nfralick
Thu, 08/08/2024 - 16:00
Edited Text
The Art Therapy Pocket Guide:
A Theoretical Art Therapy App
for Graduate Students and
Emerging Professionals
Julianna Rose Geyer
Department of Counseling, School of Social Sciences and Human Services, Art
Therapy Program
Pennsylvania Western University
COUN 7550-400: Introduction to Art Therapy Research
Dr. Carolyn Treadon
April 22nd, 2024 (draft)

Before we start…

Purpose
This research aims to develop the concept of an
app for art therapy graduate students and
emerging professionals that includes a pocket
reference guide, a platform to explore and share
art therapy directives, and a way to connect with
others in the field.

Justification
• Apps are accessible
• No apps for art therapists exist at this point
• Art Therapy is a smaller field within the counseling
realm
• Provides representation for the field

Related Terms
Emerging Professional
A person who has graduated from their studies and is within the first five years of
working in the field.
Internship
When a student begins actively working with clients and gains more
responsibilities within their fieldwork.
Mobile Learning
Using mobile devices to assist in education and learning.
Practicum
When a student begins their fieldwork by observing other clinicians but not
actively working with clients.
Professional Identity
The personal beliefs, values, and skills one possesses to be confident in who they
are within their profession and field.

Literature Review
• Mobile Learning Theory
• Digital technology that provides education outside of a classroom setting
• Americans ages 18-49, 100% own a cellphone, and only 4-5% do not have a
smartphone (Pew Research Center, 2021)
• Utilizes informal learning- self-directed, interests based (Mills et al., 2014, p.
325)
• Apps in Other Disciplines
• APA Monitor + - Produced by the American Psychology Association (APA)

Literature Review
• Art Therapists vs. Therapist vs. Artist
• Art therapists are qualified based on their educational
background, ability to process artwork, commitment to
continuing education, and dedication to following the ethical
codes (AATA, 2013; ATCB, 2021).
• Art therapists are trained to be aware of potential harm
• A case where a clinician and organization where viewed as
negligent due to doing “art therapy” but not having the
proper education and led to physical injury (Boudrias, 2022).
• A study between art therapists, psychotherapists, and artists
to see if they could identify two risk in a case.

Literature Review
• Art Therapy Graduate Students
• Enter practicum and internship towards the end of the program
• Allows for supervision, which continues post-grad for
credentialing
• Junge and Newell (2015) shared art therapy students experiences
• “I have learned from my classmates in practicum classes,
what directives they used, their challenges, and their actions
in response to those challenges” (Junge & Newell. 2015 p. 95)

Literature Review
• Emerging Art Therapy Professionals
• Developing professional identity can be harder for art therapists
because of the complexity
• "An art therapist is often hired under another mental health job
title such as “counselor” or “psychologist” because the
profession of art therapy is not typically recognized as a mental
health profession in the occupations code” (Jung, 2014, p. 40)
• Lack of understand about art therapy from others
• The more art therapists understand themselves, the better they can
help and educate others on the unique field.

Key Features
• Verification Process
• Proof of enrollment or credentials
• Summaries
• Theoretical approaches, assessments/evaluations, diagnoses/populations
• Directives
• Create and share
• Networking & Resources
• Questions, recommendations, and finder

EXAMPLES OF CONTENT


Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT)



Trauma-informed Therapy



Humanistic



Existential/Spiritual/Transpersonal



Psychodynamic



Family Systems



Positive Psychology



Solution-Focused



Attachment Theory



Developmental



Dialectical Behavioral Therapy (DBT)



Motivational Interviewing (MI)



Group Therapy Theory



Art Therapy Theory



Jungian



Behavioral

EXAMPLES OF CONTENT


Bridge Drawing



Kinetic-Family-Drawing (KFD)



House-Tree-Person (HTP)/Kinetic House-TreePerson (K-H-T-P)



Lowenfeld Developmental Stages of Art



Person Picking an Apple from a Tree (PPAT)



Bird’s Nest Drawing (BND)



Draw-A-Person-In-The-Rain (DAP-R, PIR)



Expressive Therapies Continuum (ETC)



Draw-A-Story (DAS)



Diagnostic Drawing Series (DDS)



Road Drawing

EXAMPLES OF CONTENT


Anxiety Disorders



Depressive Disorders



Trauma and stressor-related disorders



Bipolar and Related Disorders



Disruptive, Impulsive Control and Conduct
Disorders



Personality Disorders



Neurodevelopmental Disorders (e.g., ASD,
ADHD)



Obsessive Compulsive and Related Disorders



Substance-Related and Addictive Disorders



Trauma/Victims of Crime/Violence



Grief, Loss, and Bereavement



Multi-cultural families



LGBTQIA+

Limitations

• Manufacturing
• Vetting Process & Terms and Conditions
• Moderating

Future exploration
• Funding
• Developing a team
• Getting support from organizations
• Make the app for all art therapists

My final thoughts…

References








American Art Therapy Association.



https://arttherapy.org/upload/MemberDemographics_2021.pdf

Oxford.
Gussak, D. E., & Rosal, M. L. (Eds.). (2016). The Wiley Handbook of Art Therapy.
John Wiley & Sons, Incorporated.


https://www.apa.org/about/social-media?tab=9





Art Therapy Specialist Demographics and Statistics [2023]: Number Of Art

Art Therapy Graduates. Art Therapy: Journal of the American Art Therapy

Human Behavior, 32, 324–334. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chb.2013.08.008


sheet/mobile/

Hu, J., Zhang, J., Hu, L., Yu, H., & Xu, J. (2021). Art Therapy: A Complementary

https://www.zippia.com/art-therapy-specialist-jobs/demographics/

https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2021.686005

Becoming an Art Therapist - American Art Therapy Association. (2023, March 23). •

Jeno, L. M., Egelandsdal, K., & Grytnes, J.-A. (2022). A qualitative investigation

American Art Therapy Association. https://arttherapy.org/becoming-art-therapist/

of psychological need-satisfying experiences of a mobile learning application: A

Boudrias, Sophie (2022). A Mixed Methods Study on the Uniqueness of Art

Self-Determination Theory approach. Computers and Education Open, 3.

Therapists in Harm Prevention (Recherche par méthodes mixtes sur la spécificité

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.caeo.2022.100108

Pew Research Center. (2021, April 7). Mobile fact sheet. Pew Research Center:
Internet, Science & Tech. https://www.pewresearch.org/internet/fact-

Hogan, S. (2016). Art therapy theories: A critical introduction. Routledge.

Treatment for Mental Disorders. Frontiers in psychology, 12, 686005.



Sacks, Caren. “Supervision.” ATCB Review, vol. 24, no. 2, 2017,
nbcc.informz.net/admin31/content/template.asp?sid=47471&ptid=1459&brandid=
3842&uid=822378351&mi=6220319&ps=47471



Sonne, J. L. (n.d.). PsycEssentials: A Pocket Resource for Mental Health
Practitioners. https://www.apa.org/pubs/books/4317284?tab=5b



Yang, S., Zhou, S., & Cheng, X. (2019). Why do college students continue to use

Junge, M. B. (2010). The Modern History of Art Therapy in the United States.

mobile learning? Learning involvement and self‐determination theory. British

Therapy, 35:2, 53-65, DOI: 10.1080/26907240.2022.2138125

Charles C Thomas Publisher, Ltd.

Journal of Educational Technology, 50(2), 626–637.

Cheng, C., Elamin, M. E., May, H., & Kennedy, M. (2023). Drawing on emotions: •

Junge, M. B. (2014). Identity and art therapy : personal and professional

https://doi.org/10.1111/bjet.12634

the evolving role of art therapy. Irish Journal of Psychological Medicine, 40(3),

perspectives. Charles C Thomas Publisher, Ltd.

500–502. https://doi.org/10.1017/ipm.2021.20


Mills, L. A., Knezek, G., & Khaddage, F. (2014). Information Seeking, Information
Sharing, and going mobile: Three bridges to informal learning. Computers in

Therapy Specialists In The US. (2021, January 29). Zippia.

des artthérapeutes dans la prévention de préjudices), Canadian Journal of Art





https://digitalcommons.lesley.edu/expressive_dissertations/7


Feen-Calligan, H. R. (2012). Professional Identity Perceptions of Dual-Prepared

Association, 29(4), 150–157. https://doi.org/10.1080/07421656.2012.730027

Art Therapy Resources. (2018, June 17). Understanding Art Therapy vs Art As

Malis, Denise, “Examining the Identity of the Art Therapist: The Voice of Practice
and Relational Care” (2014). Expressive Therapies Dissertations. 7.

American Art Therapy Association. https://arttherapy.org/becoming-art-therapist/

Therapy. Art Therapy Resources. https://arttherapyresources.com.au/art-as-therapy/ •


Daisy Fancourt. (2017). Arts in Health : Designing and Researching Interventions. OUP •

American Art Therapy Association. (2023, March 23). Becoming an art therapist. •

American Psychological Association (n.d.). APA social media and mobile apps.

Ltd.

Encyclopedia.

American Art Therapy Association. (2021, March). Member demographics -

Crelin, J. (2023). Rapid application development (RAD). Salem Press





Junge, M. B., & Newall, K. (2015). Becoming an art therapist : enabling growth,
change, and action for emerging students in the field. Charles C Thomas Publisher,