Exploring the Variant Experiences Through Which Racial/Ethnic Minorities Select Art Therapy as a Career

Abstract

This study implemented a phenomenological approach to the inquiry of the careerdecisions of racial/ethnic minorities leading to selection of art therapy as a career. Gottfredson’sCareer Theory was used to design interview questions to elicit the perspectives of tenracial/ethnic minority members about their career choice of art therapy. This study used postintentionalphenomenological qualitative coding of data to understand the decisions andcontributing factors to racial/ethnic minorities selecting a career in art therapy. The findingssuggest factors including: personal characteristics, interests, personal and professional beliefs,cultural beliefs, influential people, social contexts, experiences, and encounters contributed toracial/ethnic minority participants choices of selecting art therapy as a career. Participants sharedexperiences through the life stages of childhood, adolescence, and adulthood. Overall, the careerchoice experiences and perceptions of racial/ethnic minority art therapists were like literatureabout white art therapists. Factors differing from the majority were the personal characteristic ofdetermination and some cultural beliefs.