredibly insightful and empowering – so thank you! And my apologies for the life story, I just thought you might be better able to assist me if I provided you with a bit of a background.

I look forward to hearing from you.
Thanks!
Nina

Hi Nina,

I’m sorry I didn’t reply sooner to your email and post. I feel torn about how to guide you because I know how powerful the need to follow your dreams can be, and how art therapy can feel so right. But the reality of Art Therapy is that you should expect to earn approx 35-40K out of school. The potential of bringing in a bigger paycheck may grow (private practice, working for the gov’t in some capacity), but it will take years and many people don’t earn very much more than 50K. Your area – NJ, PA, NY are hubs for art therapy. If you’re not seeing art therapy jobs advertised, I would take that as a bad sign. And, as someone who learned new skills (graphic design and web design) after graduating school so that I can supplement my income, and possibly even change career paths, I gotta tell you that making 40-50K a year doesn’t cut it in CA (and probably where you live as well)…even if your partner makes 2-3x more than you. Not if you want a family.

My advise is not to take on more debt to get an art therapy degree. You’ll have a hell of a time paying off your first student loan on an art therapist’s budget. Plus, an art therapy MA can easily be 60K-70K after tuition, living expenses, etc… I recently read in the Wall Street Journal how young people are delaying things like buying a car, a house, getting married or having children because of their 4-digit student loan debt repayments. I think my grandfather had some excellent words of wisdom for me (and all of us) when he said, “the most money I ever made was never paying interest”.

So, if I were in your shoes, knowing what I know now, I would get an MA in a field that would yield a much higher return on invenstment. There are so many ways of helping people that doesn’t involve drowning in debt. If you like healthcare, nursing, occupational therapy, physical therapy, etc… are rewarding, much higher paying and are in high demand. Even working in a business setting can offer you lots of opportunity to help people. For example, I’ve been interested in working at start-ups within the education field. That could be a good choice for you too, given your background. A revolution beginning to take hold in the education sector, democratizing education.

Actually, that’s another reason why I wouldn’t get into student loan debt right now. There are so many places online to self-educate, that once you have a good basis, why not learn on your own and do something that isn’t bogged down by licensing and bureaucracy to help people? That’s the thing I like about working in the business world – if you have the skills to pay the bills, then you’ll move forward and have the potential to do much more with your career than if you stayed in a blue model job.

That being said, it does sadden me deeply that I’m encouraging you to look elsewhere for your career. I wish art therapy was evolving with the times, but it’s not (AATA not responding to your question is an indicator…) And it’s not 2004, a year before I started grad school, when art therapy was declared a “Hot Job”. The recession combined with the changing nature of work in general is transforming the needs of the work force in unprecedented ways. If there is any way to merge your interests in goals with technology, I encourage you to do so.

—Lecture Ended—

To answer your other questions:

I don’t know any organizations that help connect those who want internships/volunteer work in art therapy prior to entering the field. But, I have a few suggestions:

1. Try the Art Therapy Alliance message board on LinkedIn
2. Email local organizations with art therapists, asking if they are open to an intern
3. Email art therapy schools in your area to see if they have any ideas

A side route to art therapy is to get your MA in Counseling, Marriage and Family Therapy or other MA’s in the psych field, and then get an art therapy post-MA certificate. This is a good option because it may help you be more mobile (if you ever need to move to another state) and it may open up more jobs to you.

I hope this answer helps!

Art Therapy Blog || News, Ethics, New Technology & Interventions - Liz Beck's blog about art therapy, ethics, new technology and interventions.

Art Therapy Blog || News, Ethics, New Technology & Interventions - Liz Beck's blog about art therapy, ethics, new technology and interventions.

Art Therapy Blog || News, Ethics, New Technology & Interventions - Liz Beck's blog about art therapy, ethics, new technology and interventions.

Greetings members. I have run a new set of statistics on the www.findartdirectives.com web database:

746 ————-> Number of users.
714 (96%) –> Number of users with AT training.
75 ————-> Number of Public Directives (directives that you
have created and shared with others)
15 (2%) ——> Number of users contributing Public Directives.

Sadly,a mere 2% — 15 out of 746 people have contributed directives to the database. I am truly disappointed in this! The database has been up for almost 2 years, and so many people are obviously interested in it, considering how many have signed up. But it appears that everyone is just looking and not contributing.

The database CANNOT grow by itself! I maintain this database for free on my own time. I approve users and review directives and add directives. I maintain this group as well. I have personally added 32 directives. That is nearly half the total directives!

Bottom line: IF there is not a significant increase in contributions to the directives in the database, I will shut down the www.findartdirectives.com site and this discussion group.

IF USERS (that means you!) DO NOT ADD AT LEAST 100 NEW DIRECTIVES TO www.findartdirectives.com BY AUGUST 2012, I will close the site.

I consider it impractical to supply a resource that is not being used!

Posted By Carol McCullough-Dieter

Have you been on the Find Art Directives website? It’s pretty much unusable. Is that why only 2% of 746 people have added to the list? My guess is yes. If the goal of your website is to encourage people to add information or look up information, but it’s hard to do so, then you can’t expect people to interact with your website in the way you want them to. This is not the pre-CSS, UI/UX internet. Even if you’re an excellent programmer, you cannot code your website without paying attention to it’s design and the way people interact with your product.

To the tech-savvy art therapy community – please! Let’s up our game, even if it’s a volunteer project…think of it as building out your portfolio/resume. If you’re willing to put in X amount of time into building something useful for our community, spend the extra hours working on the user experience. It’s a shame to have to close down a webpage simply because this feature was overlooked.

Art Therapy Blog || News, Ethics, New Technology & Interventions - Liz Beck's blog about art therapy, ethics, new technology and interventions.

PART TIME & FULL TIME TEMPORARY JOBS AVAILABLE

Camden County Health Services is now hiring for part time & full time temporary positions within the Adjunctive Therapy Department.

Positions range from one to five days per week. The most immediate position could start in May; however, we have other positions starting in June, and in the fall. Experience working with adult mental health issues is required. Inpatient experience is preferred. All modalities are welcome to apply.

For consideration, please send resumes/cover letter, and the days/times you are able to work to:

Tricia Angilletta

Art Therapy Blog || News, Ethics, New Technology & Interventions - Liz Beck's blog about art therapy, ethics, new technology and interventions.

The organizations receiving the most votes within their regions will be awarded funds, materials and training to implement a new program for Oakland Children’s Hospital – The Creative Center’s Hospital Artists in-Residence Program! This program will be offered free of charge to enhance quality of life for cancer patients.

> Vote now!

The deadline to vote is March 23rd at 5pm CST

Art Therapy Blog || News, Ethics, New Technology & Interventions - Liz Beck's blog about art therapy, ethics, new technology and interventions.