Animal assisted therapist to art therapist
An animal assisted therapist already meets 27% of what the art therapist role asks for. The move turns on 36 required skills not yet in the profile.
82.1/ 100
1 How much of what an art therapist is expected to do is already part of an animal assisted therapist’s work. Directional: the figure for the reverse move differs, because moving into a speciality is not the same problem as moving out of one. 2 Every skill the art therapist role is recorded as needing, required and optional together. What these numbers mean.
Why this move works
An art therapist role treats 14 of its required skills as things an animal assisted therapist already does. You would walk in with these on day one.
- apply organisational techniques
- assess the patient's therapeutic needs
- behavioural therapy
- contribute to continuity of health care
- deal with emergency care situations
- develop a collaborative therapeutic relationship
What stands in the way is 36 required skills the profile does not yet cover. Table 3 groups them; Table 4 says which to take first.
Table 2 · What you already bring
Of the 17 skills that carry over, these are the ones fewest other occupations ask for. An art therapist role needs them, and most people applying for one will not have them already. This is the part of an animal assisted therapist background worth leading with.
- already held assess the patient's therapeutic needs information skills
- already held handle patient trauma assisting and caring
- already held behavioural therapy social sciences, journalism and information
- already held human psychological development social sciences, journalism and information
- already held maintain healthcare user data confidentiality assisting and caring
- already held refer healthcare users assisting and caring
All 17 carried skills, including the 14 the art therapist role treats as required.
Table 3 · What you may need to learn
The 49 missing skills fall into 11 areas of the ESCO skill hierarchy, numbered in the order worth working in. Areas carrying the most required skills come first, and inside each one the required skills sit above the optional ones. Nothing here is a verdict on you: it is a list of what this particular job asks for that your current one does not.
- still to learn challenge patient behaviour by means of art required
- still to learn apply art therapy interventions required
- still to learn comply with quality standards related to healthcare practice required
- still to learn ensure safety of healthcare users required
- still to learn formulate a case conceptualisation model for therapy required
- still to learn organise relapse prevention required
- still to learn prepare treatment plan for art therapy required
- still to learn use art in a therapeutic setting required
- still to learn adhere to organisational guidelines required
- still to learn comply with legislation related to health care required
- still to learn follow clinical guidelines required
- still to learn promote inclusion required
- still to learn take referred patients required
- optional, not held apply psychoanalysis optional
- optional, not held practice gestalt therapy optional
- still to learn develop educational materials on art therapy required
- still to learn enable patients to explore artworks required
- still to learn accept own accountability required
- still to learn advise on healthcare users' informed consent required
- still to learn apply context specific clinical competences required
- still to learn encourage healthcare user's self-monitoring required
- still to learn work in multidisciplinary health teams required
- still to learn communicate in healthcare required
- still to learn educate on the prevention of illness required
- still to learn inform policy makers on health-related challenges required
- still to learn work in a multicultural environment in health care required
- optional, not held define creative components optional
- still to learn techniques of practice in art therapy required
- still to learn psychopathology required
- still to learn theory of art therapy required
- optional, not held applied music therapy optional
- optional, not held neurophysiology optional
- still to learn cognitive psychology required
- still to learn psychological theories required
- optional, not held cognitive behavioural therapy optional
- optional, not held psychoanalysis optional
- optional, not held psychosociology optional
- optional, not held sexology optional
- optional, not held victimology optional
- still to learn assess art therapy sessions required
- still to learn manage healthcare users' data required
- still to learn schedule artistic activities required
- still to learn use techniques to increase patients' motivation required
5 further areas in the appendix
Table 4 · Where to start
The 3 entries an art therapist role is least likely to hire without. The ordering is computed from the skill data, not from what pays.
- 01 challenge patient behaviour by means of art practise this
- 02 develop educational materials on art therapy practise this
- 03 enable patients to explore artworks practise this
Each entry opens a course search for that skill. Career Overlap earns nothing from these links.
Appendix · The rest of the record
All 17 skills that carry over
- already held apply organisational techniques skill
- already held assess the patient's therapeutic needs skill
- already held behavioural therapy knowledge
- already held contribute to continuity of health care skill
- already held deal with emergency care situations skill
- already held develop a collaborative therapeutic relationship skill
- already held human psychological development knowledge
- already held interact with healthcare users skill
- already held listen actively skill
- already held maintain healthcare user data confidentiality skill
- already held provide health education skill
- already held refer healthcare users skill
- already held respond to changing situations in health care skill
- already held sociology knowledge
- already held handle patient trauma skill
- already held use foreign languages for health-related research skill
- already held use foreign languages in patient care skill
The 5 learning areas not shown above
- still to learn fine arts required
- optional, not held philosophy optional
- still to learn health care legislation required
- still to learn use e-health and mobile health technologies required
- optional, not held pedagogy optional
- optional, not held relaxation techniques optional
13 supplementary skills, helpful but not required
- optional, not held applied music therapy optional
- optional, not held apply psychoanalysis optional
- optional, not held cognitive behavioural therapy optional
- optional, not held define creative components optional
- optional, not held practice gestalt therapy optional
- optional, not held psychoanalysis optional
- optional, not held psychosociology optional
- optional, not held neurophysiology optional
- optional, not held pedagogy optional
- optional, not held philosophy optional
- optional, not held relaxation techniques optional
- optional, not held sexology optional
- optional, not held victimology optional
13 held skills the art therapist role does not ask for
- not needed by the target role animal behaviour knowledge
- not needed by the target role animal therapy knowledge
- not needed by the target role assistive instruments knowledge
- not needed by the target role control animal movement skill
- not needed by the target role evaluation of psychological performance knowledge
- not needed by the target role instruct animals for therapy purposes skill
- not needed by the target role palliative care knowledge
- not needed by the target role performance diagnosis knowledge
- not needed by the target role promote animal welfare skill
- not needed by the target role recruit animal handlers skill
- not needed by the target role select therapy animals skill
- not needed by the target role use communication techniques skill
- not needed by the target role work with healthcare users' social network skill
17 gaps that are knowledge rather than practice
Knowledge gaps usually close through study. Practical skill gaps usually need something you can point at.
- still to learn techniques of practice in art therapy required
- still to learn psychopathology required
- still to learn theory of art therapy required
- still to learn cognitive psychology required
- still to learn fine arts required
- still to learn health care legislation required
- still to learn psychological theories required
- optional, not held applied music therapy optional
- optional, not held cognitive behavioural therapy optional
- optional, not held psychoanalysis optional
- optional, not held psychosociology optional
- optional, not held neurophysiology optional
- optional, not held pedagogy optional
- optional, not held philosophy optional
- optional, not held relaxation techniques optional
- optional, not held sexology optional
- optional, not held victimology optional
Common questions about this move
Can an animal assisted therapist become an art therapist?
Yes, and it is a career change move. An animal assisted therapist already covers 27% of what an art therapist is expected to do: 17 skills carry over, 14 of which the art therapist role treats as required.
What skills does an animal assisted therapist need to become an art therapist?
36 required skills are missing, plus 13 optional ones. They fall into 11 areas of the ESCO skill hierarchy, led by assisting and caring. The single most important is challenge patient behaviour by means of art.
How hard is the move from animal assisted therapist to art therapist?
Its learning distance is 82.1 out of 100, which is the career change band. That accounts for both how much is missing and how specialised those skills are.
How this record was compiled
Both occupations are taken from ESCO, which lists the skills and knowledge each occupation is expected to have and marks every one required or optional. Nothing here is a prediction about hiring, and nothing here knows that a particular employer wants a particular certificate. Treat Table 3 as a starting point for your own research rather than a syllabus. The full method states what these figures can and cannot tell you.