As a student in the Art Therapy MA Program, you are preparing to meet the requirements of the American Art Therapy Association. The Master of Arts in Art Therapy program is approved by the ACATE under the CAAHEP. To meet these requirements, you will complete 1,000 internship hours in a variety of clinical settings, and earn 12 internship credits.
First Semester Clinical Observation
During your first semester, you will take ARTT-GE 2145, Theory and Practice of Art Therapy, for 3 credits. This course combines classroom learning with a fieldwork component that will prepare you for your internships. You will spend 85-100 hours observing art therapists working in metropolitan clinical settings.
Clinical Internships
During your second semester, and throughout your second year, you will work on completing your clinical internship requirement. You will choose from a list of pre-approved sites, and interview for internship positions. You can expect to work in hospitals, outpatient centers, rehabilitation facilities, community organizations, schools, and private mental health clinics. Our site placements include such sites as:
- NYU Langone Health
- Rockland County Psychiatric Center
- Coalition for Hispanic Family Services
- Woodhull Medical Center
- Millennium High School
- ArtsRx
- OHEL Family Services
- Counseling in the Schools
- Trinitas Medical Center
- Mercy First
- Mt. Sinai Kravis Pediatric Center
- NY Presbyterian Payne Whitney Clinic
- Kirby Forensic Psychiatric Center
- Jamaica Hospital Medical Center
- Womankind
In conjunction with your clinical internships, you will register for ARTT-GE 2302, Internship in Art Therapy. This course is limited to 8 students, and is run by a faculty member who is in contact with your site supervisor. In your clinical internships, you will increasingly take on the therapeutic leadership – running groups and individual sessions, becoming part of the clinical team, writing progress notes, and generally functioning as a therapist under the guidance of your on-site supervisors.
You are also eligible to apply for the 3-credit global internship program, which offers an intensive 3-week internship abroad during the summer. You may work at a wide range of settings, including orphanages, academic settings, AIDS hospices, mental health facilities, senior residences, juvenile and adult prisons, and among HIV positive and chronically ill populations. The Art Therapy program has held internships in Tanzania, Peru, South Africa and Brazil and is continually exploring and developing new sites.
To help you get started with your internship and for more information, contact:
Rohita Kilachand
Art Therapy Internship Coordinator
rhk245@nyu.edu
Or call the Art Therapy Program at 212-998-5727