Special Issue on Art Therapy Education

It does not seem like it was all that long ago that I sat in Katherine Williams’ office inquiring about art therapy. As a sophomore on a road trip, my friends and I traveled through Washington DC. In between taking in the sites, I walked over to the Art Therapy Program at The George Washington University. Although I arrived unannounced and Dr. Williams was on her way out, she took time to sit with me to talk about the program and my interests. I re-met her a couple of years later as a formal applicant and then several months afterward as a new student. Even after volunteering with an art therapist for a number of years at that point, I was thrilled to begin formal training in a masters program. A few nights a week for 3–4 hours after internships and jobs, we would gather around a large table, use the first few minutes to finish our dinners, and then spend the time in art making, lecture, and discussion.

In the 20 plus years since I first stepped into an art therapy classroom as a student, much has changed. Programs require many more credits, educational requirements are more uniform, and classes that were once electives are now mandatory – such as social and cultural diversity. I am periodically reminded of my days as a student now that I step into the classroom each week as a faculty member. When students politely ask if they can eat in class, I smile and let them know it is more than fine – in fact, I might even consider it part of the traditional art therapy classroom. More importantly, I am constantly reminded of the work that I and my fellow art therapy educators around the globe put in to ensure current students are prepared as practitioners, even while knowing that the profession and clients will continue to change demanding further education and professional development.

This special issue on art therapy education developed spontaneously upon the receipt of several submissions on this topic around the same time. Perhaps, it should not be a surprise that so many authors have turned their attention to this subject. Over the past 50 years of art therapy in the United States, there have been regular reexaminations into how art therapists are trained. The development of early formal workshops and apprenticeships transitioning into post-masters certificates and stand-alone masters degrees ushered in opportunities and challenges (Feen-Calligan, 1996). In recent years, there have been greater changes in professional autonomy and state licensure that spurred the creation of an independent Accreditation Council for Art Therapy Education (ACATE) under the auspices of the Commission on Accreditation of Allied Health Education Programs. Similarly, art therapy programs in the United Kingdom that once offered post-graduate diplomas developed into masters degrees to comply with regulations set forth by the Health and Care Professions Council (HCPC, 2013). These advances reflect changes in the healthcare, education, and arts sectors that call for reciprocal adjustments to education. As such, educational standards in various countries reflect curricular content that offers a stable and common base but with room to innovate and adapt in response to research, client expectations, and governmental regulations (ACATE, 2016; ANZACATA, 2019; CATA, 2015; HCPC, 2013).

Given the importance of art therapy education, this journal has periodically published articles on the topic and has dedicated two special issues in the past (Kapitan, 2012; Malchiodi, 1996). Despite the importance of curricular content, faculty credentials, and institutional requirements, recurrent themes encapsulate questions that pertain to core values of what constitutes art therapy in historical terms and contemporary iterations; and, therefore, what is essential in training. The content of this issue epitomizes the ways in which education offers a stable base for professional identity, serves as a flexible foundation for being responsive to changing developments, and provides an expansive platform for extending knowledge.

Graduate education plays a key role in professional identity. A cross-disciplinary systemic review defines professional identity development as encompassing knowledge and skills to work in one’s field, seeing oneself as part of a collegial community, and harmonizing professional and personal values (Trede et al., 2012). The educational requirements in allied mental health professions in the U.S. are similar (APA-CoA, 2018; COAMFTE, 2017; CACREP, 2015; CSWE, 2015) and the art therapy standards parallel the core psychotherapy components (ACATE, 2016). However, three contributions speak to what is unique about art therapy education – the centrality of art making, studio spaces, and creative processes. Heather Leigh’s Delphi study demonstrates signature pedagogies to ground the field in art through experiential teaching, practicum, and experiential learning. Juliet Jue and Jung Hee Ha’s research demonstrates how art making grounds art therapy students in their professional identities. Michael A. Franklin offers a rationale and grading rubric for assessing art assignments within an art therapy esthetic.

For education to remain relevant, it must be responsive to new theories, practices, and circumstances. In particular, the year 2020 demonstrated the ways that education must adapt to changing needs and societal demands. The global COVID-19 pandemic forced changes in how education is delivered for many programs. Demands for racial justice call educators to adopt critical race theory paradigms (Patton, 2016) and dismantle institutionalized White supremacy and anti-Blackness that are prevalent in norms of histories, theories, and practices (Haynes & Bazner, 2019). Tuesdai Johnson, Sarah P. Deaver, and Cheryl Doby-Copeland centralize and elevate the voices of students of color to demonstrate how art therapy education can be more inclusive and accessible.

Although the master’s degree serves as the clinical entry point in several countries, two articles seek to expand art therapy education to increase access to services and research. Jennifer B. Schwartz, Meera Rastogi, Michelle C. Pate, and Joseph H. Scarce describe a role for undergraduate training as a means to magnify art therapy’s practical reach. Nancy Gerber, Lynn Kapitan, Michelle Forinash, David Gussak, Jennifer La Civita, and Girija Kaimal review doctorate education to grow the profession’s evidence and efficacy base through research.

Education sets a crucial foundation to securing a profession. Zachary D. Van Den Berg’s Cover Art, Edith and Me, interweaves this issue’s presented ideas with a profound reminder of how training positions students as a strong link that connects the field’s past to unforeseeable futures. Guaranteeing quality education ensures that current day students, the next generation of art therapists, are tomorrow’s colleagues, researchers, and innovators.