How to Become an Art Therapist for Children

Art therapy provides an effective and creative treatment for children with emotional, physical, mental, or social problems or disabilities. An art therapist can help children express themselves through diverse art forms and improve their functioning, confidence, and sense of well being. In order to become an art therapist for children, you'll need to get a master's degree and apply for certification before you can start looking for a job.

Part 1 - Getting an Education

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→ Earn your bachelor’s degree. You’ll need a bachelor’s degree in order to enroll in an art therapy master’s program. Choose psychology or studio arts as your course of study since both of these will prepare you for the types of graduate school classes you’ll be taking later.

→ Take courses in drawing, painting, and sculpture so that you’re familiar with all of these mediums.

→ Other good courses to take are human development, family studies, or developmental psychology.

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→ Enroll in a master’s degree program. Select an art therapy program that is approved by the American Art Therapy Association (AATA). You can visit the AATA website and search accredited programs by state. Each one will usually consist of two years of full-time education, equaling about 60 semester credits.

→ If you’re outside the U.S., refer to the organization in your country that gives accreditation to graduate programs to find the best one near you.

→ You can also get your master’s degree in counseling with an emphasis in art therapy. A counseling degree may allow you the flexibility to work in more traditional mental health fields while incorporating art therapy into your practice.

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→ Focus on art therapy for children. Concentrate your studies on art therapy for children in order to prepare for your professional work later. If your program doesn’t have a children’s specialization, you can still focus your electives, special projects, research papers, and internship on art therapy for kids.

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→ Complete a practicum and internship. In addition to the rest of the curriculum, you'll be required to complete at least 700 hours of supervised art therapy practice. One hundred of these hours will be part of a practicum (shadowing an art therapist) and the other 600 will be your internship (performing art therapist duties).

→ Speak with professors or your academic advisor for help finding locations for your practicum and internship. They will likely know places where students have had success in the past.

Part 2 - Getting Registered and Certified

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→ Apply to become a registered art therapist (ATR). Once you've earned your master's degree and have completed your internship, you can apply to get registered through the Art Therapy Credentials Board (ATCB). Becoming an ATR will make you eligible for more job opportunities in the field.

→ Visit the ATCB website for instructions on printing and submitting the application.

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→ Submit three letters of recommendation. Ask former professors, practicum supervisors, or internship supervisors to write letters of recommendation for your ATR application. At least one of the letters should come from someone who is a current registered art therapist.

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→ Take the ATR-BC examination. This is a voluntary examination that, if you pass, will show you are board certified by the ATCB and have the highest level of credentials. The paper-and-pencil test is offered once a year in November near the AATA conference site, and you must apply in September.

→ The online version of the test is offered four times a year at hundreds of designated testing centers. This version is more expensive; it’s $450 rather than the $260 for the paper-and-pencil test.

→ Visit the ATCB website to apply and access prep materials for the test.

Part 3 - Finding a Job

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→ Apply where you interned. Many people seek jobs at the business or clinic where they completed their internship. Reach out to anyone you worked with to see if they have or know of any openings. Even if they don’t, they’ll often keep you in mind since they already know your credentials and work ethic.

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→ Consult your academic network. Ask former professors and academic advisors if they know of any job openings. Some colleges provide job placement services for graduates, so visit your college’s career center to see what types of services they offer.

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→ Apply to jobs posted online. Search for job postings on sites like Indeed, CareerBuilder, or LinkedIn. Or look for more specialized job boards like PsychologyJobs.com. You can also browse the job postings page of the AATA website and filter the results by location.