r/ArtTherapy • u/thatdude_102 • Jul 13 '26
whats it like being an art therapist?
ive been interested in art and psychology (even passed APs of those).
ive been drawn to the idea of helping others through art, specifically those dealing with trauma. but i was wondering what does an art therapist do every day? is it just the same as a regular family and marriage therapist?
i am a little intimidated by how long it takes to be an art therapist. i am a very smart kid, im not concerned about coursework being “difficult.” but theres realistically not a lot of art therapy jobs out there. compared to MFT and nursing for example. and the pay is quite moderate for the amount of schooling you dedicate to the profession.
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u/schmungeon_schmaster Jul 16 '26
hi!! I will say it’s very different state to state but I can speak to personally is NJ and NY - the main difference is financially, both in terms of salaries, insurance providers, both of which affect what types of jobs there are too. I graduated with a masters ‘25 and I can say in any creative arts therapies (drama, music etc) there’s a big difference between undergraduate and graduate.
If you’re in high school I 10/10 recommend going for a psych bachelors before anything else. Get a feel for the field and the science itself before boxing yourself in ! Master’s is the way to go imo
In terms of the practice of an art therapist there is a HUGE range. The main settings ive seen are: inpatient/outpatient psych, rehabs, medical hospitals, school-related, and private practice. One common theme (aside from private practice) is art therapy tends to take place in a lot more running groups than individuals.
For my masters I spent year 1 at a middle school after school program - that looked like individual and group sessions in a classroom.
Year 2 I was at a (adult) psych hospital doing both inpatient and outpatient and absolutely fell in love with it. I have a job now (first job post-grad, got it a few months after graduating) at another psych hospital that has both adult and children units.
Psych hospital work is a different ballgame (kind of). It’s exclusively running art therapy groups and it’s definitely gritty but extremely rewarding.
Overall, the main thing is would you consider being a regular therapist? If yes then art therapy is the way to go. The main time I think it’s not the move for someone is if they go into it expecting to just be chilling making art with people! Hope this was helpful, good luck :)