Art Therapy
Calendar
Advanced Diploma Stream Distance Calendar
Part I: 2-Week Summer Residency in Vancouver
Summer Residency:
The first intensive involves direct arttherapy experiential learning, labs and coursework. For some classes, preparation reading will be required in advance. Assignments will be submitted according to instructors’ requirements.
Courses include:
- Art Therapy Training Group I
- Art Therapy Techniques Lab I
- Art Therapy Assessment
- Ethics of Art Therapy
- Interventions: Group Art Therapy and Family Art Therapy
- Introduction to Practicum & Supervision
Part II: 12-Month Distance Learning
Online Courses:
- Child Art Therapy
- Adolescent Art Therapy
- Equity & Diversity in Art Therapy
- Art Therapy History & Theory: Arts-Based Psychotherapy
- Assessment: Art Therapy Assessment (Field research)
Clinical Placement Requirements:
600 hours of art therapy practical experience arranged in a local school, agency, hospital or community setting in the student’s home town (300 hours direct client contact, with the balance being work related activities). The practicum site must be approved by the Vancouver Art Therapy Institute. Students are covered by VATI liability insurance.
Supervision Requirements:
25 hours of individual Supervision via video meetings (or 50 hours of dyad supervision) and 20 hours of Group Supervision.
Part III: 1-Week Summer Residency in Vancouver
The Second Summer Intensive is conducted in a similar manner as the first.
In Person:
- Art Therapy Training Group II
- Art Therapy Techniques Lab II
Part IV: Online Electives & Final Project
Elective Classes:
- Human Development and Art Therapy
- Salutogenesis: Abnormal Psychology and Art Therapy
- Trauma-Informed Art Therapy
- The Art of Loss
Final Project:
Students will also complete a final project. The final project is offered as a guided independent study. Working with a final project advisor, students will research a topic of personal interest related to the field of art therapy.
18-Month Diploma Stream Calendar
The 18-month Diploma stream is designed for students who typically live geographically nearby, as there are 7 weekend in-person classes over the first 7 months of the program. This program stream offers a blended or hybrid program combining the benefits of face-to-face classroom learning with flexible, online learning and discussions; it has been designed to leverage the strengths of various learning modalities. The online learning component utilizes the platform Moodle for weekly lesson plans, as well as Zoom to further deepen and expand on various themes, foundational competencies, and practical skills.
In-Person Weekend Seminars
The Studio: Art Therapy Training and Techniques occurs in person one weekend a month (from September to March). This includes one weekend in October where students are introduced to the Ethics of Art Therapy and Assessment, the courses that are needed to begin the clinical placement:
- Studio: Art Therapy Trainings and Art Therapy Techniques –in-person
- Ethics of Art Therapy –Moodle & in-person
- Assessment –Moodle & in-person
Online Courses (Moodle and Zoom)
Students begin the online component of the program in the second month, with all of these courses being a combination of online lesson plans and weekly forums through Moodle as well as Zoom classes to supplement the online learning. The following courses are offered sequentially online from the September start date through to the end of the 18-month program which is second February:
- Practicum Orientation
- Clinical Supervision (ongoing small group via Zoom)
- Human Development and Art Therapy
- Child Art Therapy
- Adolescent Art Therapy
- Salutogenesis: Abnormal Psychology and Art Therapy
- Cultural Care and Intersectionality: Equity and Diversity in Art Therapy
- Trauma-Informed Art Therapy
- Research Methods
- Group Art Therapy & Family Art Therapy
- History and Theories: Arts-Based Psychotherapy
- The Art of Loss
- Case Studies
Clinical Placement Requirements
Over the span of the program, 600 hours of art therapy clinical placement experience will be gained through an approved local school/agency/hospital, 300 of which are direct client contact hours. As well, students are encouraged to seek out placement sites that may interest them that are not included currently on our active list of placement sites. Placements do not begin until late October after Ethics and Assessment courses have been taken. In January, students add a second clinical placement based on the client population they are interested in. Students are welcome to engage in more than two clinical placements over the span of the 18-months. Students are covered by VATI liability insurance.
Final Project
Students will also complete a final project. The final project is offered as a guided independent study. Working with a final project advisor, students will research a topic of personal interest related to the field of art therapy.