MA Art Therapy

For information on our Introduction Courses, Summer Schools and Foundation Course in Art Therapy please visit the Let's Engage website.
Arts and Play Therapies Open Evening and Art Exhibition
Date: 9 June 2010
Time: 4.30– 8.30pm
Location: Whitelands College, Roehampton University
Cost: Free to attend – please visit the Let's Engage website to book your place.

Why study Art Therapy here?

We are the only institution in the UK offering all of the arts and play therapies (dramatherapy, dance movement therapy, music therapy and play therapy).

Our students go on to become state registered professionals with the Health Professions Council (HPC). Registered practitioners work in a variety of settings including psychiatric hospitals, social services departments, special education, prisons and the voluntary sector.

General programme information

The MA Art Therapy will equip you with the skills, experience and confidence to work in frequently challenging but ultimately rewarding environments.

The training includes theoretical perspectives within a psychodynamic framework, workshops and a training group as well as supervised clinical placements. Opportunities for further development of your identity as an artist are both valued and fostered.

Art therapists work with a wide range of patients and clinical settings. This includes working with children and adolescents, people with mental illness, people with learning difficulties, elderly as well as people who have experiencing trauma. Most art therapists work within institutions as members of multidisciplinary teams and collaborate with psychiatrists, psychologists and other professionals.

Frequently asked questions

See answers to frequently asked questions about the MA Art Therapy.

Course structure

The MA Art Therapy full-time starts with an intensive week followed by two taught days, two further days of clinical placement and one day for studio practice / private study per week.
The part-time route starts with an intensive week followed by one day per week in University and a minimum of one further day on clinical placement.
You will need to complete 100 days of supervised clinical placement over the duration of the programme.
You will attend weekly personal therapy. This is mandatory for professional registration purposes. The cost of personal therapy is the responsibility of each student and is outside of the programme fees.

The programme

The student experience can be divided into three integrated but distinctive areas:

Theory
Includes Psychodynamics from both Freudian and Jungian perspectives together with Art Therapy Theory and Clinical Theory (e.g. Psychopathology, Assessment, Diagnosis etc.) Some of the theory lectures/seminars are shared with students from the other Arts Therapies, Dance Movement Therapy, Dramatherapy and Music Therapy as well as Play Therapy. Research methodology is an important aspect of the programme, preparing students for their final year project and subsequent submission of the Masters dissertation.

Practice
Involves experiential learning about the therapeutic relationship and group processes. You will be a member of a training group, exploring your own psychological process through the making, sharing and analysis of your personal images. This experience will be complemented by workshops that offer opportunities to explore therapeutic techniques appropriate to a variety of different client groups. These workshops will also offer occasional opportunities to work with the other Arts Therapies (Dramatherapy, DMT, and Music Therapy).

We consider your continuing development as an artist is vital to your emerging new identity as an art therapist and opportunities for studio work are included in the programme.

Placement
This is an important part of the MA Art Therapy and you will need to complete 100 days of supervised clinical placement during your training. For full-time students this will be two days each week during term-time. For part-time students it will be one day each week.

Placements are within a variety of settings including:

mental health in both NHS and other psychiatric hospitals and day centres
working with people who have learning disabilities or autism in special hospitals or social services departments
special education
hospice care
voluntary sector placements, e.g. HIV/Aids, drug and alcohol abuse, etc.

If you are not sure that you are ready to embark on a full masters' degree we also offer introductory courses which provide a useful background to those working in related professions or anyone simply wishing to find out more about the work.

Career opportunities

Roehampton offers a range of continuing professional development courses for the arts and play therapies to enable you to continue to develop your professional expertise. For more information, please visit www.LetsEngage.co.uk.

However other students choose to continue on to our MRes in Advanced Arts Therapies or take advantage of our range of research opportunities up to PhD. Please see our Research website for more information.

Entry requirements

Applicants need to demonstrate a maturity of personality and self awareness compatible with training as a therapist.
A good second-class honours degree (or above) in art and design or a closely related discipline (or) other relevant degree such as psychology, teaching or psychiatric nursing etc.
All candidates must present a portfolio of their art work at interview. The art portfolio should demonstrate the applicant’s exploration of self through the art making process. All the plastic arts and electronic media are welcome at the interview. The brief for the portfolio is deliberately vague for applicants to bring their own understanding of what it means to be a practising artist. The portfolio should demonstrate a strong comment to their artistic practice along with a fluidity of self expression within a variety of mediums. International candidates must present a copy of their portfolio (either by post or electronically) with their application.
Experience of working within a setting and with clients relevant to the programme. This might include working with children with behaviour or developmental challenges, learning difficulties, adult mental health, elderly, homelessness etc. This work can either be done on a voluntary or employed basis.

You can also view our postgraduate entry requirements.

Fees information

This programme fee is pro-rata to Band 1. As a full-time student you study 120 credits per year.

As a home student, this is equivalent to £4,200 in 2007/08 and £4,333.33 in 2008/09.
As an overseas student, this is equivalent to £6,000 per year in 2007/08 and 2008/09.

Length of programme

Full-time: 2 years; part-time: 3 years

Number of places

Full-time: 12; part-time: 12

Programme start date

September

Number of Credits

MA: 240

Fees

Band 1 (please see the 'Fees information' section below)

Contact the course convener

Jonathan Isserow