Art therapy is a line of work that’s becoming more and more relevant to people’s lives. Mental illness has never been more prevalent. In fact, levels of anxiety are higher than they have ever been. This type of therapy uses art is a mode of expression, alongside talking. Studies show that it makes people more sociable and open than they might normally be in therapy sessions. If changing people’s lives for the better and helping the mentally ill to work through their problems sounds good to you, this post plans to tell you how you can get started.
Obtaining A Qualification
The first step toward becoming an art therapist is obtaining a relevant qualification, ideally in art therapy. However, it is also possible for psychiatrists who are knowledgeable about art therapy to enter formal practice without a specific art therapy degree. You may be interested in Scholistico online courses, as they have art therapy practitioner degrees you can obtain online. The good thing about art therapy is just that: You can obtain a degree in it online.
You don’t have to go away to college or spend years studying. All you need is an internet connection, a computer, and the motivation to change people’s lives. Once you have obtained a degree, you can go ahead and post information about it on your website, advertising your expertise to clients. Sharing information about your qualifications is important if you want to attract people.
Caring About People
If you want to become an art therapist, you need to have a genuine passion for helping people work through their mental health issues and come out the other side of them. An art therapy degree can help you learn more about people’s problems and give you greater insight into the struggles the average person experiences in their daily lives. If you do not care about people and do not have a passion for changing their lives for the better, clients are going to realize this very quickly.
It’s not hard to tell when a therapist is disinterested. If you do not care about people, maybe art therapy isn’t for you. Also, take some time to learn about common mental health disorders if you do not have any formal degrees in psychology or psychiatry. It shouldn’t take long to educate yourself about common mental health issues.
Advertising Yourself
Finally, you can go ahead and start advertising yourself and your business online. To do this, hire a marketing company to represent you. In addition to hiring the marketing company, open a social media account in your business’s name. Social media accounts will give you places to advertise your services and tell clients about why they should work with you as opposed to other therapists in the industry. Social media pages give you an opportunity to build direct relationships with your clients and get to know them before they enter into formal treatment with you.
Art therapy is a great way to work through one’s problems. If it is something that interests you, consider taking an online course, and then opening your own practice. There are many companies offering online courses today, so you shouldn’t have trouble finding one to work with.