Art therapists are professionals who believe in creative arts and realize that image making is an extremely potent activity and has been proven to reduce stress and has a valuable place in psychiatric treatment.
Career opportunities as an Art therapist
Since ages humans have been making impressive art forms and since previous years Psychiatrists and psychologists have analyzed that drawings and paintings do have an empowering healing power and by integrating art in to the treatment program drawings and paintings add a valuable contribution to the therapeutic process and helps the patients to get better.
Art is a form which expresses a range of various emotions which patients sometimes find difficult to communicate. By introducing art therapy in to the healing program the art therapist hopes to bring out desirably more information from the patients about his mental conditions and helps the patient’s empower healing process
Art therapy is a form of Psychotherapy where in patients who get referred to an art therapist primarily do not need an experience or skills in art, art therapists is just concerned with a diagnostic assessment of making an aesthetic image of the client’s art which reflects his emotions and have a healing change and a positive growth on a personal level through the use of such art therapy.
As an art therapist you can practice art therapy in a private set up, home visits, Hospitals, schools, homeless shelters etc and engage the patients in a creative healing process with vulnerable and emotional troubled history and help patients evoke strong emotions through art therapy.
Art therapy differs from other psychological therapies and in art therapy a relationship between the therapist and the client is of prime importance and it offers the opportunity for communicating and expressing feelings and thought processes through artifacts which otherwise is very difficult to comprehend verbally by the patient to the art therapist.
As art therapists your work is sometimes challenging as it demands sensitivity, mature thinking and sound analytical approach combining theoretical and experimental work in the diagnosis of the art for the patient concerned.
As art therapists you will need to work to supervise the patients weekly, fortnightly or on a monthly basis depending upon the patient requirement. The therapist has to provide appropriate tools and supplies so that the patients can work in varied art forms painting, drawing, collages, pastels etc. In case of impairment in patients specialized tools designed to be held in the mouth or with the feet needs to be provided to the patient by an art therapist and has to be encouraged to do whatever he/ she feels like.
As art therapists you will also need to provide an assignment of sorts to the patient whom the two of you can later use to discuss the assessment of the therapy at t he end of the session. As therapists you have to maintain ethical standards and talk or raise questions to the patients about his artwork while he is relaxed and not in the process of making as if interfered, it may disrupt the visual images he actually wanted to portray. The artwork of patient at times can be very obvious of his mental and physical trauma and sometimes it is more subtle which makes it crucial for an art therapist to determine.
Educational qualifications and training needed to be an Art therapist
Aspiring candidates willing to make a career as s an art therapist need to be qualified art teachers in Art and Design, all though other graduates too can be considered exceptionally.
To work as qualified art therapists you will need to pursue a Master’s degree in the program. You will then need to complete your internship program from a reputed institute working closely with those people who have mental health disabilities or related problems.
Aspiring candidates may choose to specialize in art therapies working with a specific group such as either children or elders or work for disabled or take up a more broad approach as per personal interests.
You need to register yourself with the Health professional council to practice as an Art therapist.
Additional skills required to be Art therapist
· You need to be highly flexible in your way of work
· You need to be adaptable to the varying conditions
· You have to have a compassion towards the client’s condition
· You need to be a good listener
· A real keen observer
· You need to have an eye for detail
· You need to be emotionally strong.
· You need to have good analytical skills
· You also need to maintain harmonious inter-personal skills with the client
· You have to have an eye for art.
· Ability to work at odd hours in highly emotional stressful conditions.
An aspiring candidate willing to make a career in art therapy needs to be aware that maintaining calm and poise and having excellent creative and people skills with a good insight of psychological behavior of an individual can help you shape and mould the life of the patients and create a positive difference in their lives with Art therapy.
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