How to Tell People What You Do as an Art Therapist

How to Tell People What You Do as an Art Therapist (And Explain about Art Therapy

If you’re an art therapist of creative healer, you’ll inevitably come to a point where you’ll have to tell someone what you do.

And sometimes it’s not as easy as it might seem.

I get this question sometimes - how do you tell people what you do (as an art therapist)? I think the answer is not as simple as the question sounds like.

(Btw, if you’d like to listen to this post on a podcast, listen here.)

First, why talk about this? Because as an art therapist, you will have to tell people what you do. Whether that's your co-workers, our boss, your family, friends, strangers, and potential clients you meet online or offline.

When you tell people what you do, you're basically promoting or marketing art therapy. To be able to do this well means that it can really positively impact your work, your career, and your business.

So this is quite important to talk about.

And today, I want to answer this in a two-fold way. First, I want to give you a template or formula you can use to clearly communicate what you do - a sort of like an elevator pitch. This is a technical tip.

And the second part of the answer is digging a little deeper than that and actually addressing why we have this struggle as art therapists.

The 1 Sentence Formula

Here is the FORMULA or template you can use to simply explain what you do in 1 sentence:

You can say: “I help __ to ___ through art therapy.”

To break it down, it is: “I help [specific population or client] to [certain goal or result they want] through art therapy.

And then you can explain if you haven't already about art therapy, how it works, or what the sessions might look like.

This formula actually helps you to specifically identify HOW you help people and WHO you help. People need this type of information to really understand what you do.

It’s concrete. It’s clear.

Some examples include:

“I help college students cope with depression through art therapy.”

Or, “I help women with addiction stay sober and feel successful in their life through art therapy.

Let’s Dig Deeper

But the struggle we have about telling people this, is that we feel hesitant, anxious, unsure or even resistant to tell people.

Maybe we feel that we're not able to communicate clearly, maybe we feel like we need to have that 'perfect' answer so that the person asking can understand 100% what we're talking about; or maybe we feel pressured to prove art therapy, or convince people of its value.

So basically we might be having a lot of concerns or worries about what we tell people. We already KNOW what to tell, we just feel hesitant telling it because of the reaction/response we might get.

It's not that we lack knowledge. It's how we feel and think around this subject of telling people about art therapy that's the heart of the matter - where our struggle is coming from.

Truth is, no matter what we say, what words we use, if we say it from a place of love & joy, and excitement about the thing we’re talking about, people will be drawn in & they listen.

You become a magnet.

But if you say something from a place of fear, anxiety, uncertainty, or any resistance, that energy is communicated to the other person. People either become disinterested, doubtful or resistant to what you say.

So it’s important to embody what you say. Truly believe in it. Be excited about it, be happy to share about it because it’s SO good.

This means that you don’t try to control the other person listening. You don’t try to persuade them or convince them. Which is basically trying to manipulate them. You allow them to receive your message and they can respond to it in their own way.

That’s how you can share about what you do successfully, in a joyful way.

For me, I don’t care what others think about art therapy.... :)

I know that the right people will listen and the wrong people will not truly listen. And I don’t hang myself over those people.

Let me know if this made sense to you. How will you approach talking about art therapy and your work with others? Share in the comments below.

I really hope that this blog was helpful for you. Thanks and I’ll catch you next time!

p.s. If you are struggling with how to put yourself out there and attracting your audience/clients to your art therapy business, I’ve got something for you. I have what’s called the Visionary Art Therapists Business course, which is where you can learn how to start your dream online art therapy business using social media AND get support from fellow art therapists. If you feel lost, confused - or just don’t know how to tell people what you do in a way that attracts your ideal client, I can definitely show you how in the membership, which includes a self-paced course and ongoing community support. Learn more about it here.

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