Creative Arts for Healing

Photo by Jack Sharp on Unsplash

Since I was young I possessed an interest in both psychology and the arts. All through my high school career I bounced back and forth between the two, weighing the pros and cons of being a studio artist versus a psychologist. I took the only two psychology classes that were offered, intro to psychology and sociology and thrived. I also took intro to art foundations, drawing, and painting. I ended up finishing painting with a 99% and I enjoyed it so much I took it again my senior year even though I couldn’t receive credit. After doing so well in both subjects, when I learned that the two could be meshed together I was ecstatic.

By the time I decided what I wanted to do I was already committed to Plymouth State. I was worried about this at first because I knew that Plymouth didn’t have art therapy as a major. However when I attended accepted students day there was a specific talk being given to students going in undeclared. One of the opportunities discussed during the talk was interdisciplinary studies. It seemed like a great option for me. A few people told me I should just double major in art and psychology but I don’t feel like I need that extensive of an education in both. I feel the courses I selected in my contract are just the amount of knowledge I need in art and psychology without any extra classes that I feel I don’t need in the field I’m entering. I also wanted to be able to study abroad for a semester and if I double majored it would have been much more difficult to do. Thanks to interdisciplinary studies I am able to create the perfect major filled with courses expertly selected to provide me with the necessary training to be successful.

The QRCO that I chose was Statistics in Psychology. This is vital to my education because I need to know how to apply mathematics to psychology. My TECO is Measuring Behavior. This class will improve my technical skills by analyzing data and measuring behavior. The WRCO I selected is Research Methods in Psychology which will give me an introduction to writing in professional APA format. I selected all psychology courses for my connections because they are meant to be taking in order. Measuring Behavior is a prerequisite for Statistics in Psychology which is a prerequisite for Research Methods in Psychology.

I wanted to have a strong background in psychology especially so I selected two foundations courses that I’m taking currently, Introduction to General Psychology and Life-Span Developmental Psychology. I’m also taking Personality, Abnormal Psychology, and Treatment of Psychological Disorders. These three courses were recommended to me by Dr. Herzig. They will be important because they are meant to be taken in that order and will all give me a great background in disorders and treatment. Another class that I chose was Cognitive Psychology which includes lab, which gives me a course environment that I haven’t experienced before.

When choosing the courses I needed to take for art I tried to focus on a wide range of mediums to have a diverse art education. My first course that I am currently enrolled in is Art Foundations 2D: Composition and Content. The other courses are Art Foundations Drawing: Line and Language, Art Foundations 3D: Materials and Meaning, Printmaking Foundations: Silk and Stone, Painting: Theory and process. All of these classes will provide a variety of education over the drawing, printmaking, painting, and 3D mediums. All of these hands on art mediums are critical to art therapy and to have a background in them is highly beneficial.

I also took a few other courses in art and psychology that could not fit within the credits for my major but I think will only further my knowledge. I also plan to study abroad in the spring of 2018 and take art classes when I do so. Another main goal that I have in completing this major is to get into graduate school. With the courses I’m taking I have all the required courses to be accepted into even the most rigorous programs.

Update:

Now being a senior, it feels quite surreal to read the plan I had for myself as a freshman. Looking back, I remember that I was very unsure about interdisciplinary studies, it was something I was recommended and entered into somewhat blindly. Even when my contract was approved, and I was a part of the major I second guessed my decision. In retrospect I am very glad that I made the choice to create my own program of study. Even in the past few years academic and professional fields have shifted their ideas to be more interdisciplinary in nature. This appreciation and change has been beneficial for me when looking at graduate options.

When I entered interdisciplinary studies, I recognized and accepted that there was a possibility that I would change my path or not end up in the field of art therapy as a career. I am glad that I was so open-minded because last semester, as a senior in college I changed direction, to solely focus on art. It was a change that I had been considering for a while but at the suggestions of others I seriously researched and decided on. Looking at the electives i have taken over the years solidified my decision, seeing as they were almost all art classes.

My plan is to focus solely on the discipline of art instead of art and psychology (art therapy). My goal is to get my Masters of Fine Arts so that I can one day teach painting at a college level. Until then I am currently applying to post-baccalaureate painting programs to expand my portfolio, which I will use to apply to graduate school. It took me a long time to make this change because I also didn’t think that I could enter a MFA program without a BFA, which is not the case.

Ironically, teaching was something I always said I would never do. I have a friend that insists on it all the time, but I just don’t want to work with children. I didn’t think I would be able to create my own work while effectively teaching middle or high school students. Now I’m aware that college painting professors are actually required to maintain a personal practice. I also love discussing and viewing art just as much as I enjoy creating it, so I knew I had to pursue teaching. This transition is scary, as most change can be but I am glad to be making it. When I think about teaching art it feels more tangible that art therapy. I can visualize myself teaching at a university, while there was instability when visualizing myself practicing art therapy. I also don’t know personally know any art therapists, but I know art professors and independent fine artists that I can and have talked to.

When I’ve told people close to me about this change most have asked me if I regret choosing IDS as a major and I always say no. As I mentioned before I think that Interdisciplinary studies in someways has given me an advantage to those entering with a BFA. I also believe that psychology, despite it being decidedly different from art, has highly influenced my work. My understanding of psychological disorders and their pathology is referenced in most paintings I create.