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.

If you would like to train as a painting therapist, you can do so in different ways. On the one hand, there is a whole range of interesting courses and seminars that teach you the basic skills you need to run your own painting studio, for example, or to gain initial experience as a painting therapist. These can usually be completed in two training stages, which build on each other. However, even the basic course provides you with well-founded skills in artistic representation and accompanying adults and children.
Design and painting therapy is also one of five specializations that you can complete at the Advanced Federal Professional Examination (AFPE) for art therapists and earn a federally recognized diploma.
There are also numerous continuing education, further training courses for painting therapists who would like to specialize in a particular topic or gain insights into other disciplines. These seminars sometimes last a few hours, sometimes several days and are offered by various schools and associations.