The college's Department of Expressive Therapies conducts research and offers training and degree programs in expressive therapies, including art therapy. These programs focus on using expression in therapeutic contexts and helps prepare students for therapeutic and clinical work.

The Expressive Therapies Master's Degree program at U of L had its start in 1973. It was the first art therapy university-based educational program established in the United States.

It has been an American Art Therapy Association "approved" program since this designation was offered, and the curriculum adheres to the association's guidelines for education. The program is 60-credit-hour, two-year master's program.

Expressive Therapies faculty and staff always go above and beyond to help students. They located a practicum placement that suited my interests and even guided me in applying for scholarships.

Teresa Harris
M.Ed. Student,
Expressive Therapies

Philosophy

Understanding of psychotherapeutic systems at both nonverbal and verbal levels is necessary in exploring the developmental properties inherent in the art process. Our emphasis is using graphic and three-dimensional productions of children and adults to understand a range of human experiences.

The UofL Expressive Therapies program is based on an Expressive Therapies Continuum, an approach to art therapy that gives students a framework for use throughout their art therapy experiences.

Mission

Expressive Therapies strives to be the outstanding art therapy program; to be at the forefront of excellence in research, scholarship, education and clinical application; to discover and provide expansion and integration of individual and group art therapy ideology and services into diverse segments of the culture.

American Art Therapy Association Approved Program

The Expressive Therapies Master's Degree is an approved program of the American Art Therapy Association and adheres to the association's guidelines for education.

After receipt of your master's degree and professional employment for one year (equal to 1,000 supervised hours of art therapy experience), you become eligible for registration with the association. For more details on registration and the field of art therapy in general, please write or call the American Art Therapy Association, 1202 Allanson Rd., Mundelein, IL 60060, 888-290-0878, or FAX 847-566-4580.

Specializations

The faculty's specializations cover cognitive and psychoanalytic approaches to art therapy, brief therapy, imagery, medical and grief counseling. In cooperation with the Family Therapy program we also offer training in Family Therapy.

The students in our program come from different parts of the U.S. and abroad, enriching our program with their varied backgrounds and interests.

About Art Therapy

Art therapy is a human service profession. It provides individuals and groups the means and support to express and explore feelings, thought, problems and potentials through the use of art media and imagery. It is used with any age and in areas such as medical illness, grief, educational and behavioral problems, emotional issues, and criminal behavior.

Art Therapy is a nonverbal expressive therapy (along with dance, drama, music, and poetry therapies) in which process is emphasized over product. For more information about Art Therapy, contact the Kentucky Art Therapy Association (KYATA), www.kyarttherapy.org, and the American Art Therapy Association (AATA), www.arttherapy.org.