What Do Art Therapists Do (including Their Typical Day At Work)

Job Description

Art Therapists plan or conduct art therapy sessions or programs to improve clients’ physical, cognitive, or emotional well-being. They also talk with clients during art or other therapy sessions to build rapport, acknowledge their progress, or reflect upon their reactions to the artistic process.

Other tasks include:

• Conduct art therapy sessions, providing guided self-expression experiences to help clients recover from, or cope with, cognitive, emotional, or physical impairments.
• Design art therapy sessions or programs to meet client’s goals or objectives.
• Write treatment plans, case summaries, or progress or other reports related to individual clients or client groups.
• Observe and document client reactions, progress, or other outcomes related to art therapy.
• Establish goals or objectives for art therapy sessions in consultation with clients or site administrators.
• Gather client information from sources such as case documentation, client observation, or interviews of client or family members.

We asked Art Therapists how satisfied they are with their job. Here is what they said.

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74% of them said they were satisfied with their job and 82% said they find that their job makes the world a better place or helps to make someone else’s life better.

Typical Day At Work

On a daily basis, Art Therapists gather client information from sources such as case documentation, client observation, or interviews of client or family members. They talk with clients during art or other therapy sessions to build rapport, acknowledge their progress, or reflect upon their reactions to the artistic process.

A typical day for an Art Therapist will also include:

• Design art therapy sessions or programs to meet client’s goals or objectives.
• Conduct art therapy sessions, providing guided self-expression experiences to help clients recover from, or cope with, cognitive, emotional, or physical impairments.
• Write treatment plans, case summaries, or progress or other reports related to individual clients or client groups.
• Observe and document client reactions, progress, or other outcomes related to art therapy.
• Interpret the artistic creations of clients to assess their functioning, needs, or progress.

We asked some Art Therapists a few questions to find out what else does their work day look like. Here is what we found.

	Do you have telephone conversations everyday in this job?	71% said yes
	How important is it to work in a team in this job?	35% said very important
	Do you have group discussions everyday in this job?	86% said yes
	Do you talk or work with customers everyday in this job?	38% said yes
	Do you have to deal with angry customers everyday in this job?	24% said yes
	Do you have to make decisions everyday in this job?	55% said yes

Other responsibilities

Besides their typical day, Art Therapists also confer with other professionals on client’s treatment team to develop, coordinate, or integrate treatment plans. They may also review research or literature in art therapy, psychology, or related disciplines.

On a weekly to monthly basis, Art Therapists Analyze data to determine the effectiveness of treatments or therapy approaches. They might also Teach art therapy techniques or processes to artists, interns, volunteers, or others.

In addition, they Analyze or synthesize client data to draw conclusions or make recommendations for art therapy.

Although specific duties may vary, many of them Select or prepare artistic media or related equipment or devices to accomplish therapy session objectives.

To some Art Therapists, it is also their responsibility to Supervise staff, volunteers, practicum students, or interns.

Working life

Standard 40 hour work week

Regular schedule like a 9 to 5

In a typical work week as an Art Therapist, you can expect to work 40 hour work week.

Is this right for me

People who are suitable for this job tends to like working with, communicating with, and teaching people. They like helping or providing service to others..

They also like working with forms, designs and patterns. They often require self-expression and the work can be done without following a clear set of rules.

You can read more about these career personality types here.

Explore other careers

http://www.bls.gov/OOH/healthcare/recreational-therapists.htm

http://www.arttherapy.org/

http://www.atcb.org/