Core Faculty, Expressive Arts Therapy (Open Rank)

Lesley University; United States; Hybrid; USD 90,000 - 120,000; Full time

Job summary

Lesley University seeks a Core Faculty member for the Expressive Arts Therapy program to teach Expressive Arts Therapy and Mental Health Counseling. The role involves delivering courses in-person, hybrid, and online formats and mentoring students toward licensure and professional development.

Qualified applicants will have a Master’s in expressive arts therapy (PhD preferred), and LIC/REAT eligibility, with substantial teaching and clinical experience and a commitment to equity and social

Qualifications

• Master's degree in expressive arts therapy or a related mental health field is required.
• PhD or equivalent doctoral degree in expressive arts therapy or closely related discipline is preferred.
• Ability to articulate theories of expressive arts therapy and influences shaping practice.
• Holds REAT or eligible to apply upon hire.
• LMHC (Massachusetts) or LMHC eligible.
• Two or more years of graduate-level teaching experience and five or more years of clinical experience as an expressive arts therapist with scholarly activity.
• Ability to teach expressive arts therapies and general counseling courses.
• Experience with administration of an Expressive Arts Therapy program and commitment to equity, inclusion, and social justice.

Responsibilities

• Teach graduate-level Expressive Arts Therapy and Mental Health Counseling courses.
• Deliver instruction across in-person, hybrid, and online modalities.
• Incorporate arts-based inquiry and culturally responsive pedagogy.
• Advise graduate students on academic progress and licensure pathways.
• Mentor students in artistic identity, clinical competence and reflective practice.
• Contribute to curriculum development, revision, and assessment.
• Participate in accreditation activities, program evaluation, and continuous improvement.
• Maintain an active agenda of scholarship, creative work, or clinical practice.
• Participate in departmental and university service and governance.

Skills

Graduate teaching experience

Clinical experience as expressive arts

Scholarly activity

Equity and inclusion in practice

Education

Master's degree in expressive arts therapy or related field

PhD or equivalent doctoral degree preferred

REAT certification or eligibility

LMHC licensure in Massachusetts or eligible

Job description

The Opportunity

Lesley University is seeking a Core Faculty member in the Expressive Arts Therapy program to join our innovative and uniquely conceptualized Expressive Therapies Department. The qualified applicant will teach Expressive Arts Therapy and Mental Health Counseling courses in the Expressive Therapies Department. Our pace-setting programs provide a meaningful connection between the arts, theory, and practice in clinical training. As one of the most recognized Expressive Therapies programs in the world, our students are expertly trained and qualified providers of mental health services. The goal of the Expressive Therapies department is to give students the knowledge, skills, and experience needed to practice in a range of professional settings, including health care facilities, schools, community agencies, and private practices.

About the Program

Founded in 1973, Lesley University’s Expressive Therapies programs have been national leaders for more than 50 years and was one of the first programs dedicated to educating and training professionals to integrate the arts with clinical mental health practice. Our faculty are artist-practitioner-scholars who help students develop their identities as both creative practitioners and clinical providers. The department’s 60-credit Clinical Mental Health Counseling graduate programs meet the academic and field training requirements for Licensed Mental Health Counselor (LMHC) licensure in Massachusetts, and our five specialization tracks (Music, Art, Dance Movement, Drama, and Expressive Arts Therapy) prepare graduates for certification through national and professional associations. Programs are delivered in both on-campus and in low-residency formats. Lesley University’s Expressive Therapies department is unique in its housing all 5 ET specializations together, allowing for interdisciplinary collaboration.

Primary Responsibilities

• Teach graduate-level courses in Expressive Arts Therapy and Mental Health Counseling.
• Deliver instruction across multiple modalities (in-person, hybrid, online) as assigned.
• Incorporate arts-based inquiry, experiential learning, and culturally responsive pedagogy.
• Advise graduate students on academic progress, professional development, and licensure pathways.
• Mentor students in developing artistic identity, clinical competence, and reflective practice.
• Contribute to curriculum development, revision, and assessment within the Expressive Arts Therapy specialization and the broader Expressive Therapies department.
• Participate in accreditation activities, program evaluation, and continuous improvement initiatives.
• Maintain an active agenda of scholarship, creative work, or clinical practice relevant to Expressive Arts Therapy.
• Participate in departmental and university service, including faculty meetings, committees, governance, and strategic initiatives.

Qualities and Capabilities

• Master's degree in expressive arts therapy, or a related mental health field, required
• PhD or equivalent doctoral-level degree in expressive arts therapy or closely related discipline, preferred
• Ability to articulate theories of expressive arts therapy and to identify the significant influences, values, and principles that shape their practice.
• Holds the REAT (from the IEATA) or be eligible to apply upon being hired, required
• LMHC (Massachusetts) or LMHC eligible, required
• 2 or more years of graduate level teaching experience and proficiency in Higher-ed teaching 5 or more years of clinical experience as an expressive arts therapist with a record of scholarly activity Required to teach multiple formats to include in-person classroom teaching and distance learning formats
• Ability to teach courses in expressive arts therapies, required
• Ability to teach general counseling courses such as theories, psychopathology, professional ethics, assessments, vocational counseling, etc., preferred
• Experience related to administration of an Expressive Arts Therapy program, preferred
• Experience working and teaching in diverse cultural contexts preferred, including demonstrated commitment to equity, inclusion, and social justice through both professional practice and instruction.

Why Lesley

Located in the heart of Cambridge, Massachusetts, Lesley University is highly regarded for its graduate and undergraduate programs in the human arts of education, the arts, and applied social sciences. Lesley fosters a highly creative environment in which innovative ideas thrive, theory is integrated with practice and its 6,400 students and 90,000 alumni are empowered to improve and enrich communities.

We offer a competitive benefits package that includes health, dental, life, and long-term disability insurance. In addition, we offer significant paid time off, a generous retirement plan, and tuition programs that enable employees and their dependents to expand their knowledge and skills. Lesley is committed to the ongoing pursuit of strategic diversity initiatives that help to position diversity, equity, and inclusion as fundamental to institutional and academic excellence at Lesley. In doing so, Lesley strives for a campus culture and community that fosters a true sense of belonging for all, provides opportunity for everyone to participate equally and fully in the Lesley experience, and helps to develop each individual's capacity to confidently and competently engage within and across difference.

Given an evolving national context and the rapid change in the demographic profile of our country, the University has made a significant commitment to addressing and enhancing its campus climate and diversity capabilities as an institution.

At Lesley University we strive for a supportive and equitable environment where people -- regardless of race, ethnicity, color, sex, physical ability, religion, national origin or ancestry, age, neurodiversity, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, genetic information, veteran or military status, membership in uniformed services, and all other categories protected by applicable state and federal laws -- can participate equally and fully as their true selves in all aspects of university life.

Accordingly, the University prohibits discrimination based on these protected categories in any education program or activity that it operates, including in