Art Therapist Job Description

Art therapist responsibilities are vital for various healthcare clinics and other places where the art therapist is employed. An art therapist is more of a counselor or psychologist, albeit with a different skill set and a different approach for treatment of clients that is very different from the regular treatment.

They use art as a form of analyzing the psychology of a patient. They assign the patient to prepare an artwork, for example, sketching, painting, sculpting, and any other art form. They critically examine the artwork prepared by the patient and accordingly provide a detailed report as to what the patient wants to express through the layout, color, shape, size and other characteristics of the art.

Art therapy is just a part of evaluating patient's psychology, yet it has been recognized and accepted as a very effective method in counseling and treatment of patients with psychological, behavioral, physical, neurological or any other disorder that may restrain a person's normal life style.

An art therapist ensures that the patients are able to express their thoughts through art form and he must also help them to recover from any trauma or disorder and get back to a normal life.

Art therapist responsibilities are described in detail for your knowledge:

Art Therapist Responsibilities

• Assess patient's condition: They have to communicate with the patient and make him/her comfortable before moving further with the therapy. He has to instill a sense of confidence and develop a bond with the patient so that he/she finds it easy to trust the therapist.

• Devise treatment plan and sessions duration: They have to communicate with the counselor or therapist and devise a treatment plan depending on the symptoms and behavior of the patient. Together, they decide the number of sessions and duration of each session.

• Assign activities: Art therapist assigns different activities to the patient including, drawing, pottery, card making or any other artistic activities.

• Analyze artwork: After the patient has finished the assigned task, the art therapist examines the artwork in detail and tries to find out the feelings patient wants to express through the artwork. The design, shape, color, and other attributes of the artwork can easily depict the emotions of the patient.

• Monitor progress and prepare reports: They monitors the progress of patient in the course of therapy. He prepares detailed reports of the overall therapy sessions and progress of the patient in each session.

• Interact with patient's family: They communicates with the family members of patients and updates them regarding the progress and recovery of the patient. He also briefs them over the post therapy care and precautions to be taken with the patient after being discharged.

They also manages a group of patients with common disorders. He is also expected to perform administrative tasks and take part in the employee training sessions and staff meetings.

Skills of an Art Therapist

An art therapist is expected to be a compassionate and friendly individual with an ability to handle the most complicated cases of mental disorders. He must be skilled in different art forms and must be able to spend extra hours at work.

Becoming an Art Therapist

A minimum of master's degree in this field is required if you want to become an art therapist. The Art Therapy Credentials Board offers two certificates: first is registered art therapist and the second is board certified registered art therapist.

Career Scope

As an art therapist, you can earn a minimum of $39,000. Salaries vary with experience and the number of hours you spend at work.

Art therapist responsibilities are of prime importance for any healthcare institute offering treatment to the mentally challenged patients. With the help of an art therapist, mentally challenged patients find it easy to cope with their disorders and recover earlier than they may normally do.