If you are planning to attend the AATA’s conference this year, be sure to register by Aug. 31 for the early bird rates. Register online, download the registration form to register by fax or mail, or call the office during business hours at (888) 290-0878 or (703) 548-5860.

We are pleased to announce a diverse program including more than 100 educational sessions including four exciting plenaries: Yassmin Abdel-Magied, our featured keynote presenter; David Bianchi as the speaker for the Multicultural Committee’s Exchange: It’s Poetic: Community and Healing in a Virtual World with David Bianchi; and Turning Up the Bullhorn: Challenging the Expected Outcomes of Art Therapists on Social Justice Issues in the Community by Berenice Badillo, PhD, LMFT, ATR-BC, Jennifer Clay, PhD, LMFT, ATR-BC, and Makeda “Dread” Cheatom. The final plenary focuses on various aspects of the pandemic and its impact on therapists and the therapeutic experience. 

The stories and images coming out of Afghanistan resulting from the Taliban takeover of the Afghan government are heart-wrenching. For so many who have a direct connection or unique perspective, this is a particularly difficult time, with serious mental health repercussions. AATA has compiled a list of mental health resources to assist in providing information about emergency support, and other assistance for those who may be struggling during this difficult time.

Regardless of the state of the world, although it is very applicable during these pandemic times, I see myself as a facilitator of safe spaces. I want my clients to be able to find spaces in their lives, in their bodies, and in their births that are safe. With women who have experienced birth trauma, this can look like creating a nest out of objects that they are drawn to (fabric, yarn, paper, felt, moss, branches). This nest can then be used to craft a birth plan that outlines not only their medical preferences (epidural, no epidural, delayed cord clamping etc) but also their emotional and mental health preferences. It can also help them embody and internalize this feeling of safety through image, sensations, and the movement of creating.

Join us for the next All Member Meeting to be held on Aug. 31, 2021, from 8 - 9 p.m. ET. As mentioned during the last member meeting, we want to host these meetings more frequently to engage our members about the ongoing work of AATA, and as we plan together looking forward. During this meeting, we will review the 2021-2023 Strategic Plan, which was approved by the board in July; the results of the DEI Listening Sessions; the upcoming annual conference, which is now all virtual; and more!

Please RSVP here or by logging into myAATA.

"The Department of Veteran Affairs has provided free therapeutic arts and crafts kits to hospitalized and homebound veterans for generations. The creative arts program helps injured, and recuperating veterans improve fine motor skills, cognitive functioning, manage stress and substance abuse, cope with symptoms of PTSD and TBI, while also improving their sense of self-esteem and overall physical and mental health."

[Miami, FL] "Sylvester’s poetry program is just one way that Sylvester, like cancer centers across South Florida, are tapping into the arts to help patients get through the arduous journey of chemo, radiation, hair loss and other difficult cancer treatments. Survivorship choirs. Art therapy. Meditation. Journaling workshops. Even professional musicians roaming the hospital with guitars, violins and keyboards."

"The arts therapies include music therapy, dance movement therapy, art therapy and dramatherapy. Preferences for art forms may play an important role in engagement with treatment. This survey was an initial exploration of who is interested in group arts therapies, what they would choose and why."

[Columbus, OH] VIDEO: "Over the past couple months, NBC4 has been sharing the stories of people in our community who are making a difference. Like Nikki McCarthy, a woman who created an incredible organization after losing her own daughter to cancer. Sam’s Fans now brings music and art therapy into hospitals around the state. Nikki was nominated by her mom for our 'Highlight a Local Hero' contest sponsored by G&J Pepsi and Giant Eagle."

"Cognition IX, an image by Yas Crawford, recently won the 2021 Art of Neuroscience competition held by the Netherlands Institute for Neuroscience. Now in its 11th year, the Art of Neuroscience showcases the intersection of art and neuroscience through multimedia. Static images comprised the works recognized in the competition’s early years, but more recent submissions have included videos, sculptures and even interactive online poetry."

[Detroit, MI] "Right now, Amma Cole, 17, is just about to wrap up a summer work readiness program sponsored by the Cody Rouge Community Action Alliance (CRCAA)...One of the newer programs CRCAA and its youth council is working on is a virtual art therapy program for Metro Detroit teens called the Tranquil Atelier. The program, which earlier this year received a $30,000 after-school programming grant from the Generator Z philanthropic initiative, is geared towards helping teens who may be dealing with feelings of stress and anxiety heightened by the pandemic."

[Uganda] "Questions abound how communities across the world can now cope with the increasing numbers of depression in the population...As expected, these problems have given room to issues of depression and anxiety which are often associated with circumstances of uncertainty. What is next, is everyone’s question. With more questions but less answers, scientists have since identified art as a tool of treating depression. Described as art therapy among mental health professionals (psychiatrists), it has the impact of improving one’s emotions and feelings when applied by professional art therapists."