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As I have written over the past several years, the practice of art therapy in the US is a complicated situation at best. Despite the current movement to establish art therapists as a distinct license-drive profession, over the past decade art therapy education has married its degree titles and curriculum to the field of counseling. This marriage has been one of convenience so that art therapists could qualify for counselor licensure in as many states as possible. It has even resulted in a number of master’s degree programs changing their degree titles [the latest being Lesley University that changed its expressive arts therapy degree titles to Mental Health Counseling earlier this year]. In other cases, a hybridized master’s degree title known as Art Therapy Counseling has emerged.
Meanwhile, over the past decade the field of counseling has moved to unify its profession in order to improve recognition and understanding of the contributions of counselors to mental health and wellness. Part of this unification process manifested through a special committee known as 20/20 Future of Counseling Task Force that established a definition for counseling and began a long range movement toward counselor license portability. In brief, portability refers to the ability of a licensed counselor to be eligible to become licensed in another state.
More recently, the American Counseling Association [ACA] Governing Council passed several important policies on counseling licensure in July 2015. While ACA does not direct state licensure regulations, these policies will likely influence individual state licensing boards over the next five to ten years. In brief, these policies endorse: 1) the Council for Accreditation of Counseling and Related Educational Programs [CACREP] and the Council on Rehabilitative Education [CORE] as pathways to counseling licensure; and 2) support for those who have already graduated from non-CACREP accredited schools who are currently licensed, in graduate schools or completing license requirements. For more detailed information, ACA has prepared a FAQ sheet on their website at http://www.counseling.org/knowledge-center/faqs-licensure-policies.
Now if you did not graduate from a CACREP-accredited program, there is no reason to panic because the majority of states do not currently require graduation from a CACREP program. If you have a license as a counselor and are in good standing with your license board, you will retain your license despite any changes to requirements. However, you should be aware that as these changes take place, license portability across state lines may become more complicated or may change in specific ways that are yet unpredictable. ACA has also stated that “If you completed your counseling degree from a program that was not CACREP accredited and decide to move, ACA will advocate with your new home state that you should have reciprocity and be issued a license” [also found at http://www.counseling.org/knowledge-center/faqs-licensure-policies].
So here are two important things to consider if you are just entering the field of art therapy in 2015 or thereafter—completing your degree sooner than later and the actual degree title. First, ACA recommends that if you are enrolled in a non-CACREP accredited program, complete your degree and all requirements for licensure by 2020. In brief, pre-2020 students/new professionals will be qualified regardless of what program they attended; after 2020, it is expected that future students complete a counselor education program accredited by CACREP/CORE as a pathway to licensure.
Update (in italics): When initially posting of this piece, I wrote: "A looming question remains for those art therapy students who obtain a degree title in either “art therapy” or “art therapy counseling”—will either of those degree titles be accepted for eligibility for counselor licensure in the future? For the answer to that question, I recommend that you contact ACA directly if you are planning to become licensed as a professional or mental health counselor as a result of your master’s degree." In fact, I contacted ACA to find out the answer; in brief, their spokesperson stated that neither "art therapy" nor "art therapy counseling" combo-degrees will be defined as "counseling" degrees after 2020. Similarly, counseling psychology [a degree title with counseling in its name] is defined by ACA as a “separate and independent profession from counseling” [http://www.counseling.org/knowledge-center/faqs-licensure-policies]. Additionally, art therapy is a field with fairly distinct theories, historical figures and foundational practices and did not emerge from the field of counseling per se, but essentially adopted counseling courses to supplement curricula in order to make its graduates counselor license-eligible in the short-term. Art therapists in the US are also working toward a distinct non-counseling accreditation through the allied health organization, Commission of Accreditation of Allied Health Education Programs [CAAHEP], part of the pursuit of a separate art therapist licensure throughout the US.
If you are new art therapy professional, student or potential student, I know this information can make one’s head spin. My best advice is to ask academic programs all of your questions about career planning and always get the answers in writing. ACA is also a resource for questions about counselor licensure across the 50 states. Additionally, keep detailed records of your coursework, practicum hours and supervision of post-graduate internship hours. And the year 2020 is an important benchmark to keep on the horizon, especially for graduate students beginning their studies after 2015.
Good luck and may the odds be ever in your favor,
Cathy A. Malchiodi, PhD, LPCC, LPAT, ATR-BC, REAT
American Counseling Association website www.counseling.org
ACA FAQs Page/ Licensure Policies webpage http://www.counseling.org/knowledge-center/faqs-licensure-policies
