Students Learn About Healing Through Art

Amber Smith is a lifelong artist and has a passion for helping others — two characteristics that made her jump at the chance to enroll in UC’s new Pre-Art Therapy Certificate. “Art is a safe way to express anything you are feeling or thinking,” Smith said. “Art therapy uses the creative process and artwork to increase self-awareness and esteem, reconcile emotional conflicts and reduce anxiety — and from personal experience, I feel that art has a healing quality that is hard to explain.”

Smith isn’t alone; in fact, she’s one of nearly 20 students currently pursuing the certificate, a collaborative undergraduate program among faculty from the University of Cincinnati’s Clermont College, the McMicken College of Arts and Sciences (A&S) and the College of Design, Architecture, Art, and Planning. Art therapy is a mental-health profession that uses art making to help people who have experienced illness, trauma and other challenges — as well as those who seek personal development — to increase self-awareness, cope with symptoms and enjoy the creative process.

The certificate program educates students both in the basic skills used in drawing, painting and ceramics and in major psychology and art therapy concepts, helping them integrate the two worlds to promote expression and healing in others. UC is the only institution in the Tri-State area to offer an introduction to art therapy course.

“Research is beginning to show the benefits of art for healing, stress and anxiety reduction, positive coping skills and as a path for self discovery,” said Meera Rastogi, associate professor of psychology. “This certificate can complement majors in many different disciplines as it can be helpful for students in managing their own stressors or incorporating the arts in whatever profession they pursue — including nursing, medicine, social work and psychology.”

Rastogi also notes that the UC certificate requires the minimum pre-requisites for most graduate programs in art therapy — a requirement to practice as a professional art therapist. Volunteer experience is also strongly encouraged, and students can tap into opportunities with local organizations that utilize art therapy or the therapeutic qualities of art, such as Good Samaritan Hospital, Visionaries and Voices, Fernside and New Perceptions.

The certificate is just the latest offering to be part of UC Forward (uc.edu/provost/ucforward), a university-wide philosophy that supports teaching, learning and research across disciplines — specifically experiences that enhance undergraduate and graduate programs. All UC Forward collaborations are intended to tackle real world issues, including poverty, environmental concerns, healthcare and theoretical questions in art, photography and literature.

To learn more about UC’s Pre-Art Therapy Certificate, visit daap.uc.edu/academics/art/certificates/pre_art_therapy.html or contact Meera Rastogi at meera.rastogi@uc.edu or 513-732-5331.