Art therapy merges both fields to help those who might benefit from a different form of self-expression when seeking help through a therapist.
It can be a challenge for some to use their words, or sometimes words can’t quite capture an emotion fully.
Art therapists, like yourself, understand this dilemma and have chosen a field that takes a considerable amount of psychological expertise and artistic knowledge to help their patients.
You know how much work goes into this field, and you have a specific skill set that only a select few seek out and eventually master.
Now, you are looking for the perfect place to conduct your work and do what you do best – help people.
You have accomplished a lot to get to this point, so what is the next hurdle to overcome?
Writing the perfect art therapist resume to show just how amazing you are and land the job with the facility that best suits your vision.
Summary
- Resume Template
- Formatting
- Writing Your Resume Summary
- Areas of Expertise
- Writing Your Work Experience
- Writing Your Education Section
- Additional Sections
- Resume Points to Remember
- Resume “Don’ts” to Remember
- Some Helpful Tools
Let’s begin with a sample art therapist resume to demonstrate how all the resume pieces fit together. Then we will break each section down to really drill into how to write the best art therapist resume you possibly can.
Art Therapist Resume (Text Version)
Contact Info:
Heidi Burg
[email protected]
1 (804) 234-0909
Richmond, VA 21373
linkedin.com/heidiburg
Summary Statement:
Art Therapist: Experienced art therapist with a demonstrable history of effective treatment for both children and adults for over nine years. Highly skilled at communication and developing specialized treatment plans for each individual patient. Skilled with both group and individual therapy environments.
Key Accomplishments/Areas of Expertise
- EMDR
- Trauma Resolution
- Crisis Intervention
- PTSD
- Visual Art
- Creative Thinking
- Listening and Observation Skills
- Mental Health Assessments
- Behavior Management
- Verbal Communication
- Strong Creative Abilities
- Calm and Patient Demeanor
Professional Experience:
Southside Child Recovery | Richmond, VA
Therapist/Counselor | May 2017 – Present
- Work with kids ages 5-12 on trauma resolution & emotional regulation
- Use painting, sculpture, digital art, photography, & drawing in therapy
- Regularly consult with guardians/caregivers re: treatment plans
- Specialize in both physical & sexual abuse recovery
Teen Intervention Center | Richmond, VA
Therapist/Counselor | June 2013 – April 2017
- Implemented EDMR techniques with trauma victims and PTSD patients
- Assessed teen patients and developed individualized treatment plans
- Conducted group and family therapy sessions to address at-home issues
- Assisted patients in processing emotion through strengths-based art projects
Jefferson Mental Health Center | Richmond, VA
Therapy Intern | June 2011 – December 2012
- Participated in adult group therapy sessions
- Collaborated with therapists on techniques and approaches
- Helped patients identify PTSD triggers through creative expression
- Documented patient sessions and patient progress
Education/Certifications
Master Of Arts In Art Therapy And Counseling
Eastern Virginia Medical School, Norfolk, VA
Class of 2013
Bachelor Of Arts In Psychology
Virginia State University, Petersburg, VA
Class of 2009
Formatting
When writing an art therapist resume, most people start by wondering what they are going to say.
However, the first consideration should really be how do you want to say what you are going to say.
The format of your resume is possibly the most crucial detail that is frequently overlooked.
Hiring managers, on average, only spend 6 seconds reviewing each resume they look at, and in that amount of time, they aren’t really reading much.
They are going to notice the resume layout before they ever decide to start reading.
However, there is still a wide variety of layouts that are acceptable to choose from.
No matter what format you choose, your decision should always come down to professional appearance and readability.
Always make sure that you are using legible fonts and that you include a good balance of blank space in between your words.
The spacing is essential in guiding the eye to the correct places and separating your most impressive accomplishments and attributes from the rest.
Listing your work history and accomplishments in reverse chronological order also allows for your most recent, and often most impressive, notes to come first.
Always use your best judgment and make sure that you are listing the details that seem to be the most relevant to the job and facility you are applying to first.
Start With Your Resume Summary
While a resume “objective” used to be the standard, it is now more common to include a summary in your art therapist resume.
The information included in a resume objective is now seen as a waste of valuable space where you could be including more information about who you are as a professional.
The resume summary allows you to describe who you are as an art therapist in no more than three sentences.
Despite its briefness, resume summaries are important, due to their location at the top of the page, and freedom in content.
You decide what information is valuable enough to include here, which in turn says something about what you value in the job that you hold.
Yes!
Experienced art therapist with a demonstrable history of effective treatment for both children and adults for over nine years. Highly skilled at communication and developing specialized treatment plans for each individual patient. Skilled with both group and individual therapy environments.
No!
Art therapist with a history of treatment for clients. Skilled at communication and developing treatment plans for each individual patient. Familiar with a variety of therapy environments.
The “Yes!” example lends various specific descriptions to fortify the strengths and abilities that the candidate includes in their summary.
The “No!” example lends little to no extra detail or descriptive words when discussing the experience the candidate has in the field of art therapy.
PRO TIP: If you are having trouble deciding what information to include in your summary, it might be helpful to come back to this section after you have written other parts of your resume. Writing your other sections allows you to think critically about what your day-to-day looks like and what your main goals are as an art therapist.
Key Accomplishments/ Skills & Qualifications
Including a more simplistic list of skills and qualifications can be helpful when trying to incorporate relevant information in an eye-catching fashion.
A hiring manager is likely to notice this section first due to its sparse appearance, so despite this section’s simplicity, it must be well formulated and thought out.
Key Accomplishments/Areas of Expertise
- EMDR
- Trauma Resolution
- Crisis Intervention
- PTSD
- Visual Art
- Creative Thinking
- Listening and Observation Skills
- Mental Health Assessments
- Anger and Behavior Management
- Effective Written and Verbal Communication
- Strong Creative Abilities
- Calm and Patient Demeanor
As you craft this section, it’s important to note that there are two main types of skills to include – hard skills and soft skills.
Hard skills are often referred to as technical skills.
This kind of skill is usually associated with abilities that can be taught and practiced, and are easier to quantify when describing them.
Soft skills are often known as people skills.
This classification of skill is more associated with abilities that come naturally and are more often viewed as personality traits.
Each skill type is vital to the field of psychology.
An ideal art therapist candidate should have skills on their resume that show how well-read and practiced they are in this field, and skills that demonstrate their natural ability for client care.
PRO TIP: If you are responding to a job posting, make sure that you are cross-referencing the skills you include on your resume with the skills listed in the job post. Hiring managers want to see that you are a compatible candidate.
(See below for a helpful table of some suggested hard and soft skills to include in your resume.)
Writing Your Work Experience
For most people, the bulk of their resume is made up of a well-constructed work experience section.
Before diving into your work history, it’s necessary to consider which previous jobs to include and in what order.
Most often, you should list your previous jobs in reverse chronological order so that your most recent and relevant work is closer to the top of the page.
When deciding what jobs to include in this list, make sure that you are narrowing things down to only the most impressive, and that you don’t include unrelated jobs.
For example, let’s say you don’t have an extensive work history in this field, and you are choosing between a previous job as an educator and a job as a front desk administrator.
You should likely choose to include the job as an educator and try to describe the job tasks that involved artwork with children, conflict resolution, behavioral assessments, and communication and listening skills.
While this job might not be ideal, you can see how it has skills that are more related to art therapy than another job might.
Whatever the job you are describing, make sure that you are gearing it to show off skills necessary to the job you are applying to.
Yes!
Southside Child Recovery | Richmond, VA | Therapist/Counselor | May 2017-Present
- Work with kids ages 5-12 on trauma resolution & emotional regulation
- Use painting, sculpture, digital art, photography, & drawing in therapy
- Regularly consult with guardians/caregivers re: treatment plans
- Specialize in both physical & sexual abuse recovery
No!
Southside Child Recovery | Richmond, VA | Therapist/Counselor | May 2017-Present
- Work with child patients on trauma resolution
- Utilize painting and crafts in treatment
- Work with patient caregivers concerning treatment plans
- Specialize in both physical and sexual abuse recovery
The “Yes!” example gives specific quantifying and qualifying details to describe the candidate’s particular skill sets and accomplishments in their time at this facility.
The “No!” example lends banal details concerning daily tasks and specializations that fail to separate the candidate from the pack.
PRO TIP: When writing your job descriptions, make sure that you are starting each bullet point with new and descriptive keywords or power words to describe a new job task or skill. Make sure that you never repeat words, so that each bullet point remains impactful and fresh.
(If you lack work experience, see below for a helpful section.)
More About Bots
As you draft your art therapist resume you have likely considered who is going to be reading it.
You assume, as many people do, that a well-educated professional with expertise in your field is going to decipher whether or not your resume “makes the cut.”
However, in this modern digital age, this is increasingly not the case (at least not right away).
Bots, or more specifically, Applicant Tracking Systems (ATS), are used to review resumes before an actual person reviews them.
In most cases, these bots are programmed to search resumes for specified keywords that are associated with “good-candidate potential.”
Some resume experts have started to recommend that describing your job history in paragraph format and not with bullet points is a way to include more keywords in your resume, and therefore get your resume flagged by a bot.
Let’s look at the difference.
Standard Bullet Point Format:
Teen Intervention Center | Richmond, VA | Therapist/Counselor | June 2013 – April 2017
- Implemented EDMR techniques with trauma victims and PTSD patients
- Assessed teen patients and developed individualized treatment plans
- Conducted group and family therapy sessions to address at-home issues
- Assisted patients in expressing emotion through strengths-based art projects
Paragraph Format:
Teen Intervention Center | Richmond, VA | Therapist/Counselor | June 2013 – April 2017
Implemented EMDR techniques with trauma victims and PTSD patients. Assessed pre-teen and teen patients and developed individualized treatment plans designed to build motivation and achieve patient goals. Conducted group and family therapy sessions to address at-home and out-of-home issues. Assisted patients in expressing & processing emotion through strengths-based art projects composed with patient input to reinforce patient confidence in personal ability.
You can also draft your work history section using both paragraphs and bullet points.
Teen Intervention Center | Richmond, VA | Therapist/Counselor | June 2013 – April 2017
Assessed pre-teen and teen patients and developed individualized treatment plans designed to build motivation and achieve patient goals. Conducted group and family therapy sessions to address at-home and out-of-home issues. Assisted patients in expressing & processing emotion through strengths-based art projects composed with patient input to reinforce patient confidence in personal ability.
- EMDR Therapy
- Adolescent PTSD
At Big Interview, we recommend sticking with bullet point format.
This format allows you to catch and hold the attention of human readers more effectively, and it is still possible to include a wide range of keywords in this format.
Writing Your Education Section
The education section of your art therapist resume is generally more simplistic and less detailed than your work history section (depending on your background).
This section should include the list of your degrees in order of recency and impressiveness (e.g., Master’s, bachelor’s, associates)
Example:
Education
Master of Arts in Art Therapy and Counseling
Eastern Virginia Medical School, Norfolk, VA
Class of 2013
Bachelor of Arts in Psychology
Virginia State University, Petersburg, VA
Class of 2009
You can also include any certifications or licenses in this section as well.
Registered Art Therapist (ATR-BC)
Possible Sections to Include
It is also possible to incorporate additional sections on your art therapist resume if you feel that there are notable details and accomplishments related to art therapy that these previous sections haven’t covered.
Some sections to consider including are:
- Awards and honors
- Publications
- Noteworthy Projects
- Social Media Influence
- Speaking Engagements
- Hobbies/Interests
- Volunteer Work
What if You Have No Experience?
If you fall into the category of someone who has just graduated or is in the process of switching fields, your resume will need a few adjustments.
To start, you should move your education section above your work history and below your summary.
This shift is necessary when your education section is more impressive or relevant than your previous work experience is.
Adding more detail to your education section is also important in helping you set yourself apart from other candidates.
Try including details like earning a high GPA or receiving any honors and awards during your time in college.
If you wrote any impressive dissertations or conducted relevant studies pertaining to art therapy, include those accomplishments as well.
Outside of improving your education section, consider adding in extra sections.
Including internships and volunteer work in this field is a big step up for someone just getting started.
Stay positive and confident in starting out with the abilities you have gained while in school, and you will be off to a great start.
Resume Points to Remember
Study up
Each position you apply to is unique, even if it’s in the same field or has the same job title. Make sure that you are looking over the job posting and researching the facility you are applying to so that you can tailor your resume around what they are looking for.
Always dig deeper
Often, success is earned due to a constant pursuit of improvement, and not a onetime attempt. Make sure that you are reviewing your resumes and looking for ways to improve it as you revise. If you have someone else who can review your work for you, even better.
Word choice matters
When you are writing your resume, make sure that you are using different keywords to describe yourself, your job tasks, or your accomplishments. Never reuse the same power word twice when starting a bullet point.
Try to Avoid
Rules are rules
While creativity is key, some rules are there for a reason and shouldn’t be broken. Make sure that when it comes to formatting, you are sticking to the basics. Use a legible font and a format that guides the eyes to the most valuable information. Save your creativity for what you are going to say.
Short and sweet
While there is so much more to you than what you could say on one page, avoid the urge to write a resume that uses a second page. This is a busy field and people want you to narrow down your resume details to only the best.
Don’t get ahead of yourself
It is sometimes easy to get caught up in all the “rules” for writing a great resume. Make sure that you aren’t getting so overwhelmed that you forget the most simplistic information of all. Include your name and contact information at the top of the resume, where it can be easily noticed.
(See below for a helpful table of some suggested power words.)
Helpful Tools:
Art Therapist Resume Power Words
- Administered
- Founded
- Adept
- Formulated
- Built
- Implemented
- Created
- Improved
- Consolidated
- Initiated
- Coordinated
- Launched
- Developed
- Pioneered
- Designed
- Organized
Art Therapist Resume Skills List
| Hard Skills | Soft Skills |
| PTSD | Written and Verbal Communication |
| Crisis Intervention | Creative Artistic Abilities |
| EMDR | Listening Skills |
| Anger and Behavior Management | Calm and Soothing Demeanor |
| Mental Health Assessments | Strength in Coping Methods |
