Becoming an Art Therapist

[FaithfultotheTraitors]

I am looking for a career change and am considering training to become an Art Psychotherapist. Has anyone here gone down this route? I am looking at doing a PG Cert then an MA with the Institute of Arts in Therapy and Education, which would allow me to apply for Art Therapist positions.

I realise this will cost many thousands of ££ but I am lucky enough to have enough savings to fund it. Are there any trainee or qualified ATs here who can tell me about their experiences, and how easy or hard it is to make a living from it after qualifying?
Thanks!

BAAT is a good start point

There isn’t a lot Art therapy jobs on go. The occasional NHS post which requires HCPC registration. It’s a very London centric role,the vast majority of roles are in Ldn.

There are 11 approved traditional master’s courses in the UK:

• Brunel University, London
• University of Chester
• University of Derby
• Goldsmiths University, London
• Hertfordshire University
• Institute for Arts in Therapy and Education London / University of East London
• Queen Margaret University, Edinburgh, Scotland
• Ulster University, Belfast, Northern Ireland
• University of Roehampton, London
• Sheffield Hallam University
• University of South Wales

Will you need a regular salary from this training? Or are you solvent and you’ll practise as and when.

I know one woman retrained in this , NW3 and affluent and she has the means. She certainly doesn’t get a career or salary out of it, but in fairness she was pursuing an interest not a career . Depends what you want and need from it

You need health and or social care or charity work experience usually 12mth exp face to face work

Thank you for taking the time to reply to me ☺️ . I do live in the South East so commuting to London is doable for me. I am very fortunate in that we can afford for me to work part time on a modest salary. My first degree is in Modern Languages, not Art or Psychology but I hope I can do foundation courses that allow me to bridge that gap. I have also applied to volunteer with a mental health charity, working with their service users so hopefully that will help too.

If you haven’t already Get work experience familiarise yourself with contemporary MH practice. That’ll be useful at interview and your confidence will soar

have you considered occupational therapy post grad take 2yr. OT’s work with art as a medium and they work with children adults in MH and in schools and charities. It’s not psychodynamic it’s more biopsychosocial . Huge shortage of OT plenty jobs as result. Established career progression