Teaching Art Therapy Research: A Brief Report

During the analysis of a survey of art therapy educators in 2001 (St. John, Kaiser, & Ball, 2004), issues of importance to art therapy and art therapy research education emerged. As a follow-up, the authors interviewed educators attending the 2002 Annual Conference of the American Art Therapy Association (AATA) to gain an understanding of their perspectives in three areas: emphasis on teaching qualitative and quantitative approaches, expected research competencies of graduates, and assistance programs needed to teach art therapy research effectively. Results from the study indicate that most participants perceive that qualitative research currently is emphasized more than quantitative research in art therapy education. Educators identified that the research competencies most expected from their graduates are the ability to read critically and to understand published research. Finally, with respect to teaching research effectively, most indicated that ongoing research education would support their teaching efforts. Implications for AATA and the profession are discussed.