Art Therapist

Art therapists use media and methods of creative design to help people with their personal difficulties. They support recovery processes, e.g. in the case of seniors, physically or mentally ill young people and people of all ages with disabilities, but also rehabilitation processes in the case of offenders. Before starting the therapeutic measure, they find out about the patient's medical history, talk to them and collect therapeutic findings. On this basis, they develop an art therapeutic treatment plan and implement it. For example, they guide their patients to painting exercises, the design of sculptures or photography, pottery, dance, music or drama and motivate them to intensively reflect on their perceptions and feelings during artistic and creative activities. They also carry out administrative tasks and document the therapy hours, courses and results.

In scientific research, art therapists work e.g. with the psychotherapeutic relationship building and conversation in art therapy and publish research results. At universities, they teach students, prepare lectures and seminars, correct written work and hold exams. Independent scientific activities usually open up only after a master’s degree and a doctorate.

Art therapists find employment e.g.

• in clinics for psychosomatic medicine or psychiatry, in children's or rehabilitation clinics
• in practices for art therapy
• in retirement or nursing homes, in dormitories for people with disabilities
• in special schools
• in prison, e.g. in the rehabilitation of offenders

The salary level for Art Therapist in Germany is: from 2809 up to 5790 EUR per month

Why is?

Art therapists use artistic activities such as painting, sculpting and drama as a means of restoring, maintaining or promoting the physical and mental health of patients.

Different orientations of art therapy

Art therapy interacts closely with other areas of science, in particular medicine, social sciences, psychology, musicology and education. There are different art therapy concepts that follow different psychological and therapeutic methods and approaches.

Therapists who specialize in drama and speech therapy work e.g. with sound, voice and speech exercises, role plays, theatrical representations of fairy tales, poems and songs. In design and painting therapy, art therapists encourage people to create images and to deal with the material used. In intermedia therapy, they use all artistic media, from visual design and poetry to theater and new media.

Individual therapy plans and measures

Art therapists treat psychotic, neurotic, psychosomatic and depressive disorders in a psychotherapeutic or clinical context or work within the framework of curative and special education with children and adolescents with behavioral problems or young people with disabilities. In addition to the therapeutic conversation, they offer their clients the possibility of creative expression in order to achieve certain treatment goals.

For each indication and diagnosis, they select or develop the appropriate art therapeutic methods and techniques. They check the indication and collect art therapeutic findings or make art therapeutic diagnoses. From this they draw conclusions for the therapy planning and derive the theoretical justification for the respective art therapeutic procedure. Ultimately, art therapeutic intentions and interventions must be comprehensible and transparent. Therefore, careful documentation of the course of therapy is also part of it.

Job opportunities

Art therapy can be used in all clinical areas in which a psychological influence on states of suffering or an improvement in the current quality of life can be expected. It can be found in therapeutic, preventive, rehabilitative and palliative areas of health care, e.g. in child and adolescent psychotherapy facilities or in old people's or nursing homes. A master’s degree is often required for management positions.

Like most other forms of therapy in the field of psychotherapy, art therapy is constantly developing. Ongoing training and information about the current state of art therapeutic research is therefore a must for art therapists. If they are active in teaching themselves, they hold various courses in the field of art therapy. The spectrum ranges from self-awareness in art therapy and artistic and creative activity to diagnostics, methodology and individual work in art therapy and supervision.

For independent scientific activities, as a rule a master’s degree and a doctorate are required.