Finding an Art Therapist in Austin, TX
Creatives are on every corner in Austin, TX! And on every other corner you’ll find someone who claims to offer services to creatives, or someone who claims to offer creative services to the general public. It’s all a little hard to take in when the term “creative” gets used so often!
And if you’re looking for a therapist in Austin, TX, it can be even more confusing to wander through the maze of all the therapists who say they work creatively. Is there a safeguard in place for this creative work???
You’ll be relieved to know that if you want creative but legit support in becoming the person you were meant to be—no longer dominated by anxiety, depression, stress, grief, and burnout—yes, there is a safeguard in place to help you select a therapist who isn’t just throwing artistic experiences into sessions and underestimating the need for formal education and supervision to back what they’re doing. It’s all in the therapist’s credentials!
I Want to Help You Find an Art Therapist in Austin, TX
If you’re searching for an art therapist in Austin, TX, your best bet is to make sure that this person has the legal authority, per Texas law, to represent themselves as an art therapist. It’s that important.
“Licensed professional counselor with a specialization in art therapy”, or LPC-AT, is the license issued by the Texas Behavioral Health Executive Council to those individuals who have demonstrated the education and training necessary for calling themselves an art therapist, including graduate coursework and supervision in art therapy as well as a passing score on the national board certification exam in art therapy. These people know their stuff!
So how do you find an LPC-AT? Unfortunately, the website of the recently created Texas Behavioral Health Executive Council isn’t a big help—there’s no longer a roster of LPC-ATs.
But you can search online for “art therapist in Austin, TX” or “art therapy in Austin, TX”, and when you come up with a few people who sound interesting, you should already see “LPC-AT” on their websites if they’re legit in the eyes of Texas. My state credentials are posted in the footer on every page of my site.
You Can Verify That Someone is an Art Therapist in Austin, TX
You can check to see if someone really does have this license by going to the Texas Behavioral Health Executive Council’s website. Once you’re there, select “Verify a License or Check License Status” on the menu at the right, click the big button that comes up toward the center of the screen, choose “Search by Name”, and start typing. (BTW, if you’re trying to verify MY Texas credentials, you have to put a space in my last name, as VanMeter became Van Meter!)
When you get a result in the system, click on the person’s name and you’ll see whether they truly have the art therapy specialty. Once you’ve found a legit art therapist in Austin, TX, your next step is to reach out and contact them. 😊
You Deserve to Work with a Legit Art Therapist in Austin, TX
An LPC-AT is someone who’s covered their bases by meeting legal requirements, reflecting their interest in the details of providing the very best care to the people they work with. It takes extra effort to become a licensed professional counselor with a specialization in art therapy.
And YOU are worth this extra effort. An LPC-AT will be able to provide creative therapeutic services that are tailored to YOUR unique needs and based on the premise that creativity is a mental process, not a project.
When I provide art therapy in Austin, TX, I map out a client’s creative process according to the way their nervous system metabolizes physical, emotional, and intellectual information. I look for breakage between different kinds of information processing and propose treatment that involves the mental action of creativity to address these broken links and reduce problems/increase wellbeing.
That’s very different from throwing artistic experiences into sessions! Not all LPC-ATs approach their work in the same way I do, but they still ground their practice in art therapy history and theory. This ensures that art therapy services are provided competently and ethically.
Get a Free Therapy Consultation in Austin, TX
If you’re ready to say goodbye to anxiety, depression, and stress, contact me for a complimentary 15-minute phone consultation. We’ll explore your needs and figure out a plan for creating a better life through online art therapy.
Still wondering if therapy is for you? Check out my About page to learn how I support others in creating their way out of overwhelm, unhappiness, and burnout so they can live a life that radiates light. Isn’t it about time for you to shine?