Art therapy is not simply the process of engaging in a pleasurable creative endeavor and entering a state of "flow," UC's Meera Rastogi tells U.S. News & World report in a feature on art therapy as a career path.
Art therapy is a clinical profession, and art therapists are mental health care providers with master's degrees who use artwork and art analysis to discover the root causes of a client's distress and to address psychological wounds.
The article explains the intricacies of melding art with clinical therapy and the academic requirements to become an art therapist.
Rastogi, a professor of psychology and art therapy at UC's College of Design, Architecture, Art and Planning, teaches psychology and art therapy classes at UC Clermont. She currently oversees the UC's pre-art therapy certificate program Pre-Art Therapy Certificate Program. Her interests also include interdisciplinary research on art therapy and cancer treatments.