Art Therapists
Plan or conduct art therapy sessions or programs to improve clients' physical, cognitive, or emotional well-being.
Also called: Art Psychotherapist · Art Therapist · Board Certified Art Therapist (ATR-BC) · Creative Arts Therapist · Group Therapist · Oncology Art Therapist
Median pay (national)
$65,010
$38,840–$120,050 (10th–90th)
Employed (US)
19,320
BLS OEWS, May 2024
Outlook 2024–34
+11.5%
~4,100 openings/yr
Typical entry
Bachelor's degree
What the numbers say
Refit analysis ·Pay for art therapists shows an unusually wide range: the top 10% earn $120,050 versus $38,840 at the bottom 10% — 3.1x. The median of $65,010 leaves roughly 85% of headroom to the 90th percentile, which is where seniority, specialization, and the skills below tend to pay off.
Refit analysis ·Employment is projected to change +11.5% from 2024 to 2034 — much faster than the 3% average for all occupations. Even so, BLS projects about 4,100 openings a year, mostly to replace workers who retire or change careers.
Refit analysis ·Where you work moves the number a lot. Across the 42 states with released data, Alaska pays the most for this role (median $107,070, +65% vs the national median), while Mississippi sits lowest at $43,150 — a 148% spread for the same job title.
Refit analysis ·O*NET rates Active Listening, Speaking, Reading Comprehension as the highest-importance skills here — so a resume aimed at this role should lead with evidence of those, not a generic skills list.
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Top skills employers ask for
Ranked by O*NET importance for this occupation.
- Active Listening
- Speaking
- Reading Comprehension
- Critical Thinking
- Monitoring
- Active Learning
- Writing
- Learning Strategies
- Mathematics
- Science
What they actually do
Core O*NET tasks for this role.
- Observe and document client reactions, progress, or other outcomes related to art therapy.
- Design art therapy sessions or programs to meet client's goals or objectives.
- Conduct art therapy sessions, providing guided self-expression experiences to help clients recover from, or cope with, cognitive, emotional, or physical impairments.
- Confer with other professionals on client's treatment team to develop, coordinate, or integrate treatment plans.
- Assess client needs or disorders, using drawing, painting, sculpting, or other artistic processes.
- Talk with clients during art or other therapy sessions to build rapport, acknowledge their progress, or reflect upon their reactions to the artistic process.
- Develop individualized treatment plans that incorporate studio art therapy, counseling, or psychotherapy techniques.
- Write treatment plans, case summaries, or progress or other reports related to individual clients or client groups.
- Select or prepare artistic media or related equipment or devices to accomplish therapy session objectives.
- Analyze or synthesize client data to draw conclusions or make recommendations for art therapy.
Tools & technology
- Adobe After Effects
- Adobe Creative Cloud software
- Adobe Illustrator
- Adobe InDesign
- Adobe Photoshop
- IBM SPSS Statistics
- Trimble SketchUp Pro
- Zoom
- Appointment scheduling software
- Autodesk Maya
- Case management software
- Image databases
- Web browser software
- Adobe Acrobat
- Microsoft Excel
- Microsoft Office software
Knowledge areas
- Therapy and Counseling
- Psychology
- Fine Arts
- Sociology and Anthropology
- Customer and Personal Service
- Education and Training
- English Language
- Philosophy and Theology