MSc Art Psychotherapy (International)

This course is designed for people who have at least one year's experience of, or are currently working in a caring capacity such as psychiatry, special education, social services and the voluntary sector. Pre-course reading is essential.

The discipline of art psychotherapy draws upon the visual arts, psychotherapy and psychology and is applied within psychiatry, special education, social services and the voluntary sector. Art psychotherapists work with individuals, groups and communities.

Art psychotherapists enable clients to access their own image-making abilities. The therapist and their client jointly explore the meaning of the process and image/art object in the light of personal experiences and/ or interpersonal relationships that may sometimes be distressing or troubling. The aim is to facilitate the intra-personal and interpersonal communication of experiences that the client may initially find difficulty in discussing verbally. The art psychotherapist's task is to support processes of emotional integration by providing a safe, reliable and containing therapeutic environment within which the client can create and use art making to develop insight and effect change.

The course aims to integrate learning across the theoretical, experiential and practical aspects of the training. It places the student at the heart of the learning process encouraging individual responsibility for learning. As students are mature graduates with many life skills and diverse work experience, the student cohort is regarded as a resource for peer learning and skills sharing. In this course, emphasis is placed equally on academic studies, experiential learning and supervised placements.

EXIT AWARDS: MSc (240credits/120 ECTS)PgDip (120 credits/60 ECTS) PgCert (60 credits/30 ECTS)
Delivery: At QMU and on placement
Single Modules: It is not possible to study single modules

Duration: Full-time: 2 years; Part-time: 3 - 4 years
Start date: September
Application deadline: 31 May 2013
Teaching, learning and assessment: You will attend classes, work in groups and carry out independent learning. Assessment methods include reports, essays, and presentations.
You will undertake 120 days supervised practice placement over the training period. Placements are allocated by QMU. Full-time students attend placement two days per week and part-time students attend one day per week over two semesters. Students will attend supervision onsite at the placement setting
and at QMU throughout

Teaching hours and attendance: Each module which you study on-campus will require you to attend classes and carry out independent work. Your attendance requirements at QMU will depend on which module you are studying and whether you are studying full or part-time.
Links with industry/professional bodies: Graduates are eligible for registration with the Health and Care Professions Council as Registered Arts Therapists (Art) and are eligible for full membership of BAAT (British Association of Art Therapists).