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The department maintains an
environment that supports and maintains
the students’ involvement in that
process. Accordingly, we are committed
to maintaining small class sizes, to
enhancing communication between
students and faculty, and to encouraging
discussion of the learning process itself.
One of the strongest elements of our
program is the synthesis of the theoretical
and the practical. Our program combines
practicum/internship assignments
with coursework from beginning to
end, providing graduates with a firm
grounding in the actual practice of art
and dance/movement therapy upon
graduation. Students attend two
days of practicum/internship weekly.
They complete two practicums/
internships, one each year. They
receive weekly on-site supervision, as
well as weekly supervision by a Pratt
supervisor. Supervision at Pratt consists
of group and individual supervision.
A coordinator assists students in finding
a clinical placement.
There is richness to be gained from
including both art therapy and dance/
movement therapy students in the
department. Students can learn about
the nature of creative arts therapy in
general and the particular strengths and
limitations of their chosen modality. A
majority of the courses are discipline
specific, although many of the classes
are taken with art and dance therapists
combined. Graduates receive discrete
degrees, in either art or dance therapy.
Knowledge of research skills and
professional writing skills are developed
through completion of a thesis. Students
are given the option of a range of
research methods, including quantitative
and qualitative. The latter may include
a case study, a project implemented in
the community, or descriptive methods
investigating the experience of a
phenomenon or therapeutic process.
The American Art Therapy
Association has approved both art
therapy degrees. The Dance Therapy
program is approved by the American
Dance Therapy Association. All
programs are licensure-qualifying
and graduates automatically satisfy
educational requirements for licensure
in New York State. For those considering
a career in art or dance therapy or who
want a basic introduction, we offer
the Spring Institute, which is a three-
day set of courses in various areas of
creative arts therapy.
The Creative Arts Therapy program
offers its degrees in two formats. The
Academic Year format offers classes in a
traditional manner, with classes in fall
and spring semesters, for 15 weeks each
semester. The Spring/Summer Intensive
format is an innovative educational model
based on an adult learning model. The
program is designed for those students
who do not live near an established
program or are not able to relocate to New
York City for coursework. The program
is also suitable for those students already
in New York City who have to maintain
their employment.
The Program’s Structure
m.p.s. in art therapy and
creativity development and m.s.
in dance/movement therapyThese programs provide a synthesis of
creative, aesthetic, and psychotherapeutic
theory. Courses offer a thorough theoretical
framework that is then translated into
personal and practical application through
an experiential process. Artwork and/or
movement is done in every course and is
used to learn therapeutic skills. Students
focus on a wide variety of populations
and are required to work with a different
population for each of the two years
of internship/practicum. Both programs
are for students who want a broad
body of skills, balanced with a strong
theoretical framework.
m.p.s. in art therapy with
special needs childrenThe program is intended to train art
therapists who want to work with special
education populations, not as art teachers.
The degree does not qualify students for
a teaching license. Classes are the same as
for other art therapy students. The main
differences are:
▶ (^) In both years of the practicum
experience students must work with
special education populations.
▶ (^) Distinct readings are given in
some classes.
▶ (^) Papers and case presentations center
on a special education population.