Psychotherapist to art therapist
A psychotherapist already meets 58% of what the art therapist role asks for. The move turns on 20 required skills not yet in the profile.
59.8/ 100
1 How much of what an art therapist is expected to do is already part of a psychotherapist’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 30 of its required skills as things a psychotherapist already does. You would walk in with these on day one.
- accept own accountability
- adhere to organisational guidelines
- advise on healthcare users' informed consent
- apply context specific clinical competences
- apply organisational techniques
- communicate in healthcare
What stands in the way is 20 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 36 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 psychotherapist background worth leading with.
- already held apply psychoanalysis assisting and caring
- already held psychoanalysis social sciences, journalism and information
- already held encourage healthcare user's self-monitoring communication, collaboration and creativity
- already held psychopathology health and welfare
- already held formulate a case conceptualisation model for therapy assisting and caring
- already held handle patient trauma assisting and caring
All 36 carried skills, including the 30 the art therapist role treats as required.
Table 3 · What you may need to learn
The 30 missing skills fall into 9 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 maintain healthcare user data confidentiality 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 take referred patients required
- optional, not held practice gestalt therapy optional
- still to learn behavioural therapy required
- still to learn human psychological development required
- still to learn cognitive psychology required
- still to learn sociology required
- optional, not held cognitive behavioural therapy optional
- optional, not held psychosociology optional
- optional, not held sexology optional
- optional, not held victimology optional
- still to learn techniques of practice in art therapy required
- still to learn theory of art therapy required
- optional, not held applied music therapy optional
- optional, not held neurophysiology 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 assess art therapy sessions required
- still to learn assess the patient's therapeutic needs required
- still to learn fine arts required
- optional, not held philosophy optional
3 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 36 skills that carry over
- already held accept own accountability skill
- already held adhere to organisational guidelines 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 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 inform policy makers on health-related challenges skill
- already held interact with healthcare users skill
- already held listen actively 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 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 apply psychoanalysis skill
- already held handle patient trauma skill
- already held pedagogy knowledge
- already held psychoanalysis knowledge
- already held use foreign languages for health-related research skill
- already held use foreign languages in patient care skill
The 3 learning areas not shown above
- still to learn health care legislation required
- still to learn schedule artistic activities required
- optional, not held relaxation techniques optional
10 supplementary skills, helpful but not required
- optional, not held applied music therapy 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 psychosociology optional
- optional, not held neurophysiology optional
- optional, not held philosophy optional
- optional, not held relaxation techniques optional
- optional, not held sexology optional
- optional, not held victimology optional
67 held skills the art therapist role does not ask for
- not needed by the target role address side effects of menopause skill
- not needed by the target role apply caseload management skill
- not needed by the target role apply hypno-psychotherapy skill
- not needed by the target role apply systemic design thinking skill
- not needed by the target role apply systemic therapy skill
- not needed by the target role body language knowledge
- not needed by the target role carry out psychiatric assessment of child skill
- not needed by the target role clinical social work knowledge
- not needed by the target role collaborate to discuss treatment plans in psychotherapy skill
- not needed by the target role conceptualise healthcare user’s needs skill
- not needed by the target role conclude the psychotherapeutic relationship skill
- not needed by the target role conditions for the professional practice of psychotherapy knowledge
- not needed by the target role conduct psychotherapy risk assessments skill
- not needed by the target role counsel clients skill
- not needed by the target role decide upon a psychotherapeutic approach skill
- not needed by the target role diagnose mental disorders skill
- not needed by the target role diagnose psychiatric symptoms skill
- not needed by the target role discuss the end point of therapeutic intervention skill
- not needed by the target role disorders affecting self-awareness knowledge
- not needed by the target role empathise with the healthcare user skill
- not needed by the target role employ cognitive behaviour treatment techniques skill
- not needed by the target role evaluate practice in psychotherapy 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 help healthcare users develop social perceptiveness skill
- not needed by the target role historic development of psychotherapeutic schools knowledge
- not needed by the target role history of patient's psychotherapeutic problems knowledge
- not needed by the target role identify mental health issues skill
- not needed by the target role keep up with current trends in psychotherapy skill
- not needed by the target role maintain personal development in psychotherapy skill
- not needed by the target role manage personal professional development skill
- not needed by the target role manage psychotherapeutic relationships skill
- not needed by the target role monitor therapeutic progress skill
- not needed by the target role paediatrics knowledge
- not needed by the target role perform therapy sessions skill
- not needed by the target role personality development theories knowledge
- not needed by the target role prescribe psychotherapeutic treatment skill
- not needed by the target role promote mental health skill
- not needed by the target role promote psycho-social education skill
- not needed by the target role provide a psychotherapeutic environment skill
27 further entries not listed here
16 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 behavioural therapy required
- still to learn human psychological development 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 sociology required
- optional, not held applied music therapy optional
- optional, not held cognitive behavioural therapy optional
- optional, not held psychosociology optional
- optional, not held neurophysiology 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 a psychotherapist become an art therapist?
Yes, and it is a substantial move. A psychotherapist already covers 58% of what an art therapist is expected to do: 36 skills carry over, 30 of which the art therapist role treats as required.
What skills does a psychotherapist need to become an art therapist?
20 required skills are missing, plus 10 optional ones. They fall into 9 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 psychotherapist to art therapist?
Its learning distance is 59.8 out of 100, which is the substantial 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.