The Impact of Art Therapy
This project began because I was curious about what art therapy is, but it quickly evolved into something bigger: the extent to which this female-dominated field gets overlooked. While investigating the issue, I discovered that, despite the majority of art therapists being women, a noticeable pay gap still exists between men and women in the field. So instead of just explaining what art therapy does, I wanted to focus on the people behind it, whether they work in hospitals or mental health facilities for incarcerated people.
What stood out to me was how art therapists are low on the healthcare totem pole. Even worse, commercial insurance and Medicare don’t cover their services, so many women in the field have to fight hard just to keep their practices going. These women provide mental health care that helps, no matter your artistic ability, but they’re barely getting recognized or supported.
This isn’t just about art therapy; it’s part of a bigger pattern where female-dominated jobs don’t get the respect or funding they deserve. I want to explore more of these fields in the future, like elementary school teachers and nurses. All of these women show how important it is to speak up for yourself and others, especially when no one else seems interested or even works against you. So here are some women behind this field and quotes from the interviews.
