While it might not be the case that we all possess a talent for art, we are all capable of benefitting from it. Art enables us to understand and explore parts of ourselves we don’t usually access on a day-to-day basis.
This is also why incorporating art in career exploration can help clients better understand, explore and express what matters most to them in their career. This listicle was designed to help career practitioners learn more about how using art in career exploration can benefit their clients, as well as tools they can use to incorporate art in their practice.
Articles and papers
Addressing Cultural Competency in Counselors: The Photovoice Project (NCDA)
How can counselor educators help students explore others’ perspectives in a classroom and teach students about ethical advocacy with clients? This article explores how photovoice, which uses photographs as a tool to develop a visual narrative about a selected topic – can provide a visual bridge between the counsellor’s perspective and the client’s experiences.
A musical approach to career assessment (Careering magazine)
Herky Cutler explains how engaging with a song that moves your client emotionally can reveal surprising insights about their interests, values and passions.
Applying an artistic mindset to career development (Careering magazine)
Wei Huang shares her experience of facilitating an art-learning career workshop that asked students to create a diorama manifesting their dream careers. The University of Toronto Career Counsellor explains how – much like in the creative process – having an open mind and embracing change can help illuminate the way forward in career development.
Constructing a Future: Art Therapy Interventions on the Path to Professional Fulfillment
This theoretical research paper presents a therapeutic program that combines art therapy and career exploration to help young adults identify what they desire in their careers. The paper’s author recognizes that traditional career guidance is effective but suggests that art therapy can help address new aspects of career exploration that have more recently emerged.
Expressive Arts Intervention for a Career Counseling Course (NCDA)
This article presents a case study of a graduate-level career counselling course that leverages expressive arts to support students to develop their capacity. The article outlines how the class used creative imagery to support student mastery of career theories and how students co-created a creative closure for the class.
How to use counselling charts to enhance clients’ self-knowledge (CareerWise)
In this article, career counsellor Minna Kattelus, MEd, explains how collaborating with her clients to create visual counselling charts has enhanced the effectiveness of their sessions. Kattelus explains the concept behind the SPARKS career counselling model, provides instructions for using this technique, and presents the benefits of using charts in career counselling – which include engaging the client, helping them feel relaxed, and fostering dialogue and externalization.
Talent and Career Explored Using Journaling and Art Therapy Techniques (National Career Development Association)
This article focuses on the power of art therapy to help clients uncover non-analytically based insights. This article presents two art and journalling exercises career practitioners can use to help clients uncover career aspirations, as well as strategies for implementing them. The article provides a description of both exercises as well as a list of recommended materials.
Using arts-based learning for career education (CareerWise)
In addition to explaining how arts-based learning can help clients gain a better grasp of their career aspirations, this article includes examples of artistic media that career practitioners can explore to help their clients better understand what they’re looking for in their career.
Books
Art Therapy and Career Counseling is a comprehensive career development guide by Barbara Parker-Bell and Debra Osborn that offers creative approaches for understanding, assessing and supporting ethical career development strategies. This book expands on traditional approaches by adding a robust art therapy lens to topics such as career development theories, relational approaches, career resource identification, multicultural concerns and ethical practices.
A recent book review published by the NCDA explores this text and how it can support practice.
The Career Compass [Workbook]
The Career Compass is a visual planning toolset for setting career direction. It includes graphic templates to support readers in assessing their work history, understanding their own personal traits; setting and achieving career goals; and more.
The Power of Your Other Hand: Unlock Creativity and Inner Wisdom Through the Right Side of Your Brain [Book]
In this book, author and art therapist Lucia Capacchione presents her method of life and career creation, based on using the nondominant hand as a channel to the vast, untapped potential of the brain’s right hemisphere. On her blog, Capacchione explores how this method can connect to career development through journalling and creating collages.
When I Grow Up: Career Lessons and Activities for Grades 9-12 [Workbook]
While this workbook contains activities designed for students in Grades 9 to 12, it can also provide career practitioners with ideas for art-based activities that can help their clients discover and explore their career aspirations.
Programs/courses
Creative Pathfinding: Arts-Based Career Decision Making (Yellow Bird Art Therapy) [Program]
This 1:1 art therapy program is delivered either virtually or in-person in Parksville, B.C. It consists of eight 1-hour sessions and costs $640. Yellow Bird Art Therapy offers programs from a positive, person-centred view of human nature.
Dream Job Academy (University of Toronto) [Course]
Through this program offered by the University of Toronto, students get the chance to explore their interests, passions and values through arts-based activities. These exercises are designed to help students determine what matters most to them in their career.
