The Master of Arts in Art Therapy degree is a two-year program that prepares students with academic, clinical, and research experience in preparation for the credentials of Registration as an Art Therapist (ATR) according to the educational guidelines established by the American Art Therapy Association (AATA). This program also prepares students with the educational training necessary for Licensure as a Mental Health Counselor (LMHC) in the state of Indiana.
Positioned within the urban campus Indiana University Purdue University-Indianapolis (IUPUI), this two-year, full- time residential program is the only one of its kind in the state of Indiana. The program provides a foundation in art therapy where the general concepts of science, art, and the creative process are understood and applied in a therapeutic context.
Students are required to engage in clinical training within medical and healthcare facilities in Indianapolis and surrounding communities as a part of their coursework and are required to complete 1000 hours of supervised practicum and internship experience.
Honoring the dynamic nature of the psyche, the art therapist calls upon the theoretical and applied applications of creative and symbolic expression along with psychotherapeutic principles and practices through a variety of interventions and in myriad settings including mental health, medical, educational, and forensic facilities.
Students in the program will learn from a wide variety of didactic through experiential instruction that encourages personal art making within Herron's studios. With an emphasis on neuroscience principles that underscore the foundations of art therapy treatment and practice, the curriculum prepares students to understand the complexities of psychotherapeutic practice in the 21st century.
Policies
Students should consult the handbook given to them at orientation for policies and procedures pertaining to their degree progress.
Admissions
Students seeking admission to the MA in Art Therapy degree program should demonstrate commitment to
the professional goal of helping others as art therapists. Prerequisites for admission to the program meet the requirements mandated for all programs approved by the American Art Therapy Association. Herron requires that students have all these prerequisites completed before starting the program. If all prerequisites have not been met at the time of application, acceptance to the program can only be made pending successful completion of the prerequisites before the start of fall classes.
• A bachelor's degree
• 18 credits of studio art
• 12 credits of psychology including developmental psychology and abnormal psychology
• A portfolio of artwork demonstrating experience with different media and an ability to understand the motivations behind one's personal art making process
Details of the admissions process are described on
Herron's website:http://herron.iupui.edu
Suggested plan of study (Any revisions to this curriculum made after this bulletin goes to press will be posted on the Herron website.)
Year 1 Fall Semester
• Lifespan Development
• Introduction to Group Counseling
• Psychopathology and Advanced Diagnosis Practicum and Group Supervision
• Assessment and Evaluation in Art Therapy
Year 1: Spring Semester
• Art Therapy with Families and Adults
• Ethical and Legal Issues in Counseling and Art Therapy
• History, Theory and Practice of Art therapy
• Art Therapy Internship
• Counseling Theory and Practice for Art Therapists
• Art Therapy with Children and Adolescents
Summer Semester I
• Career Counseling Theory and Practice
Summer Semester II
• Strategies for Educational Inquiry
Year 2: Fall Semester
• Cultural and Social Diversity in Counseling and Art Therapy
• Advanced Clinical Internship and Group Supervision
- Professional Issues Capstone I
Year 2: Spring Semester
• Art Therapy and Counseling with Specialized Populations
• Professional Issues Capstone II
• Art Therapy Advanced Internship and Group Supervision
• Studio Art for Art Therapists
Last updated: March 2016
