As the event facilitator, Miki Nishida Goerdt, explains, everything our clients experience is connected and influenced by multiple contexts they find themselves in: the environment, people around them, the history of the country they live, where their family came from, the political climate, and their social locations, to name a few. “It is our responsibility as art therapists to seek understanding of the contexts behind our clients and ourselves – so that clients are seen as whole human beings.”

Facilitator: 
Miki Nishida Goerdt LCSW, LCSW-C, ATR-BC

Panelists:  
Jayashree George, DA, ATR-BC, LMFT, SEP 
Tsz Yan (Winnie) Wong, MAATC, ATR
Joyce Yip Green, PhD, LMFT, ATR-BC

We are thrilled that Early Bird Registration is OPEN for our Annual Conference in San Diego, CA, Oct. 25 – 29, 2023.

Registering early will ensure the lowest rates, and the best selection of the sessions, such as Workshops and Advanced Practice Courses. We are offering flexible registration packages, including full registration, one-day and two-day rates, as well as student discounts. 

⇒ All-day Advanced Practice Courses, Wednesday, Oct. 25
⇒ Core Program Days, Thursday, Oct. 26 – Saturday, Oct. 28 
⇒ Opening Reception, Wednesday evening, Oct. 25
⇒ Keynote Speaker Plenary, Friday, Oct. 27
⇒ Closing Reception, Saturday, Oct. 28
⇒ Half-Day Advanced Practice Courses, Sunday, Oct. 29

This month, we recognize the 60th anniversary of Older Americans Month, which started as “Senior Citizens Month” with a proclamation from President John F. Kennedy. You can read President Joe Biden’s proclamation here, which connects the dots from 1963 to today. 

We hope the art therapy community will use Older Americans Month to raise awareness about the value of art therapy for older Americans. As Sivan Perdue, MS, ATR-BC, LCPAT, explains in her post, art with older adults provides opportunities to express inner experiences in a visual and contained way. This fosters and introduces healthy outlets and coping skills as well as providing a sense of mastery and accomplishment. This type of meaningful expression may not be possible verbally for some older adults due to illnesses such as Parkinson’s disease, other forms of dementia, and aphasia due to stroke.

Please share this article as you recognize Older Americans Month, May 2023.

⇒ Michigan: Lawmakers introduced HB 4514 with bipartisan support. The legislation that would provide for licensure of art therapists in Michigan.  
⇒ Nevada: HB 338 would provide for Medicaid coverage under the Nevada state plan, extending access to art therapy services for many more Nevadans! The bill has made it through its first committee vote, the first step toward passage.
⇒ Tennessee: Tennessee art therapists Paige Scheinberg, Catherine Harris, and Rachel Murphy Norman met with regulators from the Licensing Board on May 15th to finalize rules governing the administration of licenses in Tennessee. 

“Art therapy is still a young profession in Asia. I had never heard about art therapy or anyone with expertise in using art to help people heal until I was in my second year of college. I chanced upon a Taiwanese art therapist who was invited by my professor to share her clinical experiences. As an audience member, I had tears in my eyes and was full of feelings of sadness and love.

Don’t be afraid of going into unfamiliar places.”

Thanks to our friends at ANZACATA, which is the art therapy association and regulatory body in Australia, New Zealand and Asia, AATA members have access to a new report compiling over 40 major pieces of peer-reviewed research related to art therapy. The report provides a comprehensive review of up-to-date findings on the efficacy of creative arts therapies for a range of physical health concerns (cancer, cognition and chronic pain), mental health (anxiety, depression, stress and trauma) and studies which support the efficacy of creative arts therapy for children and young people (especially in school environments). 

This report is available for FREE to AATA Members by logging into MyAATA. 

By Miki Nishida Goerdt, LCSW, LCSW-C, ATR-BC 

Life experiences and events often do not make sense right away. This was especially true for me as I moved to the United States after high school, away from my home country of Japan. Art became a method for me to contemplate how to make space for difficult feelings, joy and losses in life, and alternative viewpoints.

I recently chose Japanese woodblock printmaking, Mokuhanga, as an art medium in order to heal from the cultural identity loss I endured as I experienced assimilation in the United States.

– SPONSORED POST –
♦  Clinical Program Director - Creative Arts Therapies, Hancock Center for Creative Arts Therapies: Hancock Center’s Clinical Program Director is responsible for providing clear administrative oversight and vision for the therapy program to grow supportive offerings and services. 
Want to post or apply for art therapy jobs? Visit AATA's Career Center, the one-stop shop to help art therapists at all levels find new opportunities! For questions about the Career Center, email adamante@arttherapy.org.

CBS 23 WIFR
[FEATURING AATA MEMBER RACHEL JOHNSON]