Art therapists, like other therapists, use several different therapeutic processes to analyze and treat emotional problems in their patients. Unlike other therapists, however, art therapists’ have therapeutic techniques that center on having the patient create and interpret art pieces. This can help the patient gain personal insight as well as help them to address personal issues.

Some of the techniques used are interpreted by the art therapist instead of the student. In these techniques, the patient’s art is analyzed according to the colors, shapes and designs used. Some techniques are used to determine the current psychological state of the patient; these techniques generally involve the patient choosing geometric shapes and then recreating them. Other techniques involve the patient drawing specific pictures and then explaining the pictures; these techniques give the art therapist clues to the personality of the patient.

The profession of art therapist is not a new one, but it is one that is not familiar to many people. Art therapists are professional therapists who have extensive training in both art and psychotherapy. In order to be an art therapist, a person must hold a master’s degree in either art therapy or a similar field. This knowledge and education allows an art therapist to help patients identify emotional problems through artistic mediums.

Most patients of art therapy are able to cope with their problems like stress and personal trauma. Art therapists can bring out in a patient the ability to gain insight into their own minds and feelings, as well as boosting the patient’s ability to establish and maintain healthy relationships. All of these things are important parts of healing, and art therapists are trained to use the artistic processes of the mind to bring these results out of their patients.

Have you ever watched a young child drawing with markers or crayons on a blank piece of paper? They seem to be able to let go and scribble with an abandon rarely matched by an adult. And why would an adult want to doodle for no reason? Because there might be a practical purpose to art after all.

Art therapy is a widely used form of therapy using both the creative process and psychotherapy to elicit a healing response in the patient. By using simple tools like the ones found in any child’s craft box – crayons, markers, colored pencils and paints – a professional art therapist can help a patient discover and deal with internal emotional turmoil. Art therapy is frequently used in mental health clinics, but can also be found in more casual places like art studios.

Art therapy is simply the professional therapeutic ability to use artwork that has been done by individuals who desire personal development. This development has not been able to be achieved, due to trauma, personal crisis, illness, and certain challenges that have affected their life.

People of all ages use art therapy, done by a professional art therapist who has been trained extensively about the human development, artistic traditions in a multitude of cultures, psychological theories, and the healing abilities regarding the use of art. Services are provided to these individuals through art therapy because they cannot articulate through words, emotions, and feelings about their true state of mind.

The professional settings that participate with art therapy methods are mental health services, rehabilitation, medical institutions, education services, nursing homes, corporations, forensic agencies, community outreach, and independent practices.

Strict standards for art therapy have been established by the American Art Therapy Association, Inc. (AATA) and The Art Therapy Credentials Board, Inc. (ATCB). Some individual states regulate their own practices of art therapy, while other states allow art therapists to become licensed counselors or mental health therapists. These art therapists utilize art-based assessment instruments to determine their client’s level of functioning. From this they are able to formulate a certain level of treatment objectives, decide what strengths and weaknesses their client has, gaining a better understanding of who their client is and the problems they have, and be able to evaluate their client’s progress.

The Master level of training and education for an art therapist is mandatory, as ensuring the appropriate usage and application of drawing tests, evaluation of the instrument validity, and its reliability is extremely important to better serve the client. According to Donna J. Betts, Ph.D., ATR-BC, in her 2005 Doctoral Dissertation, some of the top art therapy tests that can be used are:
• Favorite Kind of Day (AFKOD)
• Person Picking an Apple from a Tree (PPAT)
• Bird’s Nest Drawing (BND)
• Bridge Drawing
• Diagnostic Drawing Series (DDS)
• Child Diagnostic Drawing Series (CDDS)

Rating instruments are also investigated, which can include:
• Descriptive Assessment of Psychiatric Art (DAPA)
• DDS Rating Guide and Drawing Analysis Form (DAF)
• Formal Elements Art Therapy Scale (FEATS).

These are just a few of the art therapy assessment tools that can be used by art therapists, in clinical settings or in research. Each art therapy tool is a structured assessment that are collected under standardized conditions. Most are developed to provide a compatibility with psychological testing and psychiatric evaluations:
• Art Therapy-Projective Imagery Assessment (ATPIA)
• Draw-A-Story Screening for Depression (DAS)
• Used to identify children and adolescents at risk for harming others or themselves.
• Through the artwork, it can be seen that significant differences will emerge between aggressive and non-aggressive groups in its emotional content and self-image, in addition to