Art Therapy and Counseling MA

Major: Art Therapy and Counseling
Degree Awarded: Master of Arts (MA)
Calendar Type: Quarter
Minimum Required Credits: 90.0
Co-op Option: None
Classification of Instructional Programs (CIP) code: 51.2301
Standard Occupational Classification (SOC) code: 29-1129

About the Program

Drexel University's Master of Arts in Art Therapy and Counseling was founded in 1967 at Hahnemann Medical College and Hospital and provides students extensive exposure to current, interdisciplinary practices. This distinctive program teaches students informed skills and integrative theories for diverse therapeutic approaches in various care systems. Working with specified treatment objectives determined through client collaboration and ongoing assessment, students learn to apply art therapy methods alongside counseling skills. In-class experientials and didactic learning inform each student's simultaneous on-site, community and clinical educational experiences with individuals and groups. Students learn by doing, incorporating supervisor and faculty feedback within their sustained and often distinct learning trajectories. This multilayered pedagogy and each student's necessary interpersonal work and professional disposition development provide foundational learning for creative and ethical art therapy and counseling.

Throughout the multi-dimensional learning processes and content areas of the Art Therapy and Counseling program, students study the vital roles of creativity, empathy and cultural humility in professional work and interpersonal growth. In addition, students learn how their cognitive, behavioral, creative and emotional responses can block or augment the relationships of therapy, colleagueship and professional development. The 90.0 quarter-credit curriculum includes specific art therapy coursework in community care, assessment and treatment planning for children, adolescents, adults, older adults and families; trauma and systemic approaches; creativity, symbol and metaphor; digital media use; mindfulness; and addictions and recovery. Students also take classes in general mental health counseling topics, including human development, differential diagnosis, social and cultural foundations, clinical appraisal and assessment and group dynamics.

Graduates are eligible for the ATR-Provisional certification upon program graduation to work further towards their ATR and ATR-BC credentials and professional counseling licensure in Pennsylvania and other states upon completion of specified work and supervision hours that are critical parts of post-graduation requirements. We designed the Art Therapy and Counseling program's 90-quarter credits to meet the Pennsylvania Licensed Professional Counselor (LPC) educational requirements. We also uphold program and learning standards for art therapy accreditation through CAAHEP and the Accreditation Council for Art Therapy Education or ACATE. Because licensure requirements vary from state to state, we strongly advise applicants interested in attaining post-graduation counseling licensure to access and check the requirements for any state(s) where they plan to work and practice. In addition, the students must begin to know and understand the requirements for any future licensure they may seek. We strive to inform, update and support individualized pursuits for licensure and national board certification with each student.

For additional information about the program, visit the College of Nursing and Health Professions Art Therapy and Counseling website.

Degree Requirements

Core Courses
CATX 501Foundations of Creative Arts Therapies2.0
CTCN 501Human Psychological Development4.5
CTCN 503Differential Diagnosis and Processes4.5
CTCN 504Professional Orientation and Ethics4.5
CTCN 505Theories of Counseling and Psychotherapy4.5
CTCN 509Social and Cultural Foundations4.5
CTCN 540Approaches to Addictions and Recovery4.5
CTCN 601Introduction to Behavioral Research4.5
CTCN 603Clinical Appraisal and Assessment4.5
CTCN 604Career Counseling4.5
CTCN 606Group Dynamics and Processes4.5
Art Therapy Track Courses
CATX 528Systems, Community Practices, and Therapeutic Relationships4.5
CATX 529Family Systems for Assessment and Treatment Planning4.5
CATX 532Trauma, Crisis, and Community Care3.0
CATX 535Creativity, Symbolism, and Metaphor in Art Therapy and Counseling3.0
CATX 536Studio Art for Art Therapists1.0
CATX 537Art Therapy Group Supervision I1.0
CATX 538Art Therapy Group Supervision II1.0
CATX 539Art Therapy Group Supervision III1.0
CATX 631Media, Materials and Process in Art Therapy3.0
CATX 637Advanced Art Therapy Group Supervision I1.0
CATX 638Advanced Art Therapy Group Supervision II1.0
CATX 639Advanced Art Therapy Group Supervision III1.0
CATX 645Professional Identity & Contemporary Practices3.0
Clinical Education Courses
CTCN 510Clinical Practicum I2.0
CTCN 520Clinical Practicum II2.0
CTCN 530Clinical Practicum III2.0
CTCN 610Clinical Internship I2.0
CTCN 620Clinical Internship II2.0
CTCN 630Clinical Internship III2.0
Culminating Project
CATX 621Culminating Project I1.5
CATX 622Culminating Project II1.5
Art Therapy Electives *
Digital Media Use in Art Therapy and Counseling
Mindfulness in Clinical Practice
Additional Electives *
For Culminating Project Only
Total Credits90.0
*

Please note that electives are in addition to the 90 credits required for the degree.  Please consult with you advisor before registering for an elective.

Sample Plan of Study

Two Year Plan of Study

First Year
FallCreditsWinterCreditsSpringCreditsSummerCredits
CATX 5012.0CTCN 5094.5CTCN 5034.5CTCN 5044.5
CATX 5284.5CATX 5294.5CATX 5323.0CTCN 5054.5
CATX 5371.0CATX 5381.0CATX 5353.0CATX 5361.0
CTCN 5014.5CTCN 5202.0CATX 5391.0 
CTCN 5102.0 CTCN 5302.0 
 14 12 13.5 10
Second Year
FallCreditsWinterCreditsSpringCredits 
CTCN 6014.5CTCN 6034.5CTCN 6044.5 
CATX 6313.0CATX 6381.0CATX 6391.0 
CATX 6371.0CTCN 5404.5CATX 6453.0 
CTCN 6064.5CATX 6211.5CATX 6221.5 
CTCN 6102.0CTCN 6202.0CTCN 6302.0 
 15 13.5 12 
Total Credits 90

Three-Year Plan of Study

First Year
FallCreditsWinterCreditsSpringCreditsSummerCredits
CATX 5012.0CATX 5294.5CATX 5323.0CTCN 5054.5
CTCN 5014.5CTCN 5094.5CATX 5353.0CATX 5361.0
CATX 5284.5 CTCN 5034.5 
 11 9 10.5 5.5
Second Year
FallCreditsWinterCreditsSpringCreditsSummerCredits
CATX 5371.0CATX 5381.0CATX 5391.0CTCN 5044.5
CATX 6313.0CTCN 5202.0CTCN 5302.0 
CTCN 5102.0CTCN 6034.5CTCN 6044.5 
CTCN 6064.5   
 10.5 7.5 7.5 4.5
Third Year
FallCreditsWinterCreditsSpringCredits 
CTCN 6102.0CATX 6211.5CATX 6221.5 
CTCN 6014.5CATX 6381.0CATX 6391.0 
CATX 6371.0CTCN 5404.5CATX 6453.0 
 CTCN 6202.0CTCN 6302.0 
 7.5 9 7.5 
Total Credits 90

Four-Year Plan of Study 

First Year (Part-Time)
FallCreditsWinterCreditsSpringCreditsSummerCredits
CATX 5012.0CTCN 5094.5CTCN 5034.5CTCN 5054.5
CATX 5284.5 CATX 5353.0CATX 5361.0
 6.5 4.5 7.5 5.5
Second Year (Part-Time)
FallCreditsWinterCreditsSpringCreditsSummerCredits
CTCN 5014.5CATX 5294.5CTCN 6034.5CTCN 5044.5
CATX 6313.0CTCN 5102.0CTCN 5202.0CATX 5391.0
 CATX 5371.0CATX 5381.0CTCN 5302.0
 7.5 7.5 7.5 7.5
Third Year (Part-Time)
FallCreditsWinterCreditsSpringCreditsSummerCredits
CATX 6371.0CATX 6211.5CATX 6391.0Vacation
CTCN 6064.5CATX 6381.0CTCN 6044.5 
CTCN 6102.0CTCN 6202.0CTCN 6302.0 
 7.5 4.5 7.5 0
Fourth Year (Part-Time)
FallCreditsWinterCreditsSpringCredits 
CTCN 6014.5CTCN 5404.5CATX 5323.0 
 CATX 6221.5CATX 6453.0 
 4.5 6 6 
Total Credits 90

Program Level Outcomes

  • Students will learn to work with specified treatment objectives determined through client or group collaboration and formal to informal assessments to apply relevant art therapy methods alongside counseling micro-skills.
  • In-class experientials and didactic learning will inform and support the simultaneous clinical and community education experiences each student engages with individuals and groups. 
  • Students will learn primary art therapy and counseling skills by completing ongoing clinical and community education placement work and incorporating their supervisor and faculty feedback within their sustained learning trajectories with diverse care systems.
  • Each student will address and work within any necessary interpersonal work, self-care and professional disposition development in conscious, self-initiated and program-supported ways.
  • The program learning and content areas will support a comprehensive foundation for creative and ethical clinical and community work within the multiple systems of care and culturally diverse populations possible.
  • Faculty and supervisors will strive to inform, update and support individualized state licensure pursuits for each student via academic advisement and multiple licensure workshops while attending our program.
  • Students will study the vital roles that their creativity, intersectional identities and cultural humility impact and augment therapeutic relationships and goals of therapy.
  • Each student will be exposed to students and faculty members from other creative arts therapies and counseling fields while developing a strong identity as an art therapist.
  • Each student will engage in a Master's culminating project that is informed scholarship and creative-based and disseminate the results via an end-of-academic-year community platform and any other relevant venues or opportunities for the topic areas. 

Creative Arts Therapies Department Faculty

Joke Bradt, PhD, MT-BC (Temple University) Director, PhD Program in Creative Arts Therapies. Professor. Research in music therapy, chronic pain, systematic reviews.
Natalie Rae Carlton, PhD, ATR-BC, LPCC (Lesley University) Director, Art Therapy and Counseling MA Program. Associate Clinical Professor. New media and comics, zines and graphic novel uses in art therapy.
Christina Devereaux, PhD, LCAT, LMHC, BC-DMT, NCC (UCLA) Program Director for Dance/Movement Therapy and Counseling. Associate Clinical Professor. Dance movement therapy, children, attachment, autism spectrum disorder, trauma, group work, clinical supervision.
Girija Kaimal, EdD, MA , ATR-BC (Harvard University) Interim Department Chair, Assistant Dean for the Division of Human Development and Health Administration. Associate Professor. Art therapy, indigenous arts, oncology, trauma leadership, program evaluation.
Clarissa Lacson, PhD, MT-BC (Drexel University) Core Counseling Course Coordinator, Creative Arts Therapy MA Programs. Assistant Clinical Professor. Interprofessional collaboration, program development, clinical supervision, research coordination, pediatric and medical music therapy
Marisol S. Norris, PhD, MT-BC (Drexel University) Director, Music Therapy and Counseling MA Program. Assistant Clinical Professor. . Community music therapy, critical pedagogies, Black aesthetics, culturally sustaining practice, radical healing framework.
Nalini Prakash, BC-DMT, CMA (Drexel University). Assistant Clinical Professor. Dance/Movement Therapy. movement analysis, mental illness, criminal justice, violence prevention, clinical supervision, arts and culture, arts-based community development.
Michele Rattigan, MA, ATR-BC, NCC, LPC, LPAT (MCP Hahnemann University). Associate Clinical Professor. Art Therapy. self-compassion, community compassion, and mindfulness-based arts therapies approaches for U unresolved trauma; post-partum depression and anxiety; disordered eating and body image concerns; self-harming behaviors; & dissociative disorders. Critical compassionate pedagogy, interprofessional collaboration, & Universal Design for Learning in higher education. Doctor of health science student; higher education concentration.
Minjung Shim, PhD, BC-DMT (Drexel University). Assistant Professor. Medical dance/movement therapy, chronic pain management, mindfulness-based interventions, healthy aging, virtual reality and eHealth interventions, clinical trials, theory/model-building, scoping reviews.
Adenike Webb, PhD, MT-BC (Temple University) Clinical Education Coordinator, Creative Arts Therapy MA Programs . Assistant Clinical Professor. Anti-oppressive pedagogy, wellbeing and creativity, social justice, culturally sustaining practice.
Denise Wolf, ATR-BC, ATCS, LPC, LPAT (Drexel University). Associate Clinical Professor. Consulting, trauma sensitive care/complex interpersonal trauma, clinical supervision, hand paper-making, Dialectical behavior therapy, art museum spaces, school-based art therapy, community engagement.

Emeritus Faculty

Nancy Gerber, PhD, ATR-BC (Union Institute and University). Associate Clinical Professor Emerita. Art therapy assessment and treatment of adolescents and adults; modern psychoanalysis and art therapy; arts therapy education and doctoral education; arts based research and mixed methods research.
Sharon W. Goodill, PhD, BC-DMT, NCC, LPC (Union Institute and University). Clinical Professor Emerita. Medical dance/movement, mind/body studies, movement assessment for DMT, CAT research and leadership.
Florence Ierardi, MM, MT-BC, LPC (Temple University). Associate Clinical Professor Emerita. Clinical improvisation, trauma-informed music therapy, multicultural music therapy perspectives.
Ellen Schelly-Hill, MMT, BC-DMT, NCC, LPC (Antioch NE Graduate School). Associate Clinical Professor Emerita. Adults diagnosed with mood disorders, anxiety, chronic pain and with histories of trauma; clinical supervision; ethics.