Within these individual sub-disciplines of art therapy, there is a whole range of interesting training and further education opportunities in Switzerland, both in the form of short seminars lasting several days, intensive basic or advanced courses or full courses leading to the higher professional examination. People who are not sure whether training to become an art therapist is really the right decision can, for example, first attend an introductory course or a basic course to get an idea of whether this professional field actually corresponds to their own interests and inclinations. People who are already sure that they would like to pursue a career in the educational or social field, or would like to expand their current work in these areas, have the opportunity to train in basic training, for example as a painting therapist, in body-oriented music or in movement therapy. Such training courses are basic training courses that last around two to three years and provide participants with the knowledge they need to work as an art therapist in an institution or in their own painting studio. It is then possible to continue training in this specialist area and obtain recognition from one of the professional associations (GPK, FIAC, SVAKT, VDT, ARAET, APSAT, BTK), which enables them to be recognized by health insurance companies. This can be a corresponding further training course with professional experience, or a higher professional examination with a corresponding specialization - such as art therapy.

• Completed upper-secondary level with GVB or completed continuing education and training / tertiary level in the fields of healthcare, social services, education or art
• Professional experience of at least three years with at least 50% workload in the fields of healthcare, social services, education or art
• Passed module qualifications or certificate of equivalence

• Social pedagogues and social education workers
• Artists and artists
• Complementary therapists and complementary therapists
• Teachers and educators
• Coaches, consultants and advisors
• People from the healthcare sector
• Lateral entrants with a very strong interest

• Social therapy
• Chronically ill
• Private practices
• Prisons
• Rehabilitation
• Curative education
• Palliative medicine
• Acute hospitals

After training in painting therapy, the painting therapist works with design and painting therapy. She works in this specialist field. However, she is also an art therapist in painting therapy. Art therapist is therefore the umbrella term. Art therapists can also work in movement therapy, speech therapy, music therapy or intermedial therapy.