Mental Health Practitioners

Appendix A
Requirements for Supervised Experience - Creative Arts Therapist

The experience requirement for licensure as a creative arts therapist requires completion of a supervised experience of at least 1,500 clock hours providing creative arts therapy in a setting acceptable to the Department. The supervised experience must be obtained after completion of the professional education requirement for licensure. All experience must be documented on Form 4B.

The supervised experience and practice under a limited permit must meet the following supervision and setting requirements.

Supervision of Experience

The supervisor must:

• have completed a baccalaureate or higher degree program in creative arts, or in the subject of the field in which the supervisor is licensed (see below), or another field related to the field of counseling as determined by the Department; and
• be licensed and registered in New York State to practice creative arts therapy, medicine, as a physician assistant, psychology, licensed clinical social work, or as a registered professional nurse or nurse practitioner, or must have the equivalent qualifications as determined by the Department*; and
• have at least three years of practice on a full-time basis, or the part-time equivalent, in creative arts therapy. Practice on a full-time basis means 800 clock hours in the practice of creative arts therapy earned over a 52-week period.

There must be contact between the applicant and the supervisor during which:

• the applicant apprises the supervisor of the assessment and treatment of each client;
• the applicant's cases are discussed with the supervisor;
• the supervisor provides the applicant with oversight and guidance in developing skills as a creative arts therapist; and
• the supervisor provides an average of one hour per week or two hours every other week of in-person individual or group supervision.

Setting for Experience

The setting in which the experience is obtained must be a location at which legally authorized individuals provide services that constitute the practice of creative arts therapy, as defined in Education Law, and must be responsible for the services provided by individuals gaining experience for licensure. The setting cannot be a private practice owned or operated by the applicant.

The practice of creative arts therapy is defined in Education Law as:

• the assessment, evaluation, and the therapeutic intervention and treatment, which may be either primary, parallel or adjunctive, of mental, emotional, developmental and behavioral disorders through the use of the arts as approved by the Department; and
• the use of assessment instruments and mental health counseling and psychotherapy to identify, evaluate and treat dysfunctions and disorders for purposes of providing appropriate creative arts therapy services.