Major
Art Therapy
Department
Evelyn Spratt, Ph.D., Interim Dean, School of Arts, Sciences and Business
Cathy Goucher, MA, ATR-BC, LCPC, LCPAT, Chair and Undergraduate Program Director
Julia Anderson, MA, ATR-BC, LCPC, LCPAT
Yasmine Awais, Ph.D, LCPAT, ATCS, LCAT
Campuses
Main Campus
Summary
The NDMU Bachelor of Arts in Art Therapy represents study related to one of the newest, unique specializations in the helping professions. The Program of Study includes the study of studio art, photography and art history, and a psychology curriculum stressing a sequence of counseling, therapy, and developmental psychology classes. A practicum in the student's senior year will provide a clinical experience orientation.
The BA in Art Therapy was designed to promote and support the advancement of women in a field in which many women express interest and where state and regional need is growing in hospitals, schools, and community health endeavors.
Students who enroll in the bachelor’s degree Program of Study should plan to pursue the master’s degree toward credentialing at NDMU or another university in order to meet local and national requirements for practice in the field.
Additional information on the Master of Arts in Art Therapy
The co-ed Master of Arts in Art Therapy meets a regional and national need for more practitioners in one of the important contemporary helping professions. Students may enroll in the 64-credit Program of Study on a full- or part-time basis. The Program focuses on engagement with theory and processes of Art Therapy. Study weaves together counseling and psychological theory and techniques toward distinct art psychotherapy practices. Study includes advanced courses in mixed media, ceramics and photography. Courses are offered in on-ground and hybrid formats. In addition, substantial clinical hours are required at off-site internships. Art therapists serve in a number of hospital, school, and community health settings.
The Program received approval from the Maryland Higher Education Commission in Fall 2017 and began educating students in Fall 2018.
The MA in Art Therapy Program at NDMU was awarded initial accreditation by the commission on Accreditiation of Allied Health Programs (CAAHEP) in November 2022. The course of study is aligned with state licensure requirements and national educational standards required for credentialing.
Degrees and Certificates
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Art Therapy Major,
Courses
ATP-201: Introduction to Art Therapy
Credits 3.00Explores the discipline of Art Therapy through a critical theoretical framework along with examining empirical evidence while providing an overview of Art Therapy as a discipline. The discipline of Art Therapy, its influences, its history, the nature of the discipline, and applications to practice will be explored. This course will also focus on the developmental, healing and wellness-promoting aspects of art making and the creative process, as well as an understanding of the basic principles of how our unconscious thoughts reach expression in images rather than words. Students will engage in art making experiences as a means to explore the creative process and its relationship to the psychological and emotional self and to understand the relationship of art making to wellness and mindfulness practices, as well as healing. Course fulfills well being general education requirement. Prerequisites: PSY-101. [3 credits]
ATP-205: Printmaking
Credits 3.00Introduces accessible processes of printmaking to include bu not limited to mono-printing, collagraph and relief, as well as gelli plate or transfer printing. Particular emphasis will be placed upon clarity of the printed image, as well as on students experiencing and coming to value the self-expressive potential of printmaking. Goven the iterative possibilities and the relative immediacy of processes, students will experience printmaking as quite supportive of healthy, sustained self-expression; a wellness practice. Fulfills General Education requirement in Well Being. Prerequisite: For Traditional undergraduate students only. [ 3 credits ]
ATP-310: Art Therapy Theory and Practice
Credits 3.00Engages students in tangible exporation of the symbiotic, therapeutically significant relationship between art and psychology through didactic instruction and art-based experientials. Professional art therapists working in a variety of settings in the region will serve as guest lecturers, providing clarity as to the therapeutic needs of their clients, goals of art therapy with these populations, and demonstrations of their approaches. Materials and methods will be emphasized throughout the course and synthesized with supporting pschological theory and practice relative to the treatment populations explored. Development of emphatic responsiveness and self-awareness through experiential learning, small group and dyadic collaboration, and written and art-based self-reflection will be central. Prerequisite: ATP-201. [ 3 credits ]
ATP-463: Independent Study in Art Therapy
Credits 2.00 4.00Engages student in independent study of a topic within the field of art therapy and development of an integrative, creative project of the student's choice. Includes directed readings, literature review and art-based, critical investigation of the identified topic. Student will receive ongoing mentorship and supervision by a faculty member of the Art Therapy Program. Each student will be expected to complete a research paper and implement an art-based, community oriented project aimed at providing education about the field or social impact. The paper and project will be shared in culminating, visually rich, oral presentation. Prerequisites: ATP-201, ATP-310, and acceptance for supervision by Program faculty. [ 2 - 4 credits ]
ATP-470: Practicum in Art Therapy
Credits 4.00Provides professionally supervised art therapy field experience opportunities for advanced students who have met prerequisite coursework identified within the major. Engages student in an initial assessment of goals related to the field of art therapy and possible graduate study, facilitating identification of a placement that might best provide for the individuals' aptitudes and interests. Serves as an outcomes course for the art therapy major. As such, through the creation of a capstone research paper and presentation, professional portfolio, ethics paper, and assessment of skills, students will integrate and demonstrate mastery of their comprehensive knowledge and skills comprising the discipline of art therapy. Requires student to meet academic and background requirements for chosen placement and to attend a seminar in addition to work within the practicum site. Students will accrue a total of 200 hours within the practicum site. Prerequisites: ATP-201, PSY-305, PSY-207, PSY-210, ATP-310, PSY-306 and technical standards as evaluated by the Program Director; senior art therapy major, consultation with program director. Not open to liberal arts majors; minimum grade of C must be earned in this course. [ 4 credits ]