Abstract
Art therapy graduate students often have various aspects of their lives that they must balance while in school, including, but not limited to: work, interpersonal relationships, finances, and physical health. How can students manage stress from everyday life, in addition to academic pressure? It was often assumed that utilizing self-care was an effective method to manage stress levels; however, there was minimal research to support that assumption. To date, no research has been found on stress levels, the use of self-care, or burnout rates among art therapy graduate students. A survey was conducted assessing perceived stress levels and self-care in art therapy graduate students. The survey was completed by 115 art therapy graduate students from various graduate programs across the United States. Various types of analysis were utilized to determine if there was a statistically significant relationship between the two variables. Ethical implications, limitations, and recommendations for further research were explored.
