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Indiana Art Therapy Association

Art Therapy in Indiana Mental Health Profession · Statewide Professional Community

IndiATA connects Indiana with the art therapy profession: clinicians, students, graduate education, organizations, policymakers, and people seeking professional art therapy

Explore Art Therapy in Indiana Find an Art Therapist

Art Therapy in Indiana · By Role

Care · Practice · Education · Systems · Advocacy · Membership

Direct access to the part of Indiana’s art therapy profession relevant to you

Seeking art therapy

Find clinically trained art therapists in Indiana

Professional directories and credential verification resources for identifying graduate-level art therapy training

Find an Art Therapist →

Art therapists + professionals

Practice + professional collaboration

Qualifications, art psychotherapy, referral, interdisciplinary care, and professional roles

For Professionals →

Students + future art therapists

Graduate art therapy education in Indiana

Programs, accreditation, professional preparation, and pathways into practice

Graduate Programs →

Organizations + systems

Work with the profession

Credentials, professional roles, practice settings, workforce contribution, and collaboration

Art Therapy in Indiana →

Policymakers + advocates

Art therapy advocacy + professional recognition

Public protection, workforce visibility, licensure, and Indiana advocacy

Advocacy →

Chapter participation

Join IndiATA

Membership, professional community, chapter participation, and statewide connection

Membership →

Art therapy, clearly

Art therapy is a mental health profession

Professional art therapy integrates art media and creative processes with psychological knowledge and psychotherapy within a professional therapeutic relationship

Words, images, materials, sensation, metaphor, relationship, and reflection can all carry clinically meaningful information

Talking can be central to art therapy. Creative processes add visual, sensory, symbolic, spatial, and embodied ways of communicating and working within psychotherapy

Understand Art Therapy →
Graduate-level profession Discipline-specific graduate education and supervised clinical training
Psychotherapeutic relationship Creative processes are integrated within professional mental health care
Not simply therapeutic art Art therapy is defined by professional preparation, clinical practice, and the therapeutic relationship—not by the presence of art materials alone

Indiana Art Therapy Association

Indiana’s professional association for art therapy

IndiATA supports education, professional connection, public understanding, student engagement, advocacy, and statewide relationships around the profession

About IndiATA →
Profession

Connection across practice settings, regions, roles, and career stages

Students

Connection between Indiana graduate education and the professional community

Advocacy

Professional recognition, public protection, workforce visibility, and advocacy

AATA

IndiATA is the Indiana chapter of the American Art Therapy Association

Find an Art Therapist

Find clinically trained art therapists in Indiana

Use professional directories and credential verification resources to identify art therapists with graduate-level clinical training

IndiATA is a professional membership association, not a therapy practice or clinician-matching service

Search professional directories, verify credentials, and contact professionals directly

Find an Art Therapist →

Indiana ATx

Art therapy in Indiana

The profession, graduate education and clinical training, national art therapy credentials, Indiana mental health licensure, places art therapists work, workforce recognition, and ways Hoosiers and Indiana systems can connect with the field.

Definitions

Art therapy, therapeutic art-making and art psychotherapy

Creative expression, therapeutic art experiences, professional art therapy, and psychotherapy using art processes can all hold value. Their purpose, training, relationship, professional responsibility, and clinical context are not interchangeable.

Art therapy is a mental health profession that integrates active art-making and creative process with psychological knowledge and human experience within a psychotherapeutic relationship.

Professional preparation Graduate-level art therapy education, supervised clinical training, ethics, and professional development.
Areas of experience Psychological, relational, developmental, behavioral, medical, neurological, and social experience.
Forms of engagement Conversation, images, materials, sensory experience, metaphor, reflection, and creative process.
Not itself art therapy

Therapeutic art-making

Art-making can support expression, reflection, regulation, connection, recreation, meaning, and wellness. An art experience can be therapeutic without becoming professional art therapy or psychotherapy.

Professional art therapy

Art therapy

Art therapy is provided by a professionally trained art therapist. Art processes are integrated with psychological knowledge, ethics, professional relationship, assessment, treatment planning, and clinical purpose as applicable to the work.

Within art therapy practice

Art psychotherapy

Art psychotherapy describes art therapy practice in which art processes are integrated directly into psychotherapy. It is not a separate ATCB credential.

Art therapy can include talking

Conversation may be central, secondary, intermittent, or minimal depending on the person and context. Art processes offer additional channels for communication, reflection, relationship, symbolization, sensory and embodied experience, and experiences that may be difficult, incomplete, or not yet available in words.

Practice range

Who and what art therapists work with

Art therapy is practiced across everyday mental health care and specialized clinical, medical, neurological, rehabilitation, educational, and community settings. The work varies according to population, setting, professional role, competencies, and legal scope.

Daily life Stress, change, identity, relationships, transitions, belonging, and self-understanding.
Mental health Grief, anxiety, depression, trauma, psychiatric care, regulation, and relational work.
Development Children, adolescents, adults, older adults, neurodivergence, disability, and varied communication.
Medical + neurological Illness, pain, rehabilitation, neurological conditions, hospital care, and chronic health experiences.
Systems + community Schools, organizations, public health, community programs, interdisciplinary teams, and group care.
Education + supervision Clinical supervision, graduate education, field training, research, and professional mentorship.
Settings where art therapy is practiced
Private practice Hospitals + healthcare Behavioral health Schools + universities Community mental health Rehabilitation Residential care Older adult care Disability services Veteran + military settings Corrections + justice settings Hospice + grief care Community organizations Research + education Interdisciplinary care

Becoming an art therapist

Education, clinical training, credentials and licensure are connected

Art therapy is a graduate-level profession. Graduate education, supervised clinical training, national art therapy credentialing, post-graduate experience, and applicable state licensure serve different functions within the professional pathway.

Graduate education

Professional preparation

Graduate-level education must meet the requirements applicable to the art therapy credentialing pathway being pursued.

Clinical training

Practicum + internship

Graduate education includes supervised clinical training through practicum, internship, or other qualifying field experience.

National credentials

ATCB

Current ATCB credentials include ATR-P, ATR, ATR-BC, and ATCS. ATR-P is required before applying for ATR.

State regulation

Applicable licensure

State licensure is a separate legal system. Requirements depend on jurisdiction, license type, professional scope, and practice setting.

Indiana graduate programs

Saint Mary-of-the-Woods College

Saint Mary-of-the-Woods

Master of Arts in Art Therapy with an Emphasis in Counseling.

CAAHEP accredited upon the recommendation of the Accreditation Council for Art Therapy Education. Current status: Probationary Accreditation, effective July 17, 2025.

Herron School of Art + Design

IU Indianapolis

Master of Arts in Art Therapy.

CAAHEP accredited upon the recommendation of the Accreditation Council for Art Therapy Education.

University of Indianapolis

Indianapolis

Master of Arts in Mental Health Counseling: Art Therapy Track.

CAAHEP accredited upon the recommendation of the Accreditation Council for Art Therapy Education.

Accreditation actions and program requirements can change. Confirm the current CAAHEP record and current degree, admission, clinical-training, and residency requirements directly with each program.

Separate professional systems

Which body answers which question

Program accreditation, individual art therapy credentials, national professional membership, and state licensure serve different functions. They are connected, but they are not interchangeable.

Program accreditation

CAAHEP + ACATE

CAAHEP accredits art therapy education programs upon the recommendation of ACATE. Accreditation applies to the educational program, not to an individual graduate or practitioner.

Individual credentials

ATCB

The Art Therapy Credentials Board administers national art therapy credentials. Current credentials are ATR-P, ATR, ATR-BC, and Art Therapy Certified Supervisor — ATCS. ATR-P has been required before applying for ATR since June 2024.

National professional association

AATA

The American Art Therapy Association is the national professional membership association. ATCB is a separate independent organization. AATA does not issue ATCB credentials or state professional licenses, and CAAHEP — not AATA — grants program accreditation.

Indiana regulation

State licensure

Indiana does not currently issue an independent art therapist license. An Indiana art therapist may also hold another state-regulated mental health license. Legal scope, supervision, billing, employer requirements, and board oversight depend on the applicable license and setting.

Indiana counseling pathway

LMHCA → LMHC

For graduates whose education and clinical training meet Indiana mental health counseling requirements, LMHCA is the associate-level counseling license. Indiana uses the NCE for LMHCA. LMHC requires qualifying post-degree experience under the associate license and passage of the NCMHCE.

Verification

Check the issuing body

Program accreditation is verified through CAAHEP. Individual art therapy credentials are verified through ATCB. Indiana professional licenses are verified through the Indiana Professional Licensing Agency. Membership status is separate from credential and license verification.

Current Indiana LMHC requirements Indiana currently requires 3,000 hours of post-graduate clinical experience under approved supervision, completed over no fewer than 21 months and no more than 48 months, including at least 100 hours of qualifying supervision under current Indiana requirements, plus the NCMHCE.
IndiATA is not a credentialing or licensing authority IndiATA can provide general professional information and identify which professional system is responsible for a question. It does not determine credential eligibility, licensure eligibility, individual legal scope, or regulatory compliance.

Workforce data

Art therapists are recognized federally while state estimates remain aggregated

O*NET identifies Art Therapists as occupation 29-1129.01. Federal state-level Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, however, use the broader 29-1129 Therapists, All Other category. Indiana employment estimates therefore do not isolate art therapists as a separate state-level OEWS count.

Clinical settings

Mental health care

Psychotherapy, assessment, regulation, communication, identity, grief, relationships, trauma-responsive practice, and complex emotional experience.

Health settings

Medical + behavioral health

Interdisciplinary contribution within hospitals, rehabilitation, behavioral health, chronic illness, neurological care, and other healthcare settings.

Education settings

Schools + universities

Clinical and developmental expertise relevant to student wellbeing, disability, communication, learning environments, and professional education.

Statewide professional capacity

Community + systems

Art therapists contribute through community organizations, private practice, interdisciplinary systems, consultation, education, supervision, and program development.

The profession already exists within Indiana

Indiana includes practicing art therapists, graduate education, supervision, interdisciplinary collaboration, professional association infrastructure, and established national credentialing pathways.

Federal measurement uses a broader occupational category

Art Therapist is recognized in O*NET, while BLS state employment estimates aggregate art therapists with other professions under Therapists, All Other. That distinction matters when interpreting workforce data.

Indiana licensure

Indiana does not currently issue an independent art therapy license

Indiana has considered art therapy licensure in multiple General Assembly sessions. The most substantial recent action was Senate Bill 338 in 2023. The bill was heard and amended in Senate Health and Provider Services, passed the Indiana Senate 47–2, and was referred to House Public Health. It did not become law.

IndiATA's advocacy work includes accurate public and professional education, workforce recognition, public protection, appropriate identification of qualified art therapists, and continued work toward independent art therapy licensure in Indiana.

Workforce recognition

Represent the art therapy workforce accurately within Indiana professional, healthcare, and policy conversations.

Public protection

Maintain clear distinctions between qualified professional art therapy and other creative, educational, recreational, or wellness experiences.

Professional access

Make accurate credential, verification, and professional information easier for Hoosiers and Indiana systems to locate.

Licensure

Continue developing the professional, organizational, constituent, and legislative support for independent art therapy licensure.

For organizations

Professional information for Indiana systems

An organization does not need to understand every credential or regulatory pathway before learning about the profession. IndiATA can provide general professional information, explain the different credentialing and regulatory systems, and point organizations toward appropriate public resources. It does not select clinicians, determine individual scope, or recommend a specific provider.

Healthcare

Hospitals, physician groups, rehabilitation, behavioral health, and interdisciplinary care.

Education

K–12 schools, colleges, universities, student services, special education, and professional training.

Community

Nonprofits, community mental health, disability services, older-adult care, public health, and community organizations.

Workforce + policy

Employers, workforce planners, legislators, agencies, professional associations, and cross-sector partners.

For the public

How to find an art therapist in Indiana

IndiATA is a professional membership association. It does not provide therapy, assign clinicians, evaluate treatment needs, or recommend a specific clinician. Use the dedicated Find an Art Therapist resource for directory options, credential information, verification pathways, and questions to ask when contacting a professional.

Search, verify, then contact professionals directly

Directory participation and credential registries have different scopes. The dedicated IndiATA resource explains what each source can and cannot show and how to verify professional information.

Indiana Art Therapy Association

Indiana’s professional association for art therapy, supporting education, professional connection, public understanding, and advocacy across the state

A state chapter of the American Art Therapy Association

IndiATA is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit professional membership association. IndiATA does not provide clinical services, determine clinical fit, verify state licenses, or match individuals with therapists.

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