Art-Based Learning Strategies in Art Therapy Graduate Education

This mixed methods research study examined the use of art-based teaching methods in master's level art therapy graduate education in North America. A survey of program directors yielded information regarding in which courses and how frequently art-based methods (individual in-class art making, dyad or group art making, student art projects as course assignments, visual journaling, and student art making as a thesis focus) were employed. Qualitative data from in-depth interviews of program directors and recent graduates were analyzed with respect to the function, benefits, and deficits of art-based learning strategies. Such strategies were found to be valued for their integrative function, as a means of personal growth and development, as documentation of experience, and for the transfer of learning to clinical work. Participants also described privacy concerns and ambivalence regarding the evaluation of student artwork.