What do art therapists do?
Plan or conduct art therapy sessions or programs to improve clients' physical, cognitive, or emotional well-being.
This describes a U.S. occupation, not a live vacancy. Individual employers may use different titles and requirements.
Job titles to recognize in your search
O*NET reports these titles for this occupation. Compare the responsibilities in each posting before treating titles as equivalent.
- Activity Therapy Specialist
- Art Psychotherapist
- ATR (Registered Art Therapist)
- ATR-BC (Board Certified Art Therapist)
- Clinical Art Therapist
- Creative Arts Therapist
- Expressive Arts Therapist
- Oncology Art Therapist
Core tasks to compare with a job posting
- Conduct art therapy sessions, providing guided self-expression experiences to help clients recover from, or cope with, cognitive, emotional, or physical impairments.
- Talk with clients during art or other therapy sessions to build rapport, acknowledge their progress, or reflect upon their reactions to the artistic process.
- Write treatment plans, case summaries, or progress or other reports related to individual clients or client groups.
- Assess client needs or disorders, using drawing, painting, sculpting, or other artistic processes.
- Design art therapy sessions or programs to meet client's goals or objectives.
- Observe and document client reactions, progress, or other outcomes related to art therapy.
- Develop individualized treatment plans that incorporate studio art therapy, counseling, or psychotherapy techniques.
- Establish goals or objectives for art therapy sessions in consultation with clients or site administrators.
- Select or prepare artistic media or related equipment or devices to accomplish therapy session objectives.
- Communicate client assessment findings and recommendations in oral, written, audio, video, or other forms.
Prepare an application for this occupation
- Check the employer’s requirements, location, schedule and any licenses against your situation.
- Choose two or three tasks above that match the posting and your actual experience.
- Build a resume evidence worksheet using the skills and software relevant to that employer.
- Practice explaining your contribution, decisions and results before an interview.
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