Professional context of Art Therapy
The Arts Therapies in Poland developed around the 70’s, but from a
historical viewpoint, it can be said that the practice of Visual Art Therapy
was applied within psychiatric hospitals many years earlier.
The term “art therapy” in Poland is the equivalent of the “arts
therapies” one and imply specific professional fields in a broader sense:
visual art therapy, music therapy, dance therapy, drama therapy, even
kinesiology (special kind of movement therapy), in other words – therapy
through art and therapy through creativity.
Special and mass primary school, rehabilitation centers, nursing
homes register a growing demand for non medical therapies using
artistic-creative media, while the ideas for possible foundations, types of
training and graduation have not been precisely developed. There is no
legally protected and independent status for this profession.
Academic education
Arts Therapies can be studied in Poland at different institutions
and under different labels. The transformation to the bachelor-master
structure has been made and students have the possibility to get their
bachelor’s degree, their master’s degree and their PhD. Training programs in
all universities, including universities of applied sciences, national and
private become accredited by the Polish Ministry of Education and Sport (The
National Accreditation Commission) but so far there are no defined programs
of studies on the basis of which it would be possible to acquire a diploma
in the field of art therapies recognized on the university level.
Universities can lead any trainings after acceptation by own Senate, if they
employ enough professors, specialists in the field. Art therapy is not yet
establish as an autonomous discipline.
Arts Therapies training procedures are organized at postgraduate
level at the universities of Lublin (Maria Curie Sklodowska University,
Faculty of Fine Arts), Lodz (Academy of Fine Arts), Poznan (A. Mickiewicz
University, Faculty of Pedagogy and Fine Arts in Kalisz) and at University
of Applied Sciences “Milenium” in Gniezno.
K. Lipinski Academy of Music in Wroclaw since about twenty years is
leading master degree course of “Music Education – specialization “Music
Therapy” and postgraduate study in “Music Therapy”. This program stands for
a broader European orientation. Since two years post graduate studies in
“Music Therapy” are leading in Zielona Gora University, Szczecin University.
The only PhD course in Arts Therapies (as specialization of The
Pedagogy) is leading on Wroclaw University since 2004.
The only regular bachelor’s degree in “Health promotion and Art
Therapy” training there is on University of Applied Sciences “Milenium” in
Gniezno since 2004. The education aims to prepare graduated to find new ways
and models to apply art therapy in various field of society.
In Poland there are professional associations of arts therapists:
“The Association of Psychopathology Expression”, “The Polish Association of
Music Therapists” , “The Polish Association of Bibliotherapists” and since
2003 “The Polish Association of Arts Therapists Kajros”.
www. kajros.pl
WROCLAW UNIVERSITY
Contact address
Prof. Dr. Wita Szulc
Wroclaw University
Institute of Pedagogics
ul.. Dawida 1
50527 Wroclaw
Poland
e-mail :
wszulc@amu.edu.pl