MA Art Psychotherapy

Develop the skills, practical experience, and confidence to begin a rewarding career as a professionally-qualified and registered art psychotherapist. This course is designed for experienced artists and professionals who have worked within clinical settings and would like to build a rewarding career as an art psychotherapist. You will be taught by leading experts who will equip you with the skills, experience, and confidence to work as an art psychotherapist in challenging, yet rewarding environments. Our graduating students are eligible to apply for registration with the Health and Care Professions Council (HCPC). Registered practitioners work in a variety of different settings including psychiatric hospitals, social services, special education, prisons and the voluntary sector. Your learning will be split between supervised clinical placements and taught days on campus. A vital part of the programme is a supervised clinical placement which allows you to complete one hundred mandatory days of practice during your training. Placements are available in a variety of settings that include mental health (both in the NHS and other psychiatric hospitals and day centres), disabilities services or in hospitals or social services, special education, or a range of other settings.

Applicants will normally be required to hold a good degree (second class and above), usually in arts and design. Other disciplines such as psychology, teaching, nursing, the humanities, and graduate level professional qualifications in appropriate disciplines such as Occupational Therapy and Social Work are also considered. Applicants need to evidence that they can meet the academic demands of a Masters degree and will be required to prepare and submit a written personal statement to support their application. Applicants should demonstrate a maturity of personality and self-awareness compatible with training as a therapist. Applicants need an appropriate degree of psychological mindedness including the capacity to form and maintain appropriate empathic relationships with clients. They should also demonstrate emotional literacy, robustness and an ability to be self-reflective. This is addressed through a combination of assessments, including a health screening form, searching questions at interview related to different parts of the training and experiential work.