AATA Blog
A Look at Three of AATA’s 2023 Research Award Winners
With this year’s research awards applications in mind, we invite you to take a look at a few of the winners below and their research commitments to art therapy.
How Two Art Therapists Celebrated Creative Arts Therapy Week at their Hospitals
We talked to two art therapists, Lisa Wasserman, PsyD, ATR-BC, ATCS, and Lourdes “Lulu” Figueroa, MPS, ATR, about the work they do in hospitals, and how they celebrated Creative Arts Therapies Week.
Join the International Shared Interest Group. Meet Global Art Therapists During our Virtual Meetings
Attention AATA members interested in international art therapy work or for those who identify as international members or students: Join us May 4!
Pennsylvania Art Therapy Association Hosts a Hill Day
On March 20, 2024, members of the Pennsylvania Art Therapy Association (PAATA) met at the State Capitol in Harrisburg, PA for Hill Day. Several PAATA members convened to advocate and speak with the public about the need for an independent Art Therapy License in Pennsylvania (LPAT).
2023 Chapter Advocacy Updates
dvocating for licensure isn’t just about advocating for practicing art therapists: it’s about calling for increased access to mental health professionals and keeping the profession sustainable for future art therapists. Here’s a look at AATA chapter advocacy and how you can help.
Florida Art Therapy Association Hosts a Licensure Advocacy Event
The Florida Art Therapy Association (FATA) in collaboration with the Florida State University (FSU) Art Therapy Program, hosted an art therapy advocacy convening on Friday, November 17th. The event brought together a diverse community to support House Bill 51 and Senate Bill 878, which would create rt therapy licensure.
Update on Virginia’s Licensure Regulations
On Oct. 6, 2023, the Art Therapy Advisory Board of the DHP of Virginia met for the first time since August 2021. Once the licensure regulations are approved, they will circle back to the Board of Counseling and then back to the desk of the Secretary of Health and Human Resources and Virginia’s Governor. Learn more how you can get involved.
Integrating Art Therapy in Museums: Bridging the Gap between Isolation to Community Connection
The museum visit, paired with art-making, provides participants with an elevation of their museum experience, especially those who report rarely making or creating art themselves. What I have observed through my project on integrating art therapy in a museum was how connecting different community members over art-making fosters group cohesion as a sense of belonging in a museum.
Workplace Bullying Isn’t About A Mean 4th Grader on the Playground. It has Serious Consequences.
By Megan VanMeter, ATR-BC, LPC, LMHC, LPC-AT/S
Most therapists aren’t aware of workplace bullying as a type of trauma. Even though many targets of workplace bullying wind up in therapy due to anxiety, depression, and PTSD, therapists generally aren’t educated about the widespread practice of this abuse. In the U.S. alone, 30% of the population has experienced it directly and another 19% has experienced it vicariously.
An Art Therapy Undergrad’s Experience at the AATA Annual Conference
by Sienna Sullivan, AATA Intern When a professor announced AATA's 2022 Annual Conference, Amelie Smith, then a senior Art Major at Louisiana State University, remembers thinking, “I have to go to this conference... to be where everyone in the art therapy community...