AATA is looking forward to hosting our first in-person conference since the pandemic — and so excited to celebrate you all in Minneapolis! With Early Bird registration coming to a close on July 22, we are giving away AATA portfolio organizers with notepads to the next 25 people who register for conference and post about it on social media! This is in addition to the AEM HI Arts watercolor paper pad that all Early Bird registrants will receive.

Is your organization, company, or program interested in supporting mental health and the arts? Consider becoming an AATA Affiliate Member! Affiliate Memberships are great for organizations, companies, and programs looking to join our community and expand their network of art therapists around the country. Affiliate Members receive exclusive benefits, such as discounts on group memberships, advertisements, products, events, and more!

Even if you and your colleagues are already professional members of AATA, Affiliate Membership gives your workplace additional benefits.

The Wisconsin Art Therapy Association (WATA) has completed their eight year effort in digitizing their entire archive. It is now fully accessible to the public on their website!

This is a significant contribution to the historical body of knowledge of the art therapy profession.
There are nearly 3,000 searchable documents from the years 1968-2015 that were collected from art therapists in all regions of Wisconsin.The documents are not limited to the history of art therapy in Wisconsin, but include early information on the development of the profession and how the WATA and AATA had a shared and intertwining history. The documents even include information on art therapy projects Wayne Ramirez initiated in Pennsylvania, Puerto Rico, and the US Virgin Islands (1976-2000). Most important, the documents refute historical myths, inaccuracies, and omissions found in Art Therapy textbooks and other writings.

Please enjoy perusing these newly completed digital files by entering keywords, document types, last names, or locations.

The limited free access articles for Volume 39 Issue 2 of Art Therapy: Journal of the American Art Therapy Association are available to read until October 31, 2022.

The Accreditation Council for Art Therapy Education (ACATE) semi-annual newsletter, ACATE Canvas, informs its many stakeholders of the progress of art therapy program accreditation and more!

The All-Member Meeting that was scheduled as a placeholder at the beginning of the year for July 21 is being rescheduled to August. As soon as we have a date, we will publish the finalized date and open registration. If there are any questions, please contact info@arttherapy.org. Thank you!

Creativity and innovation have driven the field of art therapy and gotten it to where it is today. Don’t lose that creativity! There are many challenges art therapists face, such as licensing, but you shouldn’t let that stop you. Keep getting your hands dirty — it would be a shame to see that creativity diminished.  

Like other forms of therapy, art is also a safer, healthier way to channel stress and other negative emotions into action compared to destructive or harmful choices, says Kaimal.

“One way art therapy is different than traditional psychotherapy is that it’s a multi-sensory experience,” said Lauren Leone, a Somerville art therapist. “That sensory experience and that somatic experience is really important. That’s where art therapy can be helpful in ways that maybe other [therapeutic] approaches haven’t been.”

For some health care providers, finding a voice for what they’re feeling can happen through the arts. Recently published research, which Moss helped to lead, demonstrates that health care professionals who participated in a 12-week creative arts therapy pilot study reported lowered rates of stress and anxiety from the beginning to the end of the program.

Taylor Beardsall, a board-certified art therapist, life coach and yoga instructor, taught the students to use art when they don’t have the words to express their feelings.

Can the process of art making be beneficial? Does it matter if my child is creative? Although some may regard art making and education as a luxury, simple creative activities can be considered some of the building blocks of child development.