About the ATCBE

*** In 2025, the ATCBE will have a new examination content outline reflecting the results of the most recent job analysis administered in 2022. The survey was completed by over 1,000 credentialed art therapists who provided data on the current practice of art therapy, including major work behaviors and tasks, client populations, media/materials, diagnostic categories, ethical issues, and work settings. The 2025 content outline can be accessed here. ***

Art Therapy Credentials Board Examination (ATCBE) is a state-of-the-art professional examination developed by subject matter experts who are board-certified credentialed art therapists and contracted psychometricians who create professional examinations for mental health professions. Exam development for the ATCBE is a multi-faceted process with extensive infrastructure requirements and engagement by a wide group of board-certified art therapists. Most critically, exam development is an ongoing, cyclical process. Exam development includes the following components:

Job Analysis & Content Outline Development
Item Writing
Item Review
Standard Setting

Subject Matter Experts provide a critical voice and external, autonomous oversight throughout these steps.

ATCBE KNOWLEDGE AREAS

*these will change in 2025 when the new content outline is implemented.

The major content, or knowledge, areas of the examination are listed below. These areas were determined by the results of the ATCB’s National Art Therapy Job Analysis Survey.

Examinees should be able to apply the knowledge included in each content area to the various practice dimensions. The knowledge covered by the examination will be tested at three cognitive levels:

• Basic understanding (recall)
• Application (applying knowledge to a particular example)
• Mastery (analysis, synthesis, and evaluation)

For example, some questions require factual recall; others require you to apply knowledge to a clinical scenario. The major knowledge areas are:

• Theoretical Approaches
• Intake and Evaluation
• Assessment and Evaluation Instruments
• Diagnoses and Populations
• Art Therapy Environment
• Professional Practice and Ethics
• Clinical Skills and Application

View the complete ATCBE content outline here.

The ATCB developed a preparation guide to inform art therapists who plan to take the ATCBE. Its purpose is to provide procedural information and to assist art therapists in developing an individualized approach toward exam preparation. Enhanced performance on the examination is neither expressed nor implied. The ATCB does not endorse or recommend any study guide or method published by any group or individual not directly related to the ATCB.

The ATCBE is typically composed of 200 multiple-choice questions. Of these, approximately 170 are used for scoring purposes. The remaining items are in development for future examinations. The examinee does not identify these development items. Candidates have four hours to complete the examination. In preparation for implementing our next exam content outline, unscored items on the ATCBE will no longer be in proportion to the scored items. These unscored items assist in providing new items for use in future exams. 

The ATCBE exam can be taken twice a year. Additionally, content (domain)-)-level feedback is based on a limited number of questions, which means these domain-level results are not as stable as the overall exam score, which is based on a much larger number of questions. It is important to remember that  content areas with a larger number of items (questions) affect the overall score more than areas with fewer items. Should a candidate opt to retake the ATCBE, they might perform better or worse in any domain. For this reason, it is important to study all domains when preparing to retake the exam. Candidates may wish to engage in extra preparation in the domains in which you are the weakest. However, neglecting to study the domains in which performance was strongest could result in lower performance on those domains when retesting.

ATCBE STATISTICS

The table below summarizes the total number of candidates examined and the total number of ATR-BC candidates and pass rates annually for the last four years. The total number of examinees includes candidates who took the exam for the purpose of state licensure.

For additional information about the Art Therapy Credentials Board Examination, please contact the ATCB National Office at exams@atcb.org