Question by nina: what path does my son need to take to get his a masters of arts in counseling psychology : art therapy?
i have the requirements for the masters degree but i don’t know what he needs to get there. he is a sophomore…what high school classes should he take, college courses needed and what BS does he need? i have tried to research all of this but i cant seem to find what i need. help. also if you know of good colleges that offer the programs he needs that would be great! we live in illinois.

Best answer:

Answer by Beachgurl
For most grad programs an MA in counseling psych requires a BA/BS in “Psychology” “Counseling” or “Social Work” sometimes they will accept a related undergrad major but those 3 would provide the best preparation for counseling psychology.

Art therapy courses are usually offered as a specialty for students becoming licensed psychologists.

In high-school: volunteer as a peer counselor, take classes in child-development/get some experience working with children (as an art therapist it is good to have the option to take on children as patients which means you need to be comfortable around little kids) obviously extra visual arts classes are a good idea,

the best thing to do in high school is to get some of the science requirements over with. In college to get a degree in Psych you have to take some basic biology and chemistry courses, which is a bummer if you’re not interested in science labs. To get out of these requirements take the AP Bio or AP Chem tests in high-school or even easier, take college-level science courses over the summer at your local community college. It’s so helpful to get these out of the way.

What do you think? Answer below!

Southwestern College: Debbie Schroder on the Art Therapy/Counseling Program – In a series of 5 brief clips, Art Therapy/Counseling Chair Debbie Schroder gives an overview of Art Therapy at Southwestern College and beyond, including some comments about our graduates who move into leadership positions…Debbie herself has been a leader, an inspiration and a role model of quiet and conscious leadership at Southwestern College…