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What does a creative art therapist do?

Updated January 8, 2025
7 min read
Quoted expert
Charles Westerberg Ph.D.
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Creative art therapist responsibilities

Here are examples of responsibilities from real creative art therapist resumes:

  • Manage Facebook account composing creative content for daily posts to increase audience engagement
  • Facilitate a bereavement group for identify patients from creative arts base curriculum.
  • Develop and implement treatment plans by reviewing therapy prescriptions and conducting mental and physical evaluation of patients.
  • Provide training for federal and public organizations regarding the psychological aspects of veterans having experience combat or military sexual trauma.
  • Conduct MST assessment including review of referral information, maintain the confidentiality of all consumer care information including protect health information.

Creative art therapist skills and personality traits

We calculated that 30% of Creative Art Therapists are proficient in Patients, Interdisciplinary, and Creative Arts Therapy. They’re also known for soft skills such as Leadership skills, Listening skills, and Patience.

We break down the percentage of Creative Art Therapists that have these skills listed on their resume here:

  • Patients, 30%

    Included Art History and Art Appreciation in Art Therapy groups offered to increase engagement of patients hesitant to make art.

  • Interdisciplinary, 11%

    Collaborated with interdisciplinary team members to maximize the quality of cohesive patient treatment.

  • Creative Arts Therapy, 9%

    Facilitated daily Process Group and bi-monthly Creative Arts Therapy group tailored specifically for addiction and recovery.

  • Mental Health, 8%

    Developed therapy groups for individuals with mental health needs and addictions.

  • Rehabilitation, 7%

    Conduct Vocational Rehabilitation psychological evaluations.

  • Therapeutic Services, 6%

    Provide therapeutic services to groups, individuals, and family members using creative arts and skills-based counseling interventions.

"patients," "interdisciplinary," and "creative arts therapy" are among the most common skills that creative art therapists use at work. You can find even more creative art therapist responsibilities below, including:

Leadership skills. To carry out their duties, the most important skill for a creative art therapist to have is leadership skills. Their role and responsibilities require that "recreational therapists must be engaging and able to motivate patients to participate in a variety of therapeutic activities." Creative art therapists often use leadership skills in their day-to-day job, as shown by this real resume: "case management for mentally ill consumers *group leadership *individual counseling *intake evaluations *crisis intervention"

Listening skills. Another essential skill to perform creative art therapist duties is listening skills. Creative art therapists responsibilities require that "recreational therapists must pay attention to patients’ concerns in order to determine an appropriate course of treatment." Creative art therapists also use listening skills in their role according to a real resume snippet: "communicated with a multidisciplinary team to evaluate and recommend therapeutic interventions. "

Patience. creative art therapists are also known for patience, which are critical to their duties. You can see how this skill relates to creative art therapist responsibilities, because "recreational therapists may work with patients who require more time and special attention than do others." A creative art therapist resume example shows how patience is used in the workplace: "people skills, crisis management, patience, flexibility and adaptability. "

Compassion. Another crucial skill for a creative art therapist to carry out their responsibilities is "compassion." A big part of what creative art therapists relies on this skill, since "recreational therapists may deal with people who are in pain, so they should be empathetic when providing support to patients and their families." How this skill relates to creative art therapist duties can be seen in an example from a creative art therapist resume snippet: "provide psychotherapeutic services to children, adolescents, and adults in a compassionate environment. "

Resourcefulness. Another skill commonly found on creative art therapist job descriptions is "resourcefulness." It can come up quite often in creative art therapist duties, since "recreational therapists must be both creative and flexible when customizing treatment plans and adapting activities or programs to meet patients' needs." Here's an example from a resume of how this skill fits into day-to-day creative art therapist responsibilities: "provided client and family support, clinical assessment and psychoeducation to promote mental health wellness and resourcefulness. "

Most common creative art therapist skills

The three companies that hire the most creative art therapists are:

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Creative Art Therapist Resume
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Creative Art Therapist Resume
Creative Art Therapist Resume
Creative Art Therapist Resume
Creative Art Therapist Resume
Creative Art Therapist Resume
Creative Art Therapist Resume
Creative Art Therapist Resume
Creative Art Therapist Resume
Creative Art Therapist Resume
Creative Art Therapist Resume

Compare different creative art therapists

Creative art therapist vs. Art internship

In an art internship, an intern's duties primarily depend on the directives of a manager and the place of employment. Typically, their duties revolve around gaining industry insights and experience while performing support tasks such as preparing and processing documents, answering calls and correspondence, organizing and forwarding files, and running errands. They must also participate and assist in creative projects, sharing ideas as necessary. Above all, an intern must familiarize and adhere to the company's policies and regulations, including its vision and mission.

We looked at the average creative art therapist salary and compared it with the wages of an art internship. Generally speaking, art interns are paid $21,851 lower than creative art therapists per year.Even though creative art therapists and art interns are distinct careers, a few of the skills required for both jobs are similar. For example, both careers require mental health, art therapy sessions, and substance abuse in the day-to-day roles and responsibilities.

There are some key differences in the responsibilities of each position. For example, creative art therapist responsibilities require skills like "patients," "interdisciplinary," "creative arts therapy," and "rehabilitation." Meanwhile a typical art internship has skills in areas such as "individual therapy sessions," "adobe photoshop," "indesign," and "open studio." This difference in skills reveals the differences in what each career does.

Art interns tend to reach lower levels of education than creative art therapists. In fact, art interns are 35.5% less likely to graduate with a Master's Degree and 0.3% less likely to have a Doctoral Degree.

Creative art therapist vs. Bereavement program coordinator

A bereavement program coordinator is in charge of organizing and coordinating services to help families deal with a loved one's death or illness. Among their responsibilities include offering counseling sessions, assisting families in arranging a funeral and memorial service, referring them to other agencies, and helping them understand additional important information. They may also coordinate with other programs and specialists, recruit volunteers, and conduct research to optimize services. Furthermore, a bereavement program coordinator must oversee staff while implementing the organization's policies and regulations, including its vision and mission.

A career as a bereavement program coordinator brings a higher average salary when compared to the average annual salary of a creative art therapist. In fact, bereavement program coordinators salary is $38 higher than the salary of creative art therapists per year.Only some things about these jobs are the same. Take their skills, for example. Creative art therapists and bereavement program coordinators both require similar skills like "patients," "social work," and "crisis intervention" to carry out their responsibilities.

In addition to the difference in salary, there are some other key differences worth noting. For example, creative art therapist responsibilities are more likely to require skills like "interdisciplinary," "creative arts therapy," "mental health," and "rehabilitation." Meanwhile, a bereavement program coordinator has duties that require skills in areas such as "home health," "patient care," "bereavement program," and "compassion." These differences highlight just how different the day-to-day in each role looks.

In general, bereavement program coordinators achieve lower levels of education than creative art therapists. They're 9.3% less likely to obtain a Master's Degree while being 0.3% more likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.

What technology do you think will become more important and prevalent for creative art therapists in the next 3-5 years?

Charles Westerberg Ph.D.Charles Westerberg Ph.D. LinkedIn profile

Brannon-Ballard Professor of Sociology, Beloit College

Given that technology changes so fast, I'd think less about what specific technology will be most useful instead of new applications for the technology. How can you use the web, social media, and other applications to address questions and solve problems? If you practice this, you will adapt your findings to all sorts of new technologies.

Creative art therapist vs. Therapist

A therapist is responsible for improving the patients' health conditions by evaluating their needs and providing physical and mental support. Therapists are licensed, medical professionals who specialize in different areas to perform treatments and bring relief to patients. Some of their duties include diagnosing patient's problems, performing counseling services, monitoring medication progress, customizing therapy activities for pain management, and consulting other health professionals as needed. Therapists must have extensive knowledge with the medical industry to detect patients' conditions easily and provide effective medications.

On average scale, therapists bring in higher salaries than creative art therapists. In fact, they earn a $4,525 higher salary per year.By looking over several creative art therapists and therapists resumes, we found that both roles require similar skills in their day-to-day duties, such as "patients," "mental health," and "rehabilitation." But beyond that, the careers look very different.

Some important key differences between the two careers include a few of the skills necessary to fulfill the responsibilities of each. Some examples from creative art therapist resumes include skills like "interdisciplinary," "creative arts therapy," "adolescents," and "art therapy sessions," whereas a therapist is more likely to list skills in "patient care," "community resources," "therapy services," and "autism. "

Therapists earn the highest salary when working in the government industry, where they receive an average salary of $55,972. Comparatively, creative art therapists have the highest earning potential in the health care industry, with an average salary of $49,595.therapists typically earn similar educational levels compared to creative art therapists. Specifically, they're 3.5% less likely to graduate with a Master's Degree, and 1.6% less likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.

Creative art therapist vs. Art psychotherapist

Art psychotherapists typically earn higher pay than creative art therapists. On average, art psychotherapists earn a $10,800 higher salary per year.According to resumes from creative art therapists and art psychotherapists, some of the skills necessary to complete the responsibilities of each role are similar. These skills include "substance abuse," "clinical supervision," and "individual sessions. "

Even though a few skill sets overlap between creative art therapists and art psychotherapists, there are some differences that are important to note. For one, a creative art therapist might have more use for skills like "patients," "interdisciplinary," "creative arts therapy," and "mental health." Meanwhile, some responsibilities of art psychotherapists require skills like "mental health issues," "private practice," "severe mental illness," and "life strategies. "

In general, art psychotherapists hold higher degree levels compared to creative art therapists. Art psychotherapists are 27.2% more likely to earn their Master's Degree and 0.5% less likely to graduate with a Doctoral Degree.

Types of creative art therapist

Updated January 8, 2025

Zippia Research Team
Zippia Team

Editorial Staff

The Zippia Research Team has spent countless hours reviewing resumes, job postings, and government data to determine what goes into getting a job in each phase of life. Professional writers and data scientists comprise the Zippia Research Team.

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