To work as an art therapist, you typically need to:

• have a high school diploma or equivalent;
• have a bachelor's degree; and
• have a master's degree in art therapy or a master's degree with an emphasis in art therapy.

Education after high school

To become an art therapist, you must complete a master's degree in art therapy or a master's degree with a concentration in art therapy. You need a bachelor's degree to get into an art therapy master's degree program. You must also submit a portfolio of original artwork, and meet studio art and psychology prerequisites.

Master's degree programs generally take two years to complete. They include a minimum of 24-graduate credit hours in the art therapy core curriculum. You study theories of art therapy, counseling, and psychotherapy. You also study ethics and standards of practice; assessment and evaluation; and individual, group, and family techniques. You gain practicum experiences in clinical, community, and other settings.

A few schools offer doctoral degrees in art therapy. These usually take three to five years to complete after you finish your master's degree. Most people with doctorates become professors.

On-the-job training

While in graduate school, you must complete a practicum or internship. You spend at least 700 hours practicing art therapy while supervised. At least half of these hours must be spent working directly with patients in individual, group, or family formats. There also are opportunities for specialization with specific patient age groups, practice settings, and types of intervention.