Art therapist to animal assisted therapist
An art therapist already meets 56% of what the animal assisted therapist role asks for. The move turns on 5 required skills not yet in the profile.
46.5/ 100
1 How much of what an animal assisted therapist is expected to do is already part of an art 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 animal assisted therapist role is recorded as needing, required and optional together. What these numbers mean.
Why this move works
An animal assisted therapist role treats 6 of its required skills as things an art therapist already does. You would walk in with these on day one.
- assess the patient's therapeutic needs
- develop a collaborative therapeutic relationship
- interact with healthcare users
- listen actively
- maintain healthcare user data confidentiality
- provide health education
What stands in the way is 5 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 animal assisted therapist role needs them, and most people applying for one will not have them already. This is the part of an art 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 6 the animal assisted therapist role treats as required.
Table 3 · What you may need to learn
The 13 missing skills fall into 7 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 instruct animals for therapy purposes required
- still to learn select therapy animals required
- optional, not held control animal movement optional
- still to learn animal therapy required
- optional, not held animal behaviour optional
- still to learn assistive instruments required
- optional, not held palliative care optional
- still to learn recruit animal handlers required
- optional, not held work with healthcare users' social network optional
- optional, not held use communication techniques optional
- optional, not held performance diagnosis optional
- optional, not held evaluation of psychological performance optional
1 further area in the appendix
Table 4 · Where to start
The 3 entries an animal assisted therapist role is least likely to hire without. The ordering is computed from the skill data, not from what pays.
- 01 instruct animals for therapy purposes practise this
- 02 recruit animal handlers practise this
- 03 animal therapy study 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 assess the patient's therapeutic needs skill
- already held develop a collaborative therapeutic relationship skill
- 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 apply organisational techniques 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 handle patient trauma skill
- already held human psychological development knowledge
- already held refer healthcare users skill
- already held respond to changing situations in health care skill
- already held sociology knowledge
- already held use foreign languages for health-related research skill
- already held use foreign languages in patient care skill
The 1 learning area not shown above
- optional, not held promote animal welfare optional
8 supplementary skills, helpful but not required
- optional, not held performance diagnosis optional
- optional, not held animal behaviour optional
- optional, not held control animal movement optional
- optional, not held evaluation of psychological performance optional
- optional, not held palliative care optional
- optional, not held promote animal welfare optional
- optional, not held work with healthcare users' social network optional
- optional, not held use communication techniques optional
49 held skills the animal assisted therapist role does not ask for
- not needed by the target role accept own accountability skill
- not needed by the target role adhere to organisational guidelines skill
- not needed by the target role advise on healthcare users' informed consent skill
- not needed by the target role applied music therapy knowledge
- not needed by the target role apply art therapy interventions skill
- not needed by the target role apply context specific clinical competences skill
- not needed by the target role apply psychoanalysis skill
- not needed by the target role assess art therapy sessions skill
- not needed by the target role challenge patient behaviour by means of art skill
- not needed by the target role cognitive behavioural therapy knowledge
- not needed by the target role cognitive psychology knowledge
- not needed by the target role communicate in healthcare skill
- not needed by the target role comply with legislation related to health care skill
- not needed by the target role comply with quality standards related to healthcare practice skill
- not needed by the target role define creative components skill
- not needed by the target role develop educational materials on art therapy skill
- not needed by the target role educate on the prevention of illness skill
- not needed by the target role enable patients to explore artworks skill
- not needed by the target role encourage healthcare user's self-monitoring skill
- not needed by the target role ensure safety of healthcare users skill
- not needed by the target role fine arts knowledge
- not needed by the target role follow clinical guidelines skill
- not needed by the target role formulate a case conceptualisation model for therapy skill
- not needed by the target role health care legislation knowledge
- not needed by the target role inform policy makers on health-related challenges skill
- not needed by the target role manage healthcare users' data skill
- not needed by the target role neurophysiology knowledge
- not needed by the target role organise relapse prevention skill
- not needed by the target role pedagogy knowledge
- not needed by the target role philosophy knowledge
- not needed by the target role practice gestalt therapy skill
- not needed by the target role prepare treatment plan for art therapy skill
- not needed by the target role promote inclusion skill
- not needed by the target role psychoanalysis knowledge
- not needed by the target role psychological theories knowledge
- not needed by the target role psychopathology knowledge
- not needed by the target role psychosociology knowledge
- not needed by the target role relaxation techniques knowledge
- not needed by the target role schedule artistic activities skill
- not needed by the target role sexology knowledge
9 further entries not listed here
6 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 animal therapy required
- still to learn assistive instruments required
- optional, not held performance diagnosis optional
- optional, not held animal behaviour optional
- optional, not held evaluation of psychological performance optional
- optional, not held palliative care optional
Common questions about this move
Can an art therapist become an animal assisted therapist?
Yes, and it is a moderate move. An art therapist already covers 56% of what an animal assisted therapist is expected to do: 17 skills carry over, 6 of which the animal assisted therapist role treats as required.
What skills does an art therapist need to become an animal assisted therapist?
5 required skills are missing, plus 8 optional ones. They fall into 7 areas of the ESCO skill hierarchy, led by handling and moving. The single most important is instruct animals for therapy purposes.
How hard is the move from art therapist to animal assisted therapist?
Its learning distance is 46.5 out of 100, which is the moderate 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.