MAART5200 Professional Identity and Development Course description

Ongoing focus on professional development and self-reflection skills is a crucial part of art therapist’s professional identity. It ensures the ethical and high quality of practice since therapeutic relationship is one of the main effecting factors in art therapeutic working alliance. This course focuses on developing student’s self-reflective skills with art-based methods. Different forms of contemporary art media, such as digital tools, are used in addition to traditional art materials and methods.

The course aims to aid professional reflection and discussion of the whole three-year long study process. The goal is to integrate the gained knowledge, theoretical perspectives, practice experiences and art therapy skills into the personal professional identity that can have impact on the future practices. The students will develop their unique professional agencies that enables them to effect on the current educational, social- or healthcare practices and interact innovatively with interdisciplinary professionals.

MAART4100 Introduction to Methods and Ethics of Art Therapy, MAART4200 Assessment and Intervention Methods in Art Therapy, MAART4300 Art Therapy in Prevention, Treatment, or Rehabilitation, MAART4400 Emotions and Relations in Art Therapy, MAART4500 Evaluation in Art Therapy.

Admission to the master programme.

After completing the course, the student is expected to have achieved the following learning outcomes defined in terms of knowledge, skills and competence: 

Knowledge

The student:

• can critically evaluate aspects of professional identity and development based on experiential learning, professional reflection and interdisciplinary discussion
• can integrate theoretical, practical and experiential professional knowledge and create a coherent picture of a complex whole  

 Skills

The student:  

• can apply methods of art therapy to enhance professional development and self-reflection skills to understand and ethically evaluate problematic practice situations
• can critically reflect different perspectives in interdisciplinary practices and find creative solutions on professional challenges
• can analyse and communicate art-based knowledge professionally in multidisciplinary context

Competence

The student:

• can integrate knowledge, theoretical perspectives, practice experiences and art therapy skills into the personal professional identity
• can contribute on innovative interdisciplinary professional co-operation and quality development of future services
• has developed advanced skills to communicate professionally and lead self-reflective professional development

The course is combining campus seminars and distant learning. Teaching and learning methods include lectures, workshops and skills training in the form of practical art therapeutic assignments. The course will use varied art-based and student-active learning methods. It includes both personal experiential workshops and professional experiential workshops.

Between the seminars, the students will work with a project assignment that will later be presented and discussed in the group. The results of this project will be presented in the exam.

The following coursework must have been approved in order for the student to take the exam:

• participation in seminars, compulsory attendance of 80 %
• art therapy project presentation to fellow students and teachers

Course requirements can be conducted in English or in Scandinavian language.

Individual oral exam, at campus or distantly, which consists of:

• individual oral presentation 10 min and 15 minutes of discussion

The exam answer can be given in English or a Scandinavian language.

All aids are permitted.

Graded scale A-F.

All exams are assessed by two examiners. External examiner is used regularly.