"The four Arts Therapies comprise of Art Therapy, Dance Movement Therapy, Drama Therapy and Music Therapy, each of which has developed as a distinct discipline in this country, with its own professional association. Everybody has the capacity to respond to the arts. People may find, in one of the Arts Therapies, a creative experience leading to a greater sense of self and others. A trusting, safe environment is created in which clients can acknowledge and express conscious and unconscious emotions. By working with and where appropriate verbalising these emotions, clients may develop ways of coping with them. A basic assumption is that the ways in which people use the arts media in therapy reflect how they are thinking and feeling. As this process is acknowledged and supported by the therapist, there may be a development and integration of hidden or forgotten aspects of self. Each art medium can enable clients to communicate in their own way with the therapist and, in-group context, with the other group members. As personal symbolism and metaphor evolve and become interwoven, therapist and client can begin to explore the client's world."

From: - The Arts Therapies in Education - 1993. CATE Publication

For those considering a career in one of the arts therapies, BCAT holds Introductory 10-Week Experiential Groups in each individual therapy. Completion of one of these groups does not count as a qualification in arts therapy in its own right, but may be useful when applying for a full training course. Please feel free to contact BCAT for more information. Click here to go to our downloads page.