Art Therapy or Psychotherapy??

[houseoffallenwomen]

I have been planning on training in psychotherapy/counselling for many years. Previous job was advice type work and have done basic counselling course and researched courses etc. However I recently got seduced by courses training therapy using the arts. I have been offered a place but wondering if I am mad to take it as there would be no jobs at the end of the training. I am in London but even so, perhaps it's not very practical...maybe I should stick to psychotherapy and forget the arts bit...anyone got any info/inside knowledge on the subject? Thanks....

Bump! Reputable arts therapy training courses expect you to have a degree in the art first e.g. a drama degree for dramatherapy, a music degree for music therapy etc. so my first question would be what are the entry requirements for the course you've been accepted onto? If it's reputable I'd say go for it - I believe arts therapies are a growth area (just recently I watched a TV progamme about art therapy increasingly being used with ex-soldiers suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder). Classic psychotherapy is extremely competitive.

I say this as somebody who looked extensively into psychotherapy training (including play therapy training) but is not a qualified counsellor.

art therapy you need art degree,dreadful prospects
psychotherapy long training very middle class angsty
if you want to use art as a medium why not consider occupational therapy, they do art and craft groups as part of OT

I think these things are things you do for the love of the job rather than the money.

that assumes a comfortable mc ability to potter about doing courses
frankly no wouldn't recommend courses that incur lot cost in fees, with poor prospects

Yes OT's do use activities as therapy but the course is much broader than that , so if you are interested look into it carefully as it involves many areas of study and practice and doesn't guarentee a job in your chosen area of interest. However it is a facinating area of work.
I'm not certain that any careers in psychotherapy or Art therapy or OT for that matter are guarenteed re jobs at the moment as especially in the NHS, post are being frozen and new posts are not always available even to those already qualified. Not certain about the private sector.
Have worked in the NHS in mental health for yonks and have only come across one or two Art therapy posts.

train art therapist

nhs psychotherapist

train as psychotherapist ukcp

ukcp say training psychotherapist long and expensive

The cost of training is quite considerable. You should take the following into account:
the training organisation's fees
textbooks
personal therapy
supervision.

I know the OT training is broad and they work physical,mh, and local authority. yes the primary thing in ot isn't the art groups at all.

but the career prospects in art therapy are poor
and psychotherapy long,costly and independently funded

I am a children's social worker and there are massive waiting list for art therapy with the children with whom I work. A few school offer it which is great. I also used to work in a large residential unit that employed an art therapist.

I really couldn't comment on career prospects. All I know is we have children/young people who have been on waiting lists for six months+

The six month+ waiting list is probably due to very few posts being funded rather than there being a lack of art therapists around.
I've worked in mental health services for several years - both children's and adults services and psychotherapy (both arts therapies and psychotherapy) tends to be seen as an "expensive" resource by management. In my trust lots of psychotherapy & arts therapy posts have been frozen or lost in the past year. This is in spite of the very high demand and long waiting lists.

yes art therapy and psychotherapists are not routinely employed nhs
and yes psychotherapy is costly and lengthy in duration

It's frustrating isn't it...long waiting lists and qualified therapists but no funding. I thought these would be the first jobs to go in cuts. I am slightly put off courses that sound like they are for middle class people who can afford to do them. I do want to do a useful job at the end of any training and would have to take a career development loan for any training. Thanks for your posts. OT was suggested to me and it does sound interesting, even social work, but not sure if i am tough enough...

sw is demanding,lot casework and statutory duties.tbh nothing like what you describe wanting to do. you need to be robust character, good with people. adept in stressful situation

OT use art a a medium,an activity to promote recovery But not an arts profession. you'd train in physical,mental health, hospital and community. again v demanding

OT does sound interesting. It would kind of fit with my background which was working for a disability charity in advice work. A lot of clients had mental health issues and I was always interested in the counselling side of things, though wasn't qualified so didn't go there at the time. Though I did use the skills I learned on a foundation course. I always thought I would go on to train as a counsellor/psychotherapist but it is such a long and expensive training and competitive when you get out the other end for jobs. I have looked at counselling in schools training programmes too. I also applied for the IAPT jobs as a long shot. I would like to train in something there was actually a need for IYSWIM.

good luck with chosen career path
most people have a professional background (nurse,ot,sw) and then maybe do some counseling courses but not to specifically qualify and do not work as a counselor iyswim. the counseling is an adjunct to the job they do Also psychologist frequently can do counseling type work,and there are counseling psychologists too

mental health nursing is a v good career, varied and can work hospital or community. again its hard work

if you did a professional training that would give you supervised experience of working with people in need.

psychotherapy, and solely counseling is expensive, laborious and no guarantee employment at end of all that

you wouldn't be eligible for IAPT doesn't sound as if you have adequate experience

why dont you try shadow a few of the aforementioned professionals , meet them ask about demands of the job. get a feel for what its really like (esp in current climate)

One other thing I heard that the NHS is putting funding into improving the patient experience. Things like psychotherapy and art therapy could help departments achieve this? maybe? I wondered if there would be funding coming that way in future.

thanks v much scottishmummy for your help and advice. My thinking around this was heading that way - i.e train in a professional field that might include some aspect of counselling etc...I will think on. I should say I have a six month old baby (and three year old) but am going to have to earn some money soon and would love to actually develop a career, rather than just get a job that I feel is going nowhere...also I think I am good with people (naff as that might sound).

no i doubt it.not that route at all
given nhs have existing staff like OT,SW,Nurse,medics who already deliver and have clinical competencies.

there are v few art therapy and even few psychotherapy posts in nhs. they are costly and only suitable for a certain presentations eg not psychotic

if youre still determined about art therapy you have to get art degree and post grad
psychotherapy self funded and pricey

good luck do look nhs careers
do def shadow and meet with practitioners
try volunteer
your notion of what a job is like as outsider is usually quite enhanced ,is good to meet practitioners get a realistic handle on demands of the job