Art Therapists
Health ScienceO*NET 29-1129.01United States
Plan or conduct art therapy sessions or programs to improve clients' physical, cognitive, or emotional well-being.
- Median annual earnings
- $77,310
- Projected change
- +21.5%
- Typical education
- Master's or Professional degree
- Employment
- 65.56K jobs
50th percentile, United States
2025 to 2035
96.9% of the workforce
Growing to 79.66K by 2035
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Build the skills
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These courses and certificates are connected through catalog career relationships and Lightcast skill tags.
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The work
What art therapists do
Tasks reported for this occupation, ordered by how often they come up in the role.
- Observe and document client reactions, progress, or other outcomes related to art therapy.
- Design art therapy sessions or programs to meet client's goals or objectives.
- Conduct art therapy sessions, providing guided self-expression experiences to help clients recover from, or cope with, cognitive, emotional, or physical impairments.
- Assess client needs or disorders, using drawing, painting, sculpting, or other artistic processes.
- Confer with other professionals on client's treatment team to develop, coordinate, or integrate treatment plans.
- Talk with clients during art or other therapy sessions to build rapport, acknowledge their progress, or reflect upon their reactions to the artistic process.
- Develop individualized treatment plans that incorporate studio art therapy, counseling, or psychotherapy techniques.
- Write treatment plans, case summaries, or progress or other reports related to individual clients or client groups.
- Select or prepare artistic media or related equipment or devices to accomplish therapy session objectives.
- Analyze or synthesize client data to draw conclusions or make recommendations for art therapy.
- Interpret the artistic creations of clients to assess their functioning, needs, or progress.
- Communicate client assessment findings and recommendations in oral, written, audio, video, or other forms.
- Customize art therapy programs for specific client populations, such as those in schools, nursing homes, wellness centers, prisons, shelters, or hospitals.
- Establish goals or objectives for art therapy sessions in consultation with clients or site administrators.
- Recommend or purchase needed art supplies or equipment.
- Supervise staff, volunteers, practicum students, or interns.
- Gather client information from sources such as case documentation, client observation, or interviews of client or family members.
- Instruct individuals or groups in the use of art media, such as paint, clay, or yarn.
- Analyze data to determine the effectiveness of treatments or therapy approaches.
- Review research or literature in art therapy, psychology, or related disciplines.
- Conduct information sharing sessions, such as in-service workshops for other professionals, potential client groups, or the general community.
- Teach art therapy techniques or processes to artists, interns, volunteers, or others.
Pay and outlook
What the job pays and where it is heading
Annual earnings range
Reported earnings by percentile, United States
- 10th percentile
- $34,013
- 25th percentile
- $51,723
- 50th percentile
- $77,310
- 75th percentile
- $114,249
- 90th percentile
- $190,067
The gold marker shows the median. Half earn more than $77,310 and half earn less.
Employment outlook
2025 to 2035 projection
+21.5%much faster than average
202565,560 jobs
2035 projected79,660 jobs
14,100 more positions over the decade, before replacement hiring.
Preparation
Education levels
What people currently working in the career hold. These are not entry requirements.
- Master's or Professional degree
- 96.9%
- Doctoral degree or more
- 3.1%
Skills
Skills employers ask for
Technical skills appearing most often in job postings for this occupation.
How the work gets done
Core competencies
Broad capabilities associated with strong performance in this occupation.
- Social Perceptiveness
- Being aware of others' reactions and understanding why they react as they do.
- Speaking
- Talking to others to convey information effectively.
- Active Listening
- Giving full attention to what other people are saying, taking time to understand the points being made, asking questions as appropriate, and not interrupting at inappropriate times.
- Reading Comprehension
- Understanding written sentences and paragraphs in work-related documents.
- Monitoring
- Monitoring/Assessing performance of yourself, other individuals, or organizations to make improvements or take corrective action.
- Critical Thinking
- Using logic and reasoning to identify the strengths and weaknesses of alternative solutions, conclusions, or approaches to problems.
- Judgment and Decision Making
- Considering the relative costs and benefits of potential actions to choose the most appropriate one.
- Service Orientation
- Actively looking for ways to help people.
- Active Learning
- Understanding the implications of new information for both current and future problem-solving and decision-making.
- Writing
- Communicating effectively in writing as appropriate for the needs of the audience.
- Complex Problem Solving
- Identifying complex problems and reviewing related information to develop and evaluate options and implement solutions.
- Time Management
- Managing one's own time and the time of others.
- Coordination
- Adjusting actions in relation to others' actions.
- Learning Strategies
- Selecting and using training/instructional methods and procedures appropriate for the situation when learning or teaching new things.
- Persuasion
- Persuading others to change their minds or behavior.
- Instructing
- Teaching others how to do something.
- Systems Evaluation
- Identifying measures or indicators of system performance and the actions needed to improve or correct performance, relative to the goals of the system.
- Systems Analysis
- Determining how a system should work and how changes in conditions, operations, and the environment will affect outcomes.
- Management of Personnel Resources
- Motivating, developing, and directing people as they work, identifying the best people for the job.
- Negotiation
- Bringing others together and trying to reconcile differences.
In the market
Job titles and employers
Recent job postings in United StatesCommon job titles
- 01Therapists815 postings
- 02Licensed Therapists555 postings
- 03Outpatient Therapists290 postings
- 04Art Therapists241 postings
- 05Creative Arts Therapists160 postings
- 06Clinical Therapists140 postings
- 07Activity Therapists138 postings
- 08Inpatient Physical Therapists131 postings
- 09Primary Therapists91 postings
- 10Expressive Art Therapists67 postings
- 11Expressive Therapists65 postings
- 12Licensed Outpatient Therapists61 postings
- 13Program Therapists60 postings
- 14Group Therapists50 postings
- 15Lead Therapists50 postings
- 16Adolescent Therapists47 postings
- 17Residential Therapists46 postings
- 18Associate Therapists45 postings
- 19Line Therapists40 postings
- 20Recreation Therapists40 postings
Top employers
- 01Thriveworks335 postings
- 02Uhs319 postings
- 03Universal Health Services274 postings
- 04Acadia Healthcare228 postings
- 05Oceans Healthcare166 postings
- 06Ambulatory Surgical Center Of Aiken87 postings
- 07Independent Case Management53 postings
- 08Remedy Intelligent Staffing37 postings
- 09City of New York29 postings
- 10Newport Healthcare Center23 postings
- 11Sage Alliance22 postings
- 12Discovery Behavioral Health20 postings
- 13Compass Health Center, Llc.18 postings
- 14Sierra Tucson18 postings
- 15Center For Discovery17 postings
- 16LifePoint Health17 postings
- 17RWJBarnabas Health16 postings
- 18Catholic Charities USA15 postings
- 19Centerpointe Hospital15 postings
- 20Doral Health & Wellness14 postings
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