Master of Arts in Psychology with Couple and Family Therapy
and Art Therapy Specializations
Unique Offering/Advantages
- The MA in Psychology degree has an Art Therapy specialization combined with Couple and Family Therapy (CFT).
- One of the few degree programs in the U.S. featuring a graduate degree in art therapy with a clinical focus.
- Curriculum meets national standards for art therapy registration.
- Combines art therapy and verbal therapy for the treatment and prevention of developmental, emotional, psychological, or physical/medical problems or disorders.
- Learn how to allow therapy clients to express themselves both verbally and through visual art.
- Incorporates cultural diversity and social responsibility,
General Requirements
The Art Therapy with CFT specialization requires completion of 90 quarter credits including 74 credits of required coursework, 3 elective credits, and 13 credits of Internship and Case Consultation.
To learn about the application prerequisites, please CLICK HERE.
Length of Program
Students attending school full time generally complete the program in about three years.
Tuition & Fees
- Tuition: $662 per credit
- Required fees: $145 per quarter
- $6,103 tuition and required fees per quarter, full time (9 credits)
- $24,412 typical annual tuition and fees
Annual tuition and fees based on 2013-14 rates for four quarters. Antioch University Seattle students typically attend classes all year.
Career Opportunities
Art therapists work in private practice and/or in clinical, educational and rehabilitative settings such as:
- hospitals and clinics
- residential treatment centers
- long-term care facilities
- community centers
- prisons
- shelters
- schools
- mental health and social service agencies
Program Summary
The MA in Psychology degree has an Art Therapy specialization combined with Couple and Family Therapy (CFT). You receive comprehensive clinical training, making it one of the few degree programs in the U.S. featuring art therapy with a clinical focus.
In this specialization, you discover how art therapy can be used for the treatment and prevention of developmental, emotional, psychological or physical/medical problems or disorders.
Antioch University Seattle's art therapy curriculum combines art and therapy in a framework that allows therapy clients to express themselves verbally and through visual art. The learning experience incorporates cultural diversity and social responsibility, giving AUS an edge over other graduate schools in psychology.
Antioch University Seattle has held accreditation continuously since 1927. The Art Therapy specialization has been approved by the American Art Therapy Association (AATA) since 2003. Thus, the curriculum meets national standards for art therapy registration.
Curriculum
Antioch University Seattle's Art Therapy specialization is combined with the MA in Psychology with Couple and Family Therapy (CFT) concentration. The degree offers you comprehensive clinical training for a career as a licensed marriage and family therapist. With a focus on developing multicultural counseling competencies, you accomplish these goals through a combination of required coursework, electives and a supervised internship.
The Art Therapy program is 90 quarter credits. Classes are offered Monday through Thursday late afternoons and evenings for students from the metropolitan Seattle area. Concentrated scheduling is available Thursday evenings and during the day Fridays for students commuting from more distant locations. You may begin the program only in the fall.
Core Clinical Courses (34 credits)
- Applied Couple Therapy
- Applied Family Therapy
- Communication and Counseling Skills
- Competency Assessment I
- Competency Assessment II
- Competency Assessment III
- Counseling Individuals in the Family System
- Ethics and Professional Issues
- Ethics in Family Practice
- Human Development in the Family Life Cycle
- Human Sexuality
- Internship Preparation
- Psychodiagnostics and Treatment Planning
- Psychopathology
- Systems Perspectives in Family Therapy
- Theories of Couple and Family Therapy
Core Art Therapy Courses (38 credits)
- Advanced Art Therapy Assessment
- Advanced Art Therapy Research in Individual and Family Therapy
- Art Therapy in Diverse Settings: Individual and Group
- Art Therapy Master's Project or Art Therapy Thesis
- Art Therapy Research in Individual and Family therapy
- Assessment: Tests and Measurements
- Developmental and Treatment Models in Art Therapy
- Ethical Issues in Art Therapy
- Family Group Art Therapy
- Family of Origin Systems and Art Therapy
- History and Theory of Art Therapy I
- History and Theory of Art Therapy II
- Mulitcultural Perspectives and Art Therapy
- Techniques and Practice of Art Therapy
Elective Courses (3 credits)
One elective in counseling a culturally specific population OR one of the following:
- Abusive Relationships
- Addictions and Substance Abuse
Internship Courses (15 credits)
- AT/CFT Internship I,II, III, IV, and V
- Case Consultation I, II, III, IV, and V
Internship Experience
All students participate in an internship in a professional setting. This experience will enable you to validate and clarify the theory you acquire in the classroom as you develop your own role as a clinician. Examples of internship sites include the following:
- College counseling centers
- Community centers
- Group homes
- Homeless shelters
- In-patient psychiatric hospitals
- Jails
- Penitentiaries
- Public mental health clinics
- Youth and family services
Program requirements and course offerings are subject to change.
Faculty
Read about adjunct faculty who teach in the School of Applied Psychology, Counseling & Family Therapy.
Michael Buchert
MPS
School of Applied Psychology, Counseling and Family Therapy
Clinical Mental Health Counseling Program
Art & Drama Therapy specializations
Elizabeth Donahue
LMHC, ATR, MA
School of Applied Psychology, Counseling and Family Therapy
MA Program
Janice Hoshino
ATR-BC, LMFT, PhD
School of Applied Psychology, Counseling and Family Therapy
Chair, Art Therapy and Drama Therapy Specializations
Bobbi Kidder
MA
School of Applied Psychology, Counseling and Family Therapy
MA Program, Drama Therapy Coordinator
Jamie K. Robbins
School of Applied Psychology, Counseling and Family Therapy
MA Program, Art Therapy
Carey DeMartini
M.A. Psychology, Art Therapy with Clinical Mental Health Counseling, 2002
Her degree helped her access her source of creativity, self-confidence and vision necessary to do what she loves.
Coquille Talbert
M.A. Psychology, Art Therapy with Mental Health Counseling, 2009
She says she cannot walk down the hall without someone smiling at her or calling her by her name. She says it is rare these days to find such a positive and personal experience in a university.
Danielle Cameron
M.A. Psychology, Art Therapy with Mental Health Counseling, 2005
The more she learned about Antioch, the more she realized it was a school most likely to help her get where she wanted to go. She says it is the school for students who are independently motivated.
Elizabeth Bellmer
M.A. Psychology, Art Therapy with Clinical Mental Health Counseling, 2002
She found the educators, staff and administration all available and interested in her personal and professional success. She says she has accomplished things during her Antioch experience that she never would have imagined.
Heidi Ehrenberg
M.A. Psychology, Art Therapy with Clinical Mental Health Counseling, 2001
Her decision to commit to the program helped her to look deep within herself and really see what was important to her.
Jessie Lyle
M.A. Psychology, Art Therapy with Mental Health Counseling, 2007
As an art therapist at a skilled nursing facility for Jewish elders, she is able to integrate theory and practice into community action. But it wasn't until she did some rethinking about life that this self-employed visual artist chose to expand her skills.
Katy Schumaker
M.A. Psychology, Art Therapy with Clinical Mental Health Counseling, 2008
She chose Antioch because it offered classes that would fit into her busy schedule and because the class sizes are small and there is a large emphasis on personal growth and introspection.
Leanne Perez
MA Psychology, Art Therapy with Mental Health Counseling, 2008
She chose Antioch University Seattle because it offered classes that would fit into her busy schedule and because the class sizes are small and there is a large emphasis on personal growth and introspection.
AATA
The American Association of Art Therapy (AATA) is an organization of professionals dedicated to the belief that the creative process involved in the making of art is healing and life-enhancing. Antioch University Seattle’s Art Therapy concentration is approved by AATA and graduates can become registered art therapists with the Art Therapy Credentials Board.
As a student, you can submit your research for presentation at the annual AATA conference. Sixteen AUS students attended the 2009 conference in Dallas, Texas. Four Antioch University Seattle (AUS) Psychology students, Margaret Bovington, Maggie Ritnour, Amber Roy and Coquille Talbert, earned top national honors, winning the Diagnostic Drawing Series (DDS) Award. All four award winners are 2009 AUS graduates who are entering the work force. Click here to read more about the 2009 conference. Students have attended the conference for the past four years.Click here to read about the 2006 conference.
Antioch University Seattle supports a variety of fundraising activities conducted by art therapy students to defray a portion of the travel expenses. The Mirrors Project, a community-wide event initiated by the art therapy students, invited all students, faculty, and staff to decorate mirrors (example at right) which were then auctioned off. Travel funding has also come from the President’s Fund for Excellence.
