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 AATA News
We are thrilled to open Early Bird registration for AATA2025, our 56th Annual In-Person Conference in Portland, Oregon, Oct. 8 - 11, 2025! This year’s theme, Ascending to New Heights, celebrates the growth of our profession and the significant achievements of art therapists. It also pays tribute to Oregon’s stunning Cascade Mountain Range and, particularly, Mount Hood—its highest peak, visible from Portland. We hope you’ll join us to learn from more than 300 presenters sharing their expertise and research, and connect with art therapists, students, and mental health professionals from around the world. Consider registering during Early Bird to secure the lowest registration prices—and your first choice of limited-seating sessions, including Workshops and Advanced Practice Courses. AATA Members receive additional discounts! (Join or renew here.)
What are the shared experiences in the transition from new professional to seasoned expert? In this session, presenters Annette Vaccaro and Dan Summer will explore the evolution of the supervisory relationship, focusing on how new professionals develop self-assessment skills and gradually move toward autonomy. As supervisees gain experience, their reliance on concrete answers shifts, and supervisors must adapt to provide the right balance of guidance and independence. Join us for this second session in the Supervision CE Series, tomorrow, April 4, at 7 p.m. ET. If you are unable to join live, the session will be available On Demand to view anytime. Discounts are available for AATA Members, as well as if the three-part session is purchased as a package. This session is free for AATA Student Members to attend.
By Michelle Itczak, MA, ATR-BC, ATCS, LMHC, Chair, Accreditation Council for Art Therapy Education (ACATE) The Commission on Accreditation of Allied Health Education Programs (CAAHEP) awarded initial accreditation to the Art Therapy master’s programs at Antioch University New England in Keene, New Hampshire. and Syracuse University, in Syracuse, New York. The CAAHEP Board approved the accreditation recommendation by the Accreditation Council for Art Therapy Education (ACATE) for the art therapy graduate program on July 17, 2024.
Member Corner
Amid widespread job cuts affecting mental health professionals and essential workers— including the Department of Veterans Affairs’ (VA) planned reduction of 80,000 workers—AATA Board Member Rachel Mims, MS, ATR-BC, LPC-AT-S, and the Veterans Shared Interest Group (SIG) led a virtual art-making session to foster support and connection. On March 26, 29 AATA members—including veterans, active duty service members, and professionals working with these communities—gathered for this small-group session. Through art-making and conversation, participants found a safe space to share their experiences, build community, and offer words of support and encouragement to one another during uncertain times.
By Briana Colton MA, ATR-BC, LPCC On March 4th, Minnesota art therapists visited the State Capital in St. Paul, marking our third annual Day on the Hill event aimed at increasing visibility and awareness of art therapy and advocating for SF1675 and HF2590, which would create state art therapy licensure. This year’s event was smaller and more focused than 2024, due in large part to the delayed start to the Minnesota House of Representatives’ session. Despite the delay, our community showed up in strength, and we had a wonderful day of conversations and connection with each other and our legislators!
“A career in art therapy demands that you have a passion for art and for working to better the lives of people in need. It requires that your passion for art includes your own art-making and a deep understanding of its origins. Working with people in need is essential. You will be doing a lot of educating about the profession, beyond the "elevator talk." And, you should be aware that training and graduation from the master’s level is just the beginning of your professional journey. As in all professions, the field changes and grows. A commitment to life-long learning is essential.”
ADVOCACY UPDATES
By Kristine Bella, LCAT, ATR-BC, ATCS; Gaelan Walker LCAT LPC; and Mary Andrus DAT LCAT LPC ATCS
We united. We testified. We have a voice. Ever since the Oregon art therapy license took effect in 2020, an art therapy insurance reimbursement workgroup convened to campaign for art therapy to be billable to Medicaid. On March 18, several art therapists provided public testimony supporting HB3761, which will allow LCAT to be a Medicaid billable license, reducing the current credential redundancy for art therapists. On April 3, the House Committee for Behavioral Health Care and Health Care will have a work session to discuss and vote on this historic bill. We have immense gratitude for the abundance of support from art therapists, mental health colleagues, recipients of art therapy services, directors/supervisors of statewide programs, along with many others. But we still need your help! Please contact your representative and ask them to co-sponsor the bill. You can find out who your legislator is here.
By Andrea Davis ATR-BC, ATCS, LPC-AT-S Art therapy licensure legislation has been introduced in Texas as HB4557 in the House by Representative Anchía and as SB1081 in the Senate by Senator West. Currently, SB1081 has been referred to the Senate Business & Commerce Committee. However, there is no scheduled hearing date for the bill at this time. We are closely monitoring the situation and will provide updates if a hearing is scheduled. We encourage you to contact your local Texas Representative or Senator—especially if they are a member of the Senate Business & Commerce Committee. Let them know you support the bill and ask them to co-sponsor both HB4557 and SB1081, as well as to move SB1081 out of committee. To find out who your lawmakers are, click here. You can use this model letter for Texans to help you draft your message to your lawmaker, or find additional sample letters and updates on our Facebook page: "Texas Art Therapy Licensure."
Art therapy licensure legislation has been introduced in Minnesota as SF1675 in the Senate by Senator Hoffman and on March 20 was introduced in the House as HF2590 by Representative Norris. Currently, SF1675 has been referred to the Senate Health and Human Services Committee and HF2590 has been referred to the House Health Finance and Policy Committee. We encourage you to contact your local Minnesota Representative or Senator—especially if they are a member one of the committees to whom the bills have been referred. Let them know you support the bill and ask them to co-sponsor both SF1675 and HF2590, as well as to move them out of committee. To find out who your lawmakers are, click here. Kansas State Representative Susan Ruiz introduced HB2072, which has now been referred to the Health and Human Services committee. Please contact your representative (especially if they are a member of the committee) to ask them to co-sponsor HB2072 and pass it out of committee. You can find out who your representative is here. Use this model letter for Kansans to help you write your lawmaker about the bill.
JOURNAL NEWS
The first issue of 2025's Art Therapy Journal Volume 42 is out! Learn about this issue's articles, viewpoints, brief report, and book review here, and read Editor in Chief Dr. Emily Goldstein Nolan's free access Editorial, Change: Navigating Ambiguity and Uncertainty. You are invited to subscribe to the AATA Journal Channel on Facebook to receive weekly updates and news about Art Therapy: Journal of the American Art Therapy Association. Keep connected to AATA Journal communication and publication announcements about art therapy practice, professional issues, and research. Click here to subscribe.
ResourcesEarlier this month, Congress approved a six-month Continuing Resolution (CR) to keep the government from shutting down. The CR also extended the telehealth waivers until September 30, 2025. This means that:
Events
From the AATA Career Center- SPONSORED POST - Southwestern College seeks adjunct faculty to teach a weekly online three-hour course for students in the Art Therapy/Counseling program who are beginning their field training experience at a practicum site and provide off-site ATR-BC supervision. The faculty member will also facilitate two online Art Therapy small supervision groups per week approximately 2-2.5 hours in length each. Southwestern College welcomes applications from candidates seeking to teach in a consciousness-based and transformational learning environment.
- SPONSORED POST - The Visual Arts Center of New Jersey seeks three Creative Arts Therapists in various locations (Hammonton, Glen Gardener, and Highland Park) to participate as a member of the care team in assessing, developing and planning creative arts therapy activities for patients appropriate to the multidisciplinary plan of care.
Want to post or apply for art therapy jobs? Visit the AATA Career Center, the one-stop-shop to help art therapists at all levels find new opportunities. For questions about the career center, please email info@arttherapy.org.
Art Therapy in the News |
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The AATA's Art Therapy Today includes a digest of the most important news selected for the AATA from thousands of sources. Guest articles may be submitted to info@arttherapy.org. Publication of any guest article is at the sole discretion of the AATA. The opinions expressed and/or contents of guest articles, advertisements, and external links included in any AATA publication do not represent the positions or policies of the AATA. The AATA makes no warrenty or representation concerning the accuracy of such content. |
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