My Love For Art Therapy

Portia Austin

Mrs. Zeller

ENGLISH IV

November 17, 2017

Art Therapy

The fresh smell of paint, freshly shaven pencil shavings scattered across the table and smudged erasers across the canvas and the love for the way to express my feelings without using words, molded me into finding the perfect hobby that would stick with me the rest of my life. Throughout the years I’ve nurtured and developed my love for the profession of art. From drawing on the walls with crayons to painting portraits of my family members onto canvases as presents. Although as I’ve grown and matured over the years I’ve developed a love for psychology. Recently I’ve discovered there is an occupation that combines the two. This beautiful form of therapy is called Art Therapy.

The amount of money, time, and dedication into this field. Since at the moment my family is in a tough money situation. My financial assistance and scholarships would be the only way to cover it. It is too much of a workload for me and the Salary is not much. About 40 hours a week is the standard hours for a normal job but the dedication to each patient that a therapist takes on many different levels. I don’t think I would be able to handle it. So I may take a softer approach and be an art teacher for elementary schools. It seems a lot easier but the salary isn’t that much. I want to inspire young artists to continue their dreams and to see their life through their works of art. To show them that it’s okay if you can’t find the right words to express yourself right now but to communicate on different levels through their art.

Works Cited

Toll-Art Therapy, et al. “Art Therapy Jobs | Art Therapist Job Description & Opportunities.” Art Therapy, 24 Dec. 2013 (Accessed November 6th, 2017)

“Becoming an Art Therapist.” American Art Therapy Association, 26 Sept 2013 Accessed November 6th, 2017)

“Art Therapy.” Luxury.Rehabs.com, 2016 (Accessed November 7th, 2017)

Malchiodi, Cathy. “Child Art Therapy: How It Works.” Psychology Today, Sussex Publishers, 31 Jan. 2016, (Accessed November 8th, 2017)

Frank, Priscilla. “A Brief Guide To The Basic Fundamentals Of Art Therapy.” The Huffington Post, TheHuffingtonPost.com, 26 Feb.

It answers the many questions about one has regarding skill, and level of difficulty. For beginner practice, a Master’s diploma is required. Sixty hours of studio art coursework alongside group therapy, one hundred hours of supervised study, and six hundred hours of supervised internship. People pursuing this occupation must also seek a license or certification in the field. The source for this website is the American Art Therapy Association founded in 1969 by Don Jones. It is a non-profit, non-partisan, educated organization dedicated to the development and growth of other’s mental health through art. Their mission is to “advocate for the expansion of access to professional art therapists and lead the nation in the advancement of art therapy as a regulated mental health and human services profession. Adopted August 2016.” (“About the American Art Therapy Association.” American Art Therapy Association, arttherapy.org/about/.) This source is very credible and useful towards my research paper. They are an organization for the people by the people of the United States of America who work for the better of our people through a passion they love. Giving useful information towards the statistics and educated ethics of the