What Degree is Best for Art Therapy in Austin, TX?
It used to be that almost no one had heard of art therapy as a regulated mental health profession. Back when I first announced my intention to become an art therapist at the age of 17, I was discouraged by several adults (none were relatives, thank goodness).
I persevered and became an art therapist, but I had to figure out my own path.
Guidance for Becoming an Art Therapist in Austin, TX
Now that times have changed and many people are interested in entering the art therapy profession, there are still some points of confusion about how to become an art therapist. I’m writing this article to help provide a little guidance for those who want to become an art therapist or care about someone who does.
Requirements for Becoming an Art Therapist in Other Countries
Please note that I live in the United States and can only speak toward the American path toward becoming an art therapist in Austin, TX and elsewhere on U.S. soil. If you live in another country, the requirements might be different for you—or there might not be requirements at all.
Art therapy continues to evolve as a global profession, and in some parts of the world where mental health issues and therapy are dismissed as western and individualized, you might find yourself pursuing training in art education to get around this bias.
Your Degree is Important for Becoming an Art Therapist in the U.S.
Back to art therapy in Austin, TX and the rest of U.S. and what degree is best. It’s true that art therapy is a master’s-level profession with defined educational standards and a legally defensible scope of practice. This means you’ll need a degree that lets you meet the requirements necessary for holding yourself out to the public as an art therapist and providing ethical art therapy services.
Undergraduate Coursework to Prepare for Becoming an Art Therapist
Your undergraduate degree does NOT have to be in art therapy in order to apply to a graduate art therapy program. I didn’t know that when I was 18, so I went off to study art therapy at a college that was all wrong for me, and was I miserable!
Double-majors, Majors, and Minors to Prepare for Becoming an Art Therapist in Austin, TX and Elsewhere
When an art therapy educator at a school I was considering transferring to told me that I could stay in my hometown of Madison, Wisconsin, and study art and psychology at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, I decided that was my best course of action.
I double-majored in art and psychology, though in schools that offer minors, it would be ok to major in one and minor in the other (I didn’t have that option).
Graduate Programs to Prepare for Becoming an Art Therapist in Austin, TX and Elsewhere
My next step was graduate school. I chose the University of Louisville’s graduate art therapy program and received a fabulous education there. There are several graduate art therapy programs in the United States, though it’s important to consider that they each have state licenses they prepare their students for.
The Relationship Between Art Therapy Graduate Programs and State Licenses
Licensure is important, as it’s a vehicle for finding employment as an art therapist in Austin, TX and elsewhere. Licensure is different in each state—and so the different graduate art therapy programs have structured their coursework accordingly. Some graduate art therapy programs prepare their students for art therapy licensure because these programs are in states that offer an art therapy license.
Some graduate art therapy programs prepare their students for counseling licensure because these programs are in states that offer a counseling license. Still other graduate art therapy programs prepare their students for marriage & family therapy licensure because these programs are in states that offer a marriage & family therapy license.
The Path from Graduation to Licensure
It's confusing, and it gets even more fun when a graduate art therapy program is in a state that offers more than one of the licenses mentioned above! In that case, the program will typically prepare students for multiple licenses. Sadly, there is no graduate program in art therapy in Austin, TX or the rest of the Lone Star State.
Options for Becoming an Art Therapist Based on Where You Live or Want to Live
If you are dead set on living in a particular state, it’s good advice to check out the graduate art therapy programs there. If there aren’t any, then figure out what you’d need to become a licensed mental health professional in that state.
You can either choose a graduate art therapy program of your liking and hope your educational experience will prepare you for licensure in the state where you want to live (there are no guarantees), OR you can attend a graduate mental health program in the state where you want to live and take post-graduate coursework in art therapy from a school in another state. Either of these are options for becoming an art therapist in Austin, TX.
In-person and Online Art Therapy Programs
As far as in-person or online goes, be aware that there are graduate art therapy programs in brick-and-mortar institutions AND in online, hybrid, and low-residency formats. This is true for post-graduate coursework options too.
The benefit of pursuing an actual master’s degree in art therapy is that you’ll be prepared not only for state licensure, but also for credentialing at the national level through the Art Therapy Credentials Board (ATCB). It’s important to make sure that using ATCB credentials won’t interfere with state licensing rules if you want to be an art therapist in Austin, TX, the rest of the Lone Star State, or any other jurisdiction that restricts use of the title “art therapist”.
Options for Becoming an Art Therapist After Earning a Degree in Another Mental Health Profession
If you have a master’s or doctoral degree in another mental health profession and pursue post-graduate coursework in art therapy, those post-grad options are set to help you become eligible for ATCB credentials as well, though your supervision requirements will be increased.
This is to help you overcome the verbal bias that is standard in talk therapy, as art therapy in Austin, TX is about nonverbal information processing just as much as it is about verbal information processing.
The Goal of An Art Therapy License in Every State
The American Art Therapy Association, the profession’s national membership organization, is on a mission to achieve art therapy licenses in all 50 states—that would make selecting a degree much easier, as the educational requirements for art therapy licensure would be similar no matter where you live (and there would be an art therapy license available no matter where you live).
Until then, we live with this patchwork system, and it can make things difficult for an art therapist in Austin, TX who moves a lot or anticipates moving. For example, I have national credentials as a registered and board-certified art therapist, and I have three state licenses.
Examples of Discrepancies Between Graduate Art Therapy Programs and State Licenses
I am licensed in Texas as a professional counselor with an art therapy specialty designation—the LPC-AT. Texas law currently defines this credential as necessary for the legal use of the title “art therapist”, but like I said earlier, Texas doesn’t have any graduate art therapy programs.
In addition to providing art therapy in Austin, TX, I am also licensed in Indiana as a mental health counselor, and although Indiana has multiple graduate art therapy programs, there is no art therapy license there yet. Last, I am licensed in Arizona as a professional counselor, and Arizona doesn’t have a graduate art therapy program or an art therapy license.
It’s different wherever you go—for the time being.
Standards for Art Therapy Graduate Educational Programs
The Accreditation Council for Art Therapy Education (ACATE), which operates under the auspices of the Commission on Accreditation of Allied Health Education Programs (CAAHEP), oversees the content and quality of graduate art therapy programs in the Unites States. This is important for the practice of art therapy in Austin, TX.
CAAHEP/ACATE ensures that students receive uniform-enough training no matter what school they attend, and they are held to consistent standards across the board when it comes to the competencies they need to demonstrate through didactic, experiential, and clinical coursework.
Imposter Art Therapy Training
An education in a CAAHEP-accredited program is WAY different from what you’ll get in one of those wanna-be “art therapy certificate” programs you’ll find online. These programs aren’t held to any standards, don’t protect the public at all, and won’t lead to national art therapy credentials (or a state art therapy license). Earning one of these certificates doesn’t meet the education and training requirements for becoming an art therapist in Austin, TX, the rest of the Lone Star State, or any other jurisdiction that restricts use of the title “art therapist”.
Buyer beware! Though those wanna-be certificate programs are cheaper than a genuine art therapy graduate or post-graduate program, you are legally on the hook for what you do in the name of art therapy.
Unethical Practice of Art Therapy
Because art therapy in Austin, TX and the rest of the U.S. is a regulated mental health profession with defined educational standards and a legally defensible scope of practice, you would be setting yourself up to lose any legal battle that arose from your practice of “art therapy” in the absence of qualified training.
In short, you’d be practicing beyond your scope.
Resources for Becoming an Art Therapist
You can check out the websites of the following organizations for more information that could help you make a decision about what degree is best for art therapy in Austin, TX and your circumstances:
American Art Therapy Association
Art Therapy Credentials Board
Commission on Accreditation of Allied Health Education Programs/Accreditation Council for Art Therapy Education
An Art Therapist to Add to Your Team
I hope this information has been helpful! If you need an art therapist who has completed all the education and training needed to provide ethical and effective services in the treatment of anxiety, depression, and other issues that drain your life of quality, please reach out for a free 15-minute phone consultation.
Let’s have a conversation about what you’re looking for and how I can help with that. Curious about what it’s like to work with me? You can find that info here and contact me if you have other questions about what it might be like to add an art therapist in Austin, TX to your team.