What is a counselor/art therapist and how to become one

Updated January 8, 2025

5 min read

Quoted expert

Dr. Tommy Casarez Ph.D.

A counselor/art therapist is a mental health professional who uses art therapy techniques in combination with traditional counseling methods to help clients improve their emotional, mental, and physical well-being. They work with individuals, families, and groups to explore and express their thoughts and emotions through creative processes such as drawing, painting, or sculpting. Art therapy allows clients to communicate non-verbally and tap into their unconscious thoughts and feelings. Counselor/art therapists also provide talk therapy.

What general advice would you give to a counselor/art therapist?

Dr. Tommy Casarez Ph.D.

Dr., Assistant Professor of Historical and Systematic Theology, Vanguard University

Opportunities come in many different shapes and sizes, but they are still out there. Whether you are seeking to land a job in education or the non-profit sector, you will need to familiarize yourself and get used to all things digital, for the sake of communicating effectively. The younger your student or service partner's mindset, the more digitally savvy you will need to be, especially in the classroom and in the non-profit world.

ScoreCounselor/Art TherapistUS Average

Salary

6.2

Avg. Salary $79,417

Avg. Salary $59,228

Stability level

7.3

Growth rate 4%

Growth rate 0.3%

Diversity

10.0

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 0.77%

Asian 3.27%

Black or African American 6.53%

Hispanic or Latino 10.21%

Unknown 4.49%

White 74.73%

Gender

female 70.19%

male 29.81%

Age - 43

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 3.00%

Asian 7.00%

Black or African American 14.00%

Hispanic or Latino 19.00%

White 57.00%

Gender

female 47.00%

male 53.00%

Age - 43

Stress level

7.3

Stress level is high

7.1 - high

Complexity level

5.7

Complexity level is intermediate

7 - challenging

Work life balance

7.0

Work life balance is good

6.4 - fair

What are the pros and cons of being a counselor/art therapist?

Pros

Being able to see positive changes in clients over time
Opportunities for professional growth and development
Working in a variety of settings, such as hospitals, schools, and private practice
Helping clients gain insight and understanding about themselves and their experiences
Having the ability to be flexible and adaptable in your approach to therapy

Cons

Exposure to trauma and difficult stories from clients
Limited job opportunities in some areas or specialties
Difficulty separating personal life from work life
Managing time and balancing multiple client caseloads
Needing to continuously educate oneself on new techniques

Key steps to become a counselor/art therapist

Explore counselor/art therapist education requirements

Most common counselor/art therapist degrees

Bachelor's

45.5 %

Master's

44.4 %

Associate

4.4 %

Start to develop specific counselor/art therapist skills

Skills	Percentages
Social Work	13.90%
Patients	10.48%
Crisis Intervention	7.69%
Diagnosis	6.63%
Community Resources	4.43%

Complete relevant counselor/art therapist training and internships

Accountants spend an average of 1-3 months on post-employment, on-the-job training. New counselor/art therapists learn the skills and techniques required for their job and employer during this time. The chart below shows how long it takes to gain competency as a counselor/art therapist based on U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data and data from real counselor/art therapist resumes.

Research counselor/art therapist duties and responsibilities

Provide clinical consultation to consumers and clients regarding manage care services and other benefits available to them through their EAP programs.
Facilitate DBT skills group comprise of high school students with mental health and chemical dependency issues
Provide individual therapy to patients who experience trauma, bereavement issues, and other issues requiring individualize therapy.
Bill Medicaid for sessions hold with clients.

Prepare your counselor/art therapist resume

When your background is strong enough, you can start writing your counselor/art therapist resume.

You can use Zippia's AI resume builder to make the resume writing process easier while also making sure that you include key information that hiring managers expect to see on a counselor/art therapist resume. You'll find resume tips and examples of skills, responsibilities, and summaries, all provided by Zippi, your career sidekick.

Choose from 10+ customizable counselor/art therapist resume templates

Build a professional counselor/art therapist resume in minutes. Browse through our resume examples to identify the best way to word your resume. Then choose from 10+ resume templates to create your counselor/art therapist resume.