GW Graduate Art Therapy Program

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Alexandria, VA
GW Graduate Art Therapy Program

Graduate Art Therapy Program at The George Washington University

ersity in 1971, was one of the first to be developed in the United States and to receive approval from the American Art Therapy Association. Our philosophy has been influenced by the teachings of the founders of art therapy who have been associated with the development of our program—Edith Kramer, Hanna Yaxa Kwiatkowska, Bernard Levy and Elinor Ulman. We believe the art therapist's unique competence lies in the capacity to use art therapeutically, to offer people the experience of making art and the opportunity to gain the insights that may come through this kind of endeavor. While the art therapist works in varied settings and serves a myriad of populations, we believe that art therapy must maintain a firm base in the visual arts. The expressive use of drawing, painting and sculpture is the heart of the Art Therapy program at GW.

05/28/2025

Juliet King's going away party & Faculty through the Years exhibit

Join us for a special celebration honoring 50 years of remarkable GW Art Therapy faculty — past and present — and to bid a fond farewell to Juliet King as she embarks on an exciting new chapter.

https://evite.me/b4a68t4Db7

05/17/2025

We here in the GW Art Therapy Department are so excited to share images from our graduating class of 2025!!! Congrats to the graduates and all family and friends who supported them through the journey!

05/01/2025

Congratulations to student (soon-to-be alumna) Sahara Sampson for representing the profession at GW Innovation Fest by presenting her research. We also had some interdisciplinary meetings with a couple of robots! 🎨🎓🤖

04/23/2025

Picture this! If the graduation show is going up, then graduation is coming up! 🎓

04/02/2025

Congratulations to all of the students who shared their scholarship and advocated for art therapy at gwucolumbian Research Showcase!

03/23/2025

ARTH 6235 Social and Cultural Diversity Class field trip to the Smithsonian American Art Museum ( ~ ) special exhibition “Pictures of Belonging: Miki Hayakawa, Hisako Hibi, and Miné Okubo.” As part of developing cultural humility in art therapy, students appreciated how the artists developed their styles and subject matter in response to being women of Japanese heritage and experiences of U.S. internment during WWII.
🎨
They posted their response art on the reflection wall along with meaningdul take-away messages when working with clients:
- notice contexts when inclusion of cultural and heritage related imagery is supported
- impact of assimilation and acculturation on artistic choices
- recognize changes in art over time as relative to growth but also shifts related to political events
- appreciate many ways that art can be expressive and healing even separate from art therapy
- wonder how abstraction can serve as expression and/or intentional concealment for protection
🎨
https://americanart.si.edu/exhibitions/pictures-of-belonging

01/26/2025

was honored to participate once again in the Day of Action. 90+ participants created art to represent stories from their lives that have led to their current social, cultural, and political outlooks. Using storytelling to model civic dialogue practices is one step in bringing about Dr. King’s beloved community.

12/21/2024

Check out our new article on research based at the Clinic that explores what psychological flexibility looks like in art therapy with implications on how to foster it with clients:
*free download (until 8 Feb 2025): https://authors.elsevier.com/a/1kIffivMuKzSB
*permanent link: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.aip.2024.102244
🎨
There is, of course, a bittersweetness to this publication as Tally died during the final writing. Tally’s family was supportive of this article and glad to see a final contribution from her impressive career. This may be her last piece of scholarship, but her practical work will continue with the recently launched Tally Tripp Memorial Fund with Common Threads Project. Please honor her by making a donation to:
https://commonthreadsproject.org/donate
*select “in memory of” and type in “Tally Tripp Memorial Fund” (if the option does not appear)

10/09/2024

Congratulations to GW Art Therapy AATA Conference Award Winners!!!

President’s Award: Jordan Potash
Cay Drachnik Minorities Fund: Sahara Sampson
Pearlie Roberson Award: Youn Ji Lee

10/07/2024

GW Art Therapy alumni party in Pittsburgh at the Wyndham downtown hotel room 2340!

09/18/2024

Save the date, GW Alumni reception
Tuesday, October 8, 2024
5-7 pm
Wyndham Grand Pittsburgh Downtown Hotel

08/21/2024

A new cohort means the installation of the incoming student art exhibit! We’re still under construction but wait for the full exhibit when first year student classes start next week
🎨🪜🖼️

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Alexandria, VA

Website

http://arttherapy.columbian.gwu.edu/

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Our Story

Since the dawn of human consciousness, people have created art to communicate personal and universal concepts. Art therapy as a profession combines art making with psychological concepts in order to access an individual or group's internal resources that can then aid in healing the mind and body, and even the community. The graduate program in art therapy, established at The George Washington University in 1971, was one of the first to be developed in the United States and to receive approval from the American Art Therapy Association. Our philosophy has been influenced by the teachings of the founders of art therapy who have been associated with the development of our program—Edith Kramer, Hanna Yaxa Kwiatkowska, Bernard Levy and Elinor Ulman. We believe the art therapist's unique competence lies in the capacity to use art therapeutically, to offer people the experience of making art and the opportunity to gain the insights that may come through this kind of endeavor. While the art therapist works in varied settings and serves a myriad of populations, we believe that art therapy must maintain a firm base in the visual arts. The expressive use of drawing, painting and sculpture is the heart of the Art Therapy program at GW.