Art Therapy is a growing field that leads to a rewarding career helping clients of all ages improve their lives in meaningful ways.

Art Therapy is an integrative mental health profession that combines knowledge and understanding of:

  • visual arts;
  • the creative process;
  • human development;
  • psychology; and
  • counseling theories and techniques.

With this deep understanding, art therapists help clients improve cognitive abilities, psychological health, and sensory-motor functions.

Areas of Training

  • art therapy
  • psychotherapy
  • counseling
  • standards of practice, assessment and evaluation
  • therapy (individual, group, and family)
  • human development
  • research methods
  • multicultural issues

Helping Clients

Through the use of art media, the creative process, and often verbal processing of produced imagery, art therapists help clients manage behavior and addictions, develop social skills, reduce anxiety, increase self-esteem, reconcile emotional conflicts and improve overall wellbeing.

At Notre Dame, we offer a comprehensive training program with a focus on the unique ability of art and art making to reveal thoughts and feelings, while ensuring students learn the skills involved in safely managing the reactions the creative process evokes in therapy and counseling with individuals at all stages of life.

A Growing Field

Art Therapy is a dynamic, growing career field, particularly in Maryland where Art Therapists are licensed as distinct mental health professionals (LGPAT/LCPAT) with title protection and parity. Required master’s degree training supports students becoming highly skilled, relationally oriented mental health clinicians eligible for Maryland state graduate, entry-level licensure upon completion and national, post-graduate credentialing.