6. CREATIVE ARTS THERAPIST
(Art Therapist, Dance Therapist,
Drama Therapist, Music Therapist)
JOB DESCRIPTION
Overview
Creative arts (art, dance, drama, and
music) therapists apply the techniques of their respective arts in the effort
to improve individuals’ physical and mental health. Most often, creative arts therapies are geared toward work with
children and adults with learning, physical, developmental, or emotional
disabilities. However, non-disabled
populations (e.g., school children, nursing home residents, medically ill
patients) benefit from creative arts therapy as well. Creative arts therapists
(CATs) are most commonly employed by medical and psychiatric hospitals,
residential and day-treatment centers, community mental health centers,
rehabilitation facilities, substance abuse programs, and correctional
facilities.
It is important to recognize that CATs
are both artists and helpers. As
the information about training will make clear, CATs are expected to enter
graduate school prepared to build on an already solid base of knowledge in
their arts field.
Art therapists use drawing,
painting, and sculpture as a vehicle for client self-expression, creativity,
and emotional release. An art therapist
might pose a question to a client and ask that the answer be drawn or painted;
in this way, art is used as a tool for gaining psychological insight.
Dance (or movement) therapists
encourage clients to express themselves through movement of their bodies. A dance therapy group might help clients,
especially females, gain confidence and comfort with their bodies, thereby
improving overall self-esteem.
Drama therapists use role-play,
theater games, mime, puppetry, and improvisational techniques to help clients
act out conflicts, take the perspective of significant others, or release
pent-up emotions. Psychodrama, one type
of drama therapy, involves acting out one’s internal thoughts, feelings,
reflections, and perceptions.
Music therapists organize and
conduct musical programs with the goal of facilitating relaxation, providing
support, encouraging creativity, increasing self-confidence, and providing an
outlet for the expression of feelings in clients. Musical programs might involve vocal, rhythmic, instrumental, or
listening activities; instrument instruction; music appreciation and theory; or
folk ensembles, bands, and choruses.
Typical Job Duties
• assessing client needs in order to
prescribe an individualized creative arts treatment plan
• developing and implementing
activities for creative arts groups (e.g., singing, beating on drums, making
clay objects, dancing)
• working individually with clients,
using the arts to encourage self-expression
• teaching clients basic skills
necessary to engage in creative arts (e.g., a dance step, mime, how to use a
potter’s wheel)
• conferring with allied health
professionals (e.g., psychiatrists, psychologists, occupational therapists,
physical therapists) about the goals and objectives for each client
• maintaining records on client
progress and assisting in discharge planning
• evaluating clients’ responses to
creative arts therapies through observation and interview
Job Outlook
Faster than average job growth is
expected due to anticipated expansions in long-term care, physical and
psychiatric rehabilitation, and services for the disabled. (However, keep in mind that these are highly
specialized occupations, so even though jobs are increasing quickly, they are
likely to be less plentiful than in more traditional helping professions.) CRTs were not among the top 30 fastest
growing occupations as ranked by the BLS.
Music therapy, the only creative arts therapy examined in the MSU study,
was ranked in the adequate supply/some oversupply category.
Art and music therapy are the more
established creative arts specialties; more jobs likely exist in these areas
than in dance and drama therapy.
Overall, CATs with the greatest likelihood of obtaining jobs are those
who are credentialed in another, more traditional helping profession (e.g.,
counselor, social worker) in addition to their creative arts certification.
Potential Earnings
According to the American Art Therapy
Association, starting salaries for art therapists average $25,000, and median
salaries range from $28,000-$38,000.
Starting salaries for music therapists average $29,000 and median
salaries average $38,000. No data on
dance or drama therapists could be located.
TRAINING: ART THERAPY
Professional Degree
Required. A master’s degree, requiring two years of
full-time study, is the entry-level degree.
The master’s can be earned in art therapy, or it can be earned in a
related field with 21 credit hours in art therapy.
How to Find Programs. Art therapy graduate programs that follow specific curricular
guidelines developed by the American Art Therapy Association (AATA) are called
“approved” programs. Attending an
approved program qualifies a student for registration and board certification
as an art therapist. Write to the AATA
for their list of approved programs (address below).
Entrance Requirements/Admissions. The undergraduate major of choice is either
psychology or art. Ideally, a student
would major in one field and minor in the other, completing at least 12 credit
hours in psychology and at least 15 credit hours in studio art. Specific prerequisites in art include
courses in drawing, painting, and using clay, plus two other studio classes. Recommended psychology courses include
introductory psychology, personality, abnormal psychology (psychopathology),
developmental psychology, and, for some programs, statistics.
Competitiveness is difficult to
judge. Typical requirements include a
3.0 GPA and “acceptable” GRE scores, but more important criteria appear to be
personality and interpersonal qualities, based on an interview, and a student’s
art portfolio.
TRAINING: DANCE THERAPY
Professional Degree
Required. A master’s degree in
dance/movement therapy, requiring two years of full-time study, is the entry-level
degree.
How to Find Programs. Dance therapy programs are approved by the American Dance Therapy
Association (ADTA). Currently, there
are only five approved master’s programs in the country:
• Antioch New England (Keene, NH)
• Columbia College (Chicago, IL)
• Allegheny University (Philadelphia,
PA)
• Naropa Institute (Boulder, CO)
• UCLA (Los Angeles, CA)
Entrance
Requirements/Admissions. No specific undergraduate major
is required, but a broad liberal arts background with an emphasis in psychology
is recommended, along with extensive training in a variety of dance forms
(including courses in theory, improvisation, choreography, and
kinesiology). Applicants should also
have experience teaching dance and experience in service to others.
Despite the scarcity of programs, dance
therapy programs do not appear to be highly competitive in terms of application
numbers. This may be due to the cost of
these programs; all but UCLA are private institutions offering little to no
financial assistance. Programs do not
generally specify minimum GPA/GRE requirements.
TRAINING: DRAMA THERAPY
Professional Degree
Required. A master’s degree in drama
therapy, requiring two years of full-time study, is the entry-level
degree.
How to Find Programs. Drama therapy programs are approved by the National Association of
Drama Therapy (NADT). Currently, there
are only two approved master’s programs in the country:
• California Institute for Integral
Studies (San Francisco, CA)
• New York University (NY, NY)
Entrance
Requirements/Admissions. No specific undergraduate major
is required, but applicants should have a solid background in drama/theatre,
including experience in
improvisational
drama and theatre performance.
Recommended psychology electives include developmental and abnormal
(psychopathology).
As with dance therapy, numbers seem to
favor applicants at this point. Minimum
GPA/GRE requirements are not specified.
TRAINING: MUSIC THERAPY
Professional Degree
Required. The baccalaureate degree in
music therapy is an acceptable entry-level degree. Students who have already earned a bachelor’s degree in another
field can elect to complete a degree equivalency program in music therapy,
offered by most universities with music therapy programs. Degree equivalency programs allow students
to complete only required coursework rather than pursuing a second
baccalaureate degree.
To enter a master’s program in music
therapy, students must have already earned a bachelor’s degree in music
therapy, or its equivalent. Graduate
programs not only involve more in-depth study of music therapy but usually
include a research requirement as well.
How to Find Programs. Music therapy programs are approved by the American Music Therapy
Association (AMTA). Write to the AMTA
for the list of approved programs (baccalaureate- and master’s-level) or view
the list via their home page (addresses below).
Entrance Requirements/Admissions. Students at a college or university with no
music therapy program would likely pursue music therapy through a bachelor’s
equivalency program, at least initially.
Application in this case is essentially a transfer application, meaning
that no courses are prerequired.
However, the more courses required for a music therapy degree that can
be completed in advance, the faster the equivalency is earned. Required courses in music therapy programs
include at least 54 credit hours in music (a minimum of 6 hours of music
history, 12 hours of music theory, 3 hours of music leadership, courses in
basic knowledge of band/orchestral instruments, and courses in a student’s
major and secondary performance areas); one course in human anatomy/physiology;
and 14-17 hours in psychology, including general psychology, psychology of exceptional
children, abnormal psychology, and research methods. The remaining requirements are in music therapy (at least 20
credit hours) and may not be
transferred from another program.
Admission is based on GPA, SAT scores,
and a music audition. Competitiveness
is difficult to gauge, given the nature of the academic program (undergraduate
vs. graduate).
FOR MORE INFORMATION
Print Materials/Organizations
American Art Therapy Association
(AATA), 1202 Allanson Road, Mundelein, IL 60060. 847/949-6064. General
information packet including a list of educational standards and educational
programs costs $3.
American Dance Therapy Association
(ADTA), 10632 Little Patuxent Parkway, 2000 Century Plaza, Suite 108, Columbia,
MD 21044. 410/997-4040.
American Music Therapy Association
(AMTA), 8455 Colesville Road, Suite 1000, Silver Spring, MD 20910. 301/589-3300. Free introductory materials and educational program list.
National Association for Drama Therapy
(NADT), 5505 Conn. Avenue, Washington, DC
20015. 202/966-7409.
Internet Resources
AATA home page:
http://www.arttherapy.org
ADTA home page: http://www.adta.org
AMTA home page:
http://www.musictherapy.org/index.html
NADT home page: http://www.nadt.org