Art Therapy Department records

The Art Therapy Department at The George Washington University began in 1972 as a graduate program in Special Studies, and administered by the Art Department. The courses themselves were built upon the foundation laid by the Washington School of Psychiatry. Art therapy began emerging as a bona fide profession in the 1930's, and teaches students how to use art materials to help people express themselves more freely. The insights that a therapist gains from patient's drawings are then used in the treatment of the patient's symptoms. Bernard I. Levy and Elinor Ulman were the co-coordinators of the program when it bagan, and Hanna Kwiatkowska (1903-80) was an associate professor and former head of the art therapy unit at the National Institute of Health who also made major contributions to the program.

The program was an early sponsor, with the University Counseling Center, of the annual “Chalk-in” (began in 1981), which offers students the chance to relieve some tension during the end of the spring semester by drawing pictures of all varieties on the street and sidewalks outside the Gelman Library.

In 1994 the program became a 5-year combined B.A./M.A. program with courses listed under the Psychology Department. An M.A. in the field of art therapy is also available - prerequisites include a bachelor's degree, evidence of significant training and/or experience in art, and course work in the behavioral and/or social sciences.

N.B. This history note was written in 2005