The purpose of the BA Hons in Art Therapy is to develop students’ creative, imaginative, and critical knowledge, skills, and academic research capabilities within the domains of the art therapy discourse, visual arts, and psychosocial and therapeutic industries. The Honours program will equip students with an intermediate knowledge of Art Therapy theories, and research methodologies, as they relate to eventual practice as an Art Therapist on completion of a Master's in Art Therapy, as well as an ability to think competently, safely, and ethically in a range of observed clinical settings.

Creative Arts Therapy (CAT) is a field of psychology that relies on art and creativity to explore trauma and seek healing for a wide range of individuals. The purpose of art therapy is to express inner thoughts and feelings and to help the client connect to self and others.

This affordable pre-art therapy program offers flexible course schedules to help you advance in your career while managing the competing demands of your busy life—graduate in as few as 15-18 months! The Bachelor’s in Pre-Art Therapy is a pre-professional and interdisciplinary degree that makes connections between art and psychology courses, such as art and design, drawing, digital foundations, abnormal psychology, human development, and visual storytelling. Along with an internship, these courses help prepare you for a professional art therapy program.

Art Therapy majors at Mercyhurst investigate the healing potential of the arts through self-reflective art directives, research and service learning in the community. In art therapy classes, students experience the healing nature of art making during discussions that focus on the history and development of the field, the therapeutic use of art media, and ways to help others through art. Students development of a non-judgmental approach toward art made by themselves and others enables an ability to support the use of art as a way to promote creativity and wellness. Graduates of the program often work in the human service field or pursue graduate school for art therapy.

The Therapeutic Recreation program provides a firm foundation of classes and hands-on learning experiences designed to help you develop skills in assessment, planning, programming, leadership, and evaluation. The coursework and classroom learning experiences prepare you to sit for the CTRS (Certified Therapeutic Recreation Specialist) credential administered through the NCTRC (National Council for Therapeutic Recreation Certification).

If you’re drawn to helping people manage their emotions and wellbeing, and art is one of your personal interests, then explore the transformative impact of art therapy through our undergraduate art therapy program. In the classroom, you’ll learn the creative use of art materials and practices that can assist with raising people’s self-esteem, improving their contact with reality, and with facilitating their personal development.

Currently, our society is entering multicultural society, competitive society, and global society through industrialization and a nuclear family, and families and individuals are also suffering sharp changes in such periodical trend. However, as many people experience difficulties in adapting themselves to periodical changes, many negative problems occur such as economic difficulty, melancholia, suicide, family violence and noninterference, confusion of a sense of identity, external wounds and bullying, learning disabilities, etc. The Department of Art Therapy focuses on learning of theories, techniques, and therapeutic technologies of art therapy necessary to prevent, reduce and treat such periodical confusion and problem, and people's pain. Under such an objective, the Department intends to learn art science and psychological therapy and knowledge with balance centered on art therapy, and especially professors who have proper qualifications give lectures.

Music therapy is a profession in the health area, which uses music and acoustic phenomena to work from pregnancy to the last moments of life. Music therapists are qualified professionals whose interventions seek to promote, prevent and rehabilitate aspects such as communication, interrelation, learning, mobilization, expression, organization, and other relevant therapeutic objectives, with the purpose of preventing and attending to physical and emotional needs. , mental, social, and cognitive.

By using the creative process, art therapy can help to develop and enhance the mental, emotional and physical well-being of people of all ages.