Course Descriptions
CAT 600 Basic Counseling and Art Psychotherapy Skills (3)
Students will learn and develop basic counseling and art psychotherapy skills through didactic lectures, readings, in class role plays, and practical fieldwork to experience therapeutic and client relationships. Students will facilitate intake, risk assessment, art therapy assessment, and basic counseling and art psychotherapy skills with Standardized Patients. Students will experience the client role through process groups. Students will attend clinical case presentations and additional preparatory trainings.
CAT 603 Group Counseling & Psychotherapy (3)
This course includes the study of group counseling and psychotherapy techniques and practice. Emphasis is on use of group dynamics, process illumination, and stages of group development. Cultural and ethical considerations are explored.
CAT 604 Individual Counseling & Psychotherapy (3)
This course provides students with the opportunity to integrate various theoretical approaches to individual counseling and psychotherapy and their relation to art psychotherapy approaches. The therapist's values and ethics are addressed. Principles of dynamics, therapeutic factors, therapist and client roles and behaviors, leadership styles and approaches, selection criteria, art-based communication, and short- and long-term individual clinical mental health counseling and art therapy will be reviewed. The goal of the course is to provide the student with an opportunity to continue the development of an approach to individual clinical mental health counseling, psychotherapy, and art therapy.
CAT 605 Processes & Materials of Art Psychotherapy I (3)
This course is designed so that the student will directly experience the therapeutic usefulness and understand the psychological implications of a variety of materials and processes grounded in the Expressive Therapies Continuum (ETC) and clinical mental health counseling theories. Students apply basic understanding of the language of art and the range of possible therapeutic responses for skills in creativity in counseling/mental health and art psychotherapy.
CAT 606 Processes & Materials of Art Psychotherapy II (3)
This course is designed so that the student will directly experience the therapeutic usefulness and understand the psychological implications of a variety of materials and processes grounded in the Expressive Therapies Continuum (ETC) and clinical mental health counseling theories. Students apply advanced understanding of the language of art and the range of possible therapeutic responses for creativity in counseling/mental health and art psychotherapy.
CAT 607 Case Presentation Skills (1)
This course is designed so that the student will directly experience the therapeutic usefulness and understand the psychological implications of a variety of materials and processes grounded in the Expressive Therapies Continuum (ETC) and clinical mental health counseling theories. Students apply advanced understanding of the language of art and the range of possible therapeutic responses for creativity in counseling/mental health and art psychotherapy.
CAT 608 Psychopathology (3)
Students learn descriptive criteria for psychiatric diagnoses, the use of the DSM 5-TR, and theories of psychopathology. A goal of the course is for students to develop an ability to recognize symptoms, conditions, behaviors, verbalizations, and art expressions of functional and organic disorders.
CAT 609 Assessment (3)
Students explore the fundamentals of assessment in clinical mental health counseling using a variety of assessment techniques including and not limited to intake interviews, psychological testing, risk assessments, and art-based assessments of psychosocial, cognitive, and emotional functioning. Students are introduced to principles of case formulation for developing treatment plans from assessment results. Students develop skills to administer and document in progress notes and reports a variety of specific instruments and procedures used in appraisal and evaluation in psychotherapy, clinical mental health counseling, and art therapy.
CAT 610 Theories of Human Psychological Development (3)
Following a family life cycle perspective, students explore human psychological development from birth to death. Students are exposed to various theories of personality development. Cultural and environmental influences are addressed.
CAT 611 Introduction of the History & Theory of Art Therapy (1)
This course offers an overview of the history and growth of art therapy as a profession, along with an overview of theoretical approaches that have evolved from the founding practitioners in the field. Students develop a specific definition of art therapy that conveys a personal approach, as well as a clear understanding of the role of art therapists in various work settings. Current developments and future directions within the field are also explored.
CAT 612 Medical Art Therapy (1)
This course reviews the clinical implications for clinical mental health counseling and art therapy in medical settings to include diagnoses, management and treatment of various medical disorders, overviews of practice settings, and psychological impacts of medical illness. This course provides foundational concepts and experiences related to ethical practice of clinical mental health counseling and art therapy in medical settings.
CAT 614 Clinical Case Conference II (1)
Students demonstrate the ability to effectively communicate clinical material and integrate theory and counseling practice through structured case presentations. Students integrate case assessment, case formulation, treatment planning knowledge with counseling and art therapy theories applied to clients.
CAT 615 Research Methods & Program Evaluation (3)
This course provides students with the opportunity to understand the purposes, methods, and the ethical, legal, and cultural considerations of research. Students will demonstrate the necessary skills to design and prepare to conduct a research study and/or program evaluation. Students will learn how to use research, research skills, and findings to assess effectiveness of clinical mental health counseling, art therapy, and mental health services by becoming an informed consumer of mental health, counseling, and art therapy research.
CAT 616 Cultural Humility (3)
This course supports the development of culturally humble counselors and art therapists through multicultural orientation with regard to intersecting identities including age, gender, sexual orientation, ethnicity, nationality, socio-economic status, developmental ability, physical ability, education, family values, and religious and spiritual values. Through review of the current literature, application to clinical practice, and self-assessment, students will explore culture and their own unintentional biases, develop strategies for working with diverse individuals, groups, and communities, foster critical thinking skills, and explore the role of the counselor and art therapist in culturally alert and responsive practices for clinical mental health counseling, art therapy, social justice, and advocacy.
CAT 617 Family Counseling & Psychotherapy (3)
This course provides students with a foundation in the basic concepts of family and couples clinical mental health counseling and art therapy. Students learn about family counseling theories, techniques, genograms, family assessments, and documentation.
CAT 618 Ethics & Professionalism (3)
This course addresses professional identity, professional ethics, and the ethical practices of counseling and art therapy. Students prepare to enter the job market and review the requirements for professional licensure and credentials for counselors and art therapists.
CAT 619 Creativity, Symbolism, & Metaphor (3)
This course reviews various theories and models of creativity, symbolism, metaphor, and artistic language. The types, formation, and roles of symbolism and its relation to psychopathology and mental health, and the role of metaphor in therapy are explored. Students explore the function and interpretation of symbols in dreams, artwork, world religions, myths and fairy tales, and daily life and examine the role of symbolism in assessment, clinical mental health counseling, and therapy. Students develop a deeper understanding of symbolic language to enhance their understanding of their own inner experiences and those of their clients.
CAT 620 Addictions (3)
This course provides an overview of Addiction Counseling. Topics that will be covered include drugs and society, substance and process addictions, evidence-based best practices for the substance abuse counselor, assessment, the recovery process, addiction and the family, and prevention strategies. This course covers diagnosis and treatment of addictive disorders and includes an overview of the philosophies and evidenced-based best practices, policies, and outcomes of the most generally accepted models of treatment, recovery, relapse prevention, and continuing care for addictions and other substance abuse related problems. Students also gain awareness of the impact of drug abuse on society and an appreciation of the cultural context within which addiction and recovery occurs.
CAT 621 Career Counseling (3)
This course includes the study of theory and process of career counseling. Students will acquire skills to incorporate career development theory into the practice of counseling. Students will be introduced to career assessment tools and occupational methods.
CAT 624 Trauma & Neuroscience Informed Counseling & Art Therapy (3)
The course will review and engage students in the current literature of Trauma Informed Counseling Practices. The objective is for the student to build skills in understanding how to treat survivors of trauma, understand the etiology of behaviors, emotions, and functioning related to trauma, and develop age-appropriate treatment plans based in best counseling practice.
CAT 625 Community Art (1)
This course introduces students to philosophies, theories, and practices of community art and socially engaged art in various community settings and projects.
CAT 627 Countertransference/Jung (1)
This elective course facilitates through reading and discussion the exploration of the impact of transference and countertransference in work with patients. The impact on the therapist is explored with depth and implications for informing work with patients is explored.
CAT 628 Exploration of the Psyche (1)
This course aims to enliven the students' understanding of the psyche and its processes, and to increase their understanding of the psychic processes both in the therapeutic process and in their own lives.
CAT 631 Applied Cultural Sensitivity in Counseling & Art Psychotherapy (4) (Study Abroad)**
Applied Cultural Sensitivity in Counseling & Art Psychotherapy will engage students in cultural immersion to learn about cultural similarities and differences in mental health services, counseling, and art psychotherapy, and varied aspects of the impacts of trauma related to culture. Students will engage in content and experientials that explore art expression, role of art, artists, therapists, and art therapists in society, art/crafts processes, preferences or prohibitions to various art processes or media, and conventional/cultural symbolism; cultural appropriation in art therapy; and cultural sensitivity to the use of art processes and materials in art therapy for trauma informed approaches integrated into art psychotherapy and counseling in various community settings.
CAT 639 Art Therapy in the Schools (1)
This elective course introduces principles underlying comprehensive school art therapy service delivery. Topics explored include special and alternative education settings, program development, and research supporting art therapy in schools.
CAT 668 Internship (3)*
Students attend internship experience for 300 hours over the semester to engage and learn about the treatment setting. Students work with clients for a minimum of 120 direct client contact hours each semester in clinical practice. Students provide counseling, counseling interventions, Assessments, individual, group and/or family counseling and art therapy for an average minimum of 9 hours per week. The other hours on site are for students to attend team meetings, in-service conferences, and all related milieu activities, and to complete documentation. Students rotate through one site per semester to obtain experience with children, adolescents, and adults. Students attend individual supervision with a faculty clinical site supervisor for 1 hour per week minimum. Students attend group supervision with a faculty clinical group site supervisor for a minimum of 1.5 hours per week.
CAT 669 Practicum (3)
Students attend practicum experience for 100 hours during their first practicum semester to engage and learn about the treatment setting and develop basic clinical mental health counseling skills. Students work with clients for 40 hours of direct contact over the 100 hours. Students attend practicum up to 18 hours per week up to 16 weeks. Students earn up to 120 direct client contact hours each semester. Students provide counseling, counseling interventions, art-based assessments, individual, group and/or family clinical mental health counseling and art therapy for an average minimum of 9 hours per week. The other hours on site are for students to attend team meetings, in-service conferences, and all related milieu activities, and to complete documentation. Students attend individual supervision with a faculty clinical site supervisor for 1 hour per week minimum. Students attend group supervision with a faculty clinical group site supervisor for a minimum of 1.5 hours per week.
CAT 690 Capstone (1)***
The student develops and executes a project of excellence based on the literature in counseling and art therapy. The student documents the Capstone Project through a professional paper, poster brief, and/or presentation.
CAT 698 Independent Study: Research Methods (1)
This course provides students with the opportunity to understand the purposes, methods, and the ethical considerations of research and to apply and demonstrate the necessary skills to design and conduct research. Students will develop skills in collaboration and working on a research team.
**Note: Course syllabi are available upon request
