Art Therapy & Counseling Program Mission and Vision Statements

Mission Statement

The EVMS Graduate Art Therapy & Counseling Program is dedicated to achieving excellence in art therapy education, research, clinical, community service and fostering the highest ethical standards.

Vision Statement

Our vision is to be recognized as a leader in providing graduate art therapy education, conducting innovative art therapy research, forging community-academic partnerships, and serving as effective advocates for the therapeutic use of art.

To realize our vision and to fulfill our mission we:

• Provide a rigorous didactic and experiential art therapy education
• Emphasize the understanding of various individual, group, and family theoretical approaches
• Prepare graduates to integrate theoretical approaches into the practice of art therapy with culturally diverse people of all ages in a variety of settings
• Encourage students to develop a personal and ethical approach to art therapy
• Ground students in a mental health perspective
• Promote clinical competence in assessment and treatment
• Challenge students to speak and write professionally about art therapy
• Develop competency in planning, conducting, and evaluating art therapy research
• Enhance student self-awareness and development of artist-therapist identity through personal art making and self-reflection
• Foster skills in the therapeutic use of a broad range of art processes and material
• Provide a dedicated and accessible art studio
• Promote community partnerships