AATA National Office
Congratulations to the Nebraska Art Therapy Licensure Coalition for submitting their 65-page (184 pages including appendices!) questionnaire to initiate the sunrise review (407 Credentialing Review) by the Department of Health and Human Services to determine the need to regulate art therapy in Nebraska! The Coalition has been working on the application since their Letter of Intent was accepted by the Department a year ago on October 9, 2018.

AATA National Office
We are pleased to announce the 2019 election results for leadership positions with the American Art Therapy Association: President-Elect, Dr. Girija Kaimal, EdD, MA, ATR-BC; Secretary, Raquel Farrell-Kirk, MS, ATR-BC; Board of Directors (3), Susan Ainlay Anand, MA, ATR-BC, ATCS, LPAT, James Bulosan, MAAT, ATR, and Gretchen M. Miller, MA, ATR-BC, ACTP; Honorary Life Member, Barbara Fish, PhD, ATR-BC, ATCS, LCPC; and Nominating Sub-Committee, Catherine Moon, MA, ATR-BC.

These newly-elected leaders will be installed at the American Art Therapy Association’s Annual Conference in Kansas City, MO. Thank you to everyone who participated in these elections!

AATA National Office
Congratulations to the art therapy graduate programs at Eastern Virginia Medical School (EVMS) and Southern Illinois University Edwardsville (SIUE)! On September 20th, the Commission on Accreditation of Allied Health Education Programs (CAAHEP) approved the EVMS Master of Science in Art Therapy and Counseling and the SIUE Master of Arts in Art Therapy Counseling programs for initial accreditation. To date, 12 art therapy programs have received initial accreditation.

 AATA National Office
The AATA is pleased to announce that the special issue, Art Therapy Gold: American Art Therapy Association at 50 has been mailed to members and is available online. We encourage you to read through the articles in which authors reminisce on the history and growth in the AATA’s 50 years, draw attention to overlooked pioneers in the field, and forge ahead into the future of research in art therapy.

AATA National Office 
The AATA congratulates Emporia State University’s Art Therapy Program for receiving a $10,000 High Impact Learning Grant to fund 31 students’ attendance to AATA’s 50th Annual Conference in Kansas City, MO, supporting their educational and professional growth!  Dr. Gaelynn Wolf Bordonaro, Professor and Director of Emporia State’s Art Therapy Program, secured the university grant and conceived of this innovative mentorship program to increase cross-disciplinary experiences for undergraduate pre-art therapy majors and support art therapy graduate students’ professional development.

Susan Boxer Kappel, MA, ATR-BC, LCAT, CGP, Conference Chair
Learning Abounds! The conference offers more than 230 educational sessions that provide a rich learning environment for attendees to take away ideas, knowledge, and inspiration to apply to their current positions, practices, and professional development. The conference also provides continuing education and offers both didactic and experiential learning sessions.  There is something for everyone! You can learn directly from your peers while you network, attend a didactic session to hear the latest research and techniques in art therapy, and “learn by doing” with art supplies and directives.

Karianne Spens-Hanna, M.Ed
I would tell someone who is interested in pursuing a career in art therapy to shadow art therapists, research the various places they could work, be prepared to pave your own path and possibly create a position for yourself, continue to make your own art, find ways to have quiet in your life through meditation if possible, and self-care as much as possible. Being an Art Therapist has broadened my awareness in all aspects of my life.

KCUR 89.3
Melanie Arroyo, licensed counselor and art therapist in Kansas City examines why there is a cultural reluctance to seek help in the Latino community. Arroyo discusses the social barriers that prevent her clients, who come from a range of backgrounds, from finding providers.

Shepherd Express
Ernesto Atkinson is a social worker who runs his own art therapy practice in the Third Ward of Milwaukee. Originally from Guatemala, he dedicated the earlier part of his life to human trafficking prevention. Atkinson believes "“For me, art therapy is a way of expressing and discovering your maximum splendor through the art process."

Idaho State Journal
"Stepping Out of the Frame" is a museum-based art therapy program being held by The Sun Valley Center for the Arts. The program is designed for adults experiencing changes in their cognitive and sensorimotor abilities.

The Oklahoman
Art therapist Dawn Truby, discusses the new "Fresh StART" program launched by the Homeless Alliance. This initiative hosts free, public art shows throughout the year where artists showcase their finished pieces and sell them to the broader community.

National Institutes of Health
The National Institutes of Health has awarded $20 million to allow for the first research projects exploring the potential of music for treating a wide range of neurological conditions and other disorders. The Sound Health initiative will explore the brain's relationship with music.

The Seattle Times
Jael Weinberg, creative arts therapist works with suffers of Alzheimer’s disease and memory loss. This Q and A examines the benefits of art therapy and Weinberg's journey to become an art therapist. Weinberg discusses the joy she finds daily in her job.

Athens News
My Sister’s Place in Athens has been offering an art therapy group for clients that started this past summer. Art therapy can benefit survivors of domestic violence in ways that traditional talk therapy cannot and allows a safe space for healing.

Kenosha News
Jamie Cairo, nurse practitioner, established a memorial for her brother, local artist John Burhani, who passed away in May 2015 from aggressive lymphoma. In 2018 she hosted a fundraising event to hire two part-time art therapists Kenosha's Aurora Cancer Center.