A Proposed Art Therapy Education Program

Osei, Mavis
Mavis Osei lectures in the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology, Ghana. Linked to the American Art Therapy Association, she researches & teaches in Art Therapy, Educational Psychology & Aesthetics. She is married to Benjamin Osei, Project Manager & currently a Health Educator in New York & has 3 lovely children: Kezia, Kelvin & Keona.

Art Therapy education, which started in Europe and the United States, has since extended into Ghana. This prompted a look at three New York Art Therapy institutions to identify the underlining principles that guided their programs and possibly translate that information into a proposed Creative Art Therapy (CAT) education program to be applied in KNUST, Ghana. In the Literature Review section, topics reviewed included theoretical influences on art therapy, art therapy education in Europe and USA, art therapy in Africa, mental health in Ghana, and art based assessments. In the Results section, three Art Therapy Education Programs were analyzed. Using a qualitative approach, secondary data was mainly obtained to answer the research questions since primary data was inaccessible. The results of the study showed that all three programs met AATA requirements, had specific philosophical underpinnings for each program and took into consideration multiculturalism. It was determined that in the short term, it will be appropriate to have an eclectic theoretical orientation for the CAT program that is culturally suitable.