Art Therapy, (Ph.D.)

Program Overview

The Ph.D. in Art Therapy program prepares students to lead in the field of art therapy as researchers, educators, clinical supervisors, and socially responsible practitioners who are committed to healthy communities. The program emphasizes Adlerian principles with a focus on student-centered and self-directed learning. Further, the program explores epistemologies and the rationale of different knowledge claims as they relate to intersectionality. The program also incorporates integrative clinical healthcare practices and advanced research and approaches to prepare students to be stewards and scholars of the profession in order to successfully practice in a world in which understanding of individual and cultural diversity is essential for progress. Embracing diversity, the program encourages national and international clinical training and unique opportunities in areas where the clientele is primarily from traditionally underserved communities. Such experiences engage students as they acquire knowledge, skills, and values related to individual and group diversity. Focused on scholarship, socially conscious pedagogy, Adlerian principles, clinical art therapy, and socially responsible practices, students train to be leaders, equipped with the real-world experience, research background, and intellectual curiosity needed to think deeply about therapeutic creative expression in order to successfully practice in a world in which understanding of individual and cultural diversity is essential for community health and wellness. The immersive, experiential, hands-on learning experience in graduate education trains professionals who are committed to making a more just society.

Upon graduation, students will continue to add knowledge and new research to the field, becoming leaders in their communities and demonstrating Adlerian values such as social interest, pluralism, courage, excellence, pragmatism, respect for diversity, encouragement, and commitment to promote the optimal development of persons and communities.

Program Overview

The program consists of 60 credits, including 45 credits of core courses and electives, nine credit hours of dissertation, and six credit hours of internships experiences. Students are expected to complete the curriculum in three years, or longer for part-time students.

Program requirements include:

• Completion of Social Justice Practicum I and II (2 credits) for non-Adler University graduates.
• Completion of core courses and electives (45 credits).
• Completion of Internship and Seminar I, II, and III (6 credits).
• Passage of the PhDAT Comprehensive Examination.
• Completion of Dissertation I, II, and III (9 credit hours).

Program Learning Outcomes

The PhDAT learning outcomes were developed based on the Commission on Accreditation of Allied Health Education Programs (CAAHEP) Standards and Guidelines for the Accreditation of Educational Programs in Art Therapy (ACATE) and by also considering national education standards, the mission of the program, and the mission and institutional learning outcomes at Adler University.

Program Learning Outcome 1: Demonstrate an ability to lead in the field of clinical art therapy as researchers, educators, and clinical supervisors in relation to social justice.

Program Learning Outcome 2: Implement a variety of theories and models relevant to clinical art therapy that focus on characteristics of community-based settings.

Program Learning Outcome 3: Evaluate theories from multiple perspectives, their relation to the fundamental, historical, and cultural structures of clinical art therapy, and how these theories serve diverse populations.

Program Learning Outcome 4: Develop curriculum and teaching modules using clinical art therapy-based practices in order to effectively educate and train clinical art therapists.

Program Learning Outcome 5: Examine the leadership role of clinical art therapists as advocates in social and political climates to initiate change and impact diverse factors including client welfare, treatment, and ethical interventions and strategies.

Program Learning Outcome 6: Demonstrate an aptitude in assessment and evaluation and in evidence-informed practices in the major areas within clinical art therapy, social justice advocacy, teaching, and supervision.

Program Learning Outcome 7: Integrate Adlerian principles, Adlerian art therapy principles, and social justice advocacy in a community-based, collaborative learning culture with a strong focus on social justice pedagogy approaches in areas of clinical art therapy and social justice advocacy, as researchers, scholars and educators in teaching; and in clinical supervision settings, to create complementary and integrative healthcare approaches with the ability to collaborate with those from other professions to reform structures and systems that adversely affect well-being.

Program Learning Outcome 8: Implement art therapy’s commitment to socially responsible practice and adherence to ethical standards and codes of conduct as well as governing authorities.

Program Learning Outcome 9: Employ multicultural competencies and awareness of intersectionality in the practice of clinical art therapy.

Program Learning Outcome 10: Cultivate a scholarly identity through research and practice that actively contributes to the body of work within clinical art therapy and the body of work within general mental health professions through scholarly publications and professional presentations.

Licensure and Credentials

The aim of the program is to provide advanced training for Provisional or Registered or Registered Board Certified Art Therapists, Expressive Arts Therapists, Creative Arts Therapists, Licensed Counselors or Mental Health Professionals, Social Workers, Couple and Family Therapists, or a related field, who already have, or are eligible for, master’s-level licensure in Illinois or other states.

Although the goal of the program is not the preparation of its students for counselor licensure that only requires a master’s degree, students without a counseling license may be able to attain such a credential through this Ph.D. program in the following manner:

• If students graduated from a 48 or more credit hour program in counseling or a related field, and completed the practicum and internship requirements, they can make up the licensure course requirements through the program admission prerequisites or courses in the Ph.DAT program.
• If students came from a master’s-level program with fewer than 48 credit hours, they will need to use this doctoral program as the primary degree when applying for licensure. Besides taking the necessary admission prerequisites, students may also need to have additional clinical internship hours in order to fulfill the state pre-licensure clinical training requirements.
• If students want to use this degree for licensure requirements of other states, they will need to work with their Faculty Advisor to see what additional courses and clinical practicum and internship hours are needed.

After completing graduate studies and 1,000 hours of supervised clinical art therapy practice, a graduate may apply for art therapy registration (ATR) through the Art Therapy Credentials Board (ATCB). ATR requires 1,000 hours of clinical art therapy (direct client contact) including at least 100 hours of supervision, or at least one hour of supervision for every 10 hours of direct client contact. A minimum of 500 hours of this work experience needs to be supervised by a credentialed art therapist. Up to 500 hours may be supervised by a clinical supervisor who is credentialed in a related field (e.g., social worker, counselor, or psychologist). After an art therapist is awarded an ATR, they may work to complete additional requirements in order to apply for the board certification examination. With successful completion of this examination, an art therapist is awarded the credential of ATR-BC by the Art Therapy Credentials Board.

Immediately upon graduation from this program, a graduate may apply to take the Illinois Licensed Professional Counselor (LPC) examination and The National Certified Counselor (NCC) credential, as well as sit for the National Counselor Examination (NCE) upon graduation.

Program-Specific Admission Requirements

In addition to the admission requirements common to all of the Adler graduate programs, applicants to this program are required to have:

• A master’s degree, by the date of matriculation, in art therapy or a related discipline from a regionally accredited U.S. institution or a related field from an international institution.
• Applicants who did not graduate from Adler University’s Master of Arts in Counseling: Art Therapy program or an equivalent program will be required to complete the equivalency requirements in addition to the doctoral curriculum.
• Proof of registration as an art therapist or 18 hours of studio credit hours.
• A cumulative grade point average (GPA) of 3.0 or higher (on a 4.0 scale) in applicant’s graduate degree program.
• Two letters of recommendation from individuals who can speak to the applicant’s likelihood of success in a doctoral program.

Program Prerequisites

Applicants who did not graduate from Adler University’s Master of Arts in Counseling: Art Therapy, or an equivalent program, will be assessed to determine whether they have adequate coursework in the following master’s-level course areas, with a letter grade of B or better, and whether they need to complete additional master’s-level courses prior to beginning the doctoral program. Applicants are expected to have adequate coursework in the following areas.

Application Requirements

Applicants must submit the following in order to be considered for admission:

• Application for admission.
• Proof of registration as an art therapist or 18 hours of studio credit.
• Two letters of recommendation.
• Interview with a faculty member.
• Official valid transcripts from all colleges or universities attended.

Applicants who are graduates, in good standing, from Adler University’s Master of Arts in Counseling: Art Therapy program may have one letter of recommendation and/or interview waived.

Transfer Credits

Students accepted for admission may be granted transfer credit for graduate-level courses previously taken at another accredited institution. A maximum of nine credit hours may be transferred into the Ph.D. program. Hence, a minimum of 51 credit hours must be satisfied through courses offered by Adler University for the Ph.D. in Art Therapy program, including the comprehensive examination and dissertation courses.

Internship

The PhDAT internship experience is designed to provide students a forum to enrich their professional portfolios and strengthen their career possibilities and potentials as expert clinicians able to practice within a focus of their choice, to engage in research activities, to enrich their professional portfolios, and to strengthen their career possibilities as researchers, educators, clinical supervisors, and socially responsible practitioners. This course will also offer opportunities to consult with professional colleagues, to develop effective working relationships and to build awareness of clinical art therapy. Students will work with their Faculty Advisor to tailor their individual internship experiences in order to enhance their professional goals. As a result, students will be responsible for developing their internship training sites and opportunities with assistance and support from their Faculty Advisor.

The Doctoral Internship and Seminar provides the foundation for the dissertation and the development of the student’s advanced clinical theory. Students are responsible for developing a 700-hour internship, in consultation with core faculty and their Faculty Advisor, and will be encouraged to tailor their individual experiences in a manner that best enhances their unique professional goals. The 700 total hours will span the doctoral internship in addition to additional hours for Seminar I, II, and III. All students will need to complete the 700-hours internship and seminar, which builds skills through some combination of research, education, administration, clinical supervision, and leadership.

Social Justice Practicum

Students who did not have Social Justice Practicum in their master’s-degree program prior to their admission to the PhDAT program are expected to complete 200 hours of internship in the area of community services, leadership, or advocacy in the Social Justice Practicum I and II.

Comprehensive Examination

Each student must take and pass a written comprehensive essay examination prior to candidacy for the doctoral degree. The exam assesses competence in the core areas (clinical art therapy, research, leadership and advocacy, clinical supervision, and teaching). The comprehensive examination typically takes place in the summer semester every year. Passing the comprehensive examination is one of several prerequisites to initiating dissertation coursework. Students must have completed the PhDAT core courses with the exception of internship hours and some possible elective courses and have a GPA of 3.5 or to be eligible to take the comprehensive examination. Students must inform their Faculty Advisor of their intent to take the examination by the end of February prior to the summer in which the comprehensive examination takes place. The entire comprehensive examination must be completed during the semester in which it is begun. For further details regarding the comprehensive examination, refer to the PhDAT Doctoral Handbook.

The comprehensive examination is composed of two parts. Part one focuses on the integration of theories and practice in the areas of leadership in the field of clinical art therapy, research, leadership and advocacy, clinical supervision, and teaching. Responses to the questions are to be completed within designated time periods. Part two focuses on a question related to the student’s special interest area and is jointly developed by the student and advisor. Part two is to be completed within a designated time period. Students must pass the candidacy examination before enrolling in disserta­tion hours and related courses.

PhDAT Dissertation

Doctoral candidates are expected to apply one or more major research models or theories to conduct a research project in a dissertation format. The research needs to be used as a means to add knowledge, preferences, and evidences in their art therapy research dissertation and to draw on quantitative, qualitative, mixed methods, emergent, or

art-based methodologies. Research will be expected to make an original contribution to the field that demonstrates program competencies that include leadership in the field of art therapy, research, education, and clinical supervision.

Graduation Requirements

1. Satisfactory completion of all core courses (39 credit hours) and electives (6 credit hours).
2. Satisfactory completion of 700 internship hours at an approved internship site.
3. A cumulative grade point average of 3.0 or higher.
4. Successful completion of the PhDAT Comprehensive Examination.
5. Successful completion of a doctoral dissertation and oral defense.
6. Submission of completed Graduation Application and full payment of all outstanding tuition and fees.
7. Satisfactory completion of Social Justice Practicum I and II.