Music therapist to art therapist
A music therapist already meets 72% of what the art therapist role asks for. The move turns on 14 required skills not yet in the profile.
46.5/ 100
1 How much of what an art therapist is expected to do is already part of a music 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 36 of its required skills as things a music therapist already does. You would walk in with these on day one.
- accept own accountability
- advise on healthcare users' informed consent
- apply context specific clinical competences
- apply organisational techniques
- assess the patient's therapeutic needs
- behavioural therapy
What stands in the way is 14 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 48 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 a music therapist background worth leading with.
- already held applied music therapy health and welfare
- already held psychosociology social sciences, journalism and information
- already held victimology social sciences, journalism and information
- already held psychoanalysis social sciences, journalism and information
- already held sexology social sciences, journalism and information
- already held assess the patient's therapeutic needs information skills
All 48 carried skills, including the 36 the art therapist role treats as required.
Table 3 · What you may need to learn
The 18 missing skills fall into 6 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 prepare treatment plan for art therapy required
- still to learn refer healthcare users required
- still to learn use art in a therapeutic setting required
- still to learn adhere to organisational guidelines required
- still to learn take referred patients required
- optional, not held apply psychoanalysis optional
- optional, not held handle patient trauma 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
- optional, not held define creative components optional
- still to learn techniques of practice in art therapy required
- still to learn theory of art therapy required
- still to learn fine arts required
- still to learn assess art therapy sessions required
- still to learn schedule artistic activities required
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 48 skills that carry over
- already held accept own accountability skill
- already held advise on healthcare users' informed consent skill
- already held apply context specific clinical competences skill
- already held apply organisational techniques skill
- already held assess the patient's therapeutic needs skill
- already held behavioural therapy knowledge
- already held cognitive psychology knowledge
- already held communicate in healthcare skill
- already held comply with legislation related to health care skill
- already held comply with quality standards related to healthcare practice skill
- 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 educate on the prevention of illness skill
- already held encourage healthcare user's self-monitoring skill
- already held ensure safety of healthcare users skill
- already held follow clinical guidelines skill
- already held formulate a case conceptualisation model for therapy skill
- already held health care legislation knowledge
- already held human psychological development knowledge
- already held inform policy makers on health-related challenges skill
- already held interact with healthcare users skill
- already held listen actively skill
- already held maintain healthcare user data confidentiality skill
- already held manage healthcare users' data skill
- already held organise relapse prevention skill
- already held promote inclusion skill
- already held provide health education skill
- already held psychological theories knowledge
- already held psychopathology knowledge
- already held respond to changing situations in health care skill
- already held sociology knowledge
- already held use e-health and mobile health technologies skill
- already held use techniques to increase patients' motivation skill
- already held work in a multicultural environment in health care skill
- already held work in multidisciplinary health teams skill
- already held applied music therapy knowledge
- already held cognitive behavioural therapy knowledge
- already held neurophysiology knowledge
- already held pedagogy knowledge
- already held philosophy knowledge
- already held psychoanalysis knowledge
- already held psychosociology knowledge
- already held relaxation techniques knowledge
- already held sexology knowledge
- already held use foreign languages for health-related research skill
- already held use foreign languages in patient care skill
- already held victimology knowledge
4 supplementary skills, helpful but not required
- optional, not held apply psychoanalysis optional
- optional, not held define creative components optional
- optional, not held handle patient trauma optional
- optional, not held practice gestalt therapy optional
62 held skills the art therapist role does not ask for
- not needed by the target role anthropology knowledge
- not needed by the target role apply music therapy assessment methods skill
- not needed by the target role apply music therapy methods skill
- not needed by the target role apply music therapy termination methods skill
- not needed by the target role apply music therapy treatment methods skill
- not needed by the target role assess music therapy sessions skill
- not needed by the target role comply with legal regulations skill
- not needed by the target role conduct musical ensembles skill
- not needed by the target role demonstrate a technical foundation in musical instruments skill
- not needed by the target role demonstrate musicianship skill
- not needed by the target role design evaluation methods in music therapy skill
- not needed by the target role design music therapy termination plan skill
- not needed by the target role design musical events involving patients skill
- not needed by the target role develop a repertoire for music therapy sessions skill
- not needed by the target role develop educational materials on music therapy skill
- not needed by the target role develop original melodies skill
- not needed by the target role developmental possibilities in music therapy interventions knowledge
- not needed by the target role direct movement experiences skill
- not needed by the target role disability types knowledge
- not needed by the target role empathise with the healthcare user skill
- not needed by the target role geriatrics knowledge
- not needed by the target role health care occupation-specific ethics knowledge
- not needed by the target role history of musical instruments knowledge
- not needed by the target role identify characteristics of music skill
- not needed by the target role identify patients' behaviours skill
- not needed by the target role implement evaluation methods in music therapy skill
- not needed by the target role integrate scientific findings into music therapy practice skill
- not needed by the target role inter-professional communication in the psychosocial field knowledge
- not needed by the target role medical studies knowledge
- not needed by the target role meet the requirements of legal bodies skill
- not needed by the target role meet the requirements of social security reimbursement bodies skill
- not needed by the target role music therapy processes knowledge
- not needed by the target role music therapy schools knowledge
- not needed by the target role music therapy theories knowledge
- not needed by the target role neonatology knowledge
- not needed by the target role neurology knowledge
- not needed by the target role organise group music therapy sessions skill
- not needed by the target role paediatrics knowledge
- not needed by the target role palliative settings knowledge
- not needed by the target role peer group methods knowledge
22 further entries not listed here
3 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 theory of art therapy required
- still to learn fine arts required
Common questions about this move
Can a music therapist become an art therapist?
Yes, and it is a moderate move. A music therapist already covers 72% of what an art therapist is expected to do: 48 skills carry over, 36 of which the art therapist role treats as required.
What skills does a music therapist need to become an art therapist?
14 required skills are missing, plus 4 optional ones. They fall into 6 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 music therapist to art 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.