When the art therapy programs have been selected in the Art Therapy school of choice, students should have by now acknowledged this their major primary field of study, which is considered the most significant decision they will ever taken. According to one college, the Ursuline College Graduate pre-requisites, many prerequisite courses will have been by now finished in college to be eligible for upper-level courses, with a Bachelor’s degree in art, psychology, behavioral science, social science, or a associated field already attained before they can embark on art therapy programs.

Schools that lecture on art therapy programs need the student to show proof of their ability to do graduate work in the art therapy field. Not a simple field, this requires a 3.0 grade point average or above, which is based on a 4.0 system. The basis for this is because anything as a high school freshman (or 9th grade) and on up will be added to the cumulative GPA, which will affect the outcome of the schools looking for entry to, and the scholarships being applied for. When applying to a school which teaches art therapy programs, this will have immense impact on whether or not the student will be taken in.

Art therapy programs have several prerequisites, which make art therapy classes easier to appreciate and to apply to one’s ability to be trained. One such set of prerequisites to art therapy programs is a completed minimum of 18 semester hours in studio art–drawing, painting, clay or sculpture. One more is a minimum of 12 semester hours in Psychology, a prerequisite that entails four areas: General Psychology, Developmental Psychology, Personality or Counseling Development, and Abnormal Psychology or Psychopathology. And last but not least is some experience in a human service context field working with people on some level.

U.S. News has a partial list of 26 Art Therapy Schools which have excellence art therapy programs under a national listing of the top “America’s Best Colleges 2008″ list. When opting for the college major for a future in art therapy, working with people of different ages, and backgrounds will be part of the job description.  Working in art therapy uses visual artistic expression by the client to permit them to safely put across hidden emotions and to discover their personal troubles. The end result can permit them to attain positive change in their lives, combined with personal development. The major difference in art therapy, as contrasted with traditional psychological therapies, is that it consists of a three-way method. This method is combination of efforts between the client, therapist, and the artwork itself. 

Art therapy programs have professionals to teach the prospective art therapist to work in many diverse ways. Some of these ways are to work with other professionals as a team; evaluate the individual needs of the client; pay attention to them and provide direction; work creatively with them in a therapeutic setting; permit the client themselves to discover their own creativity, their art work, and its process; and most significantly, uphold the latest research and new ideas regarding the latest progress of art therapy.