August 2, 2018
Jenelle Hallaert, M.S., will be joining the 2018 cohort at The George Washington University (GWU) this fall to obtain her post-master’s in art therapy. This summer, Hallaert channeled her passion for art therapy accessibility in the Midwest by spearheading licensure efforts in Nebraska, joining forces with Nebraskans for the Arts and collaborating with the AATA National Office. After relocating to Washington D.C. for school, she will continue to support efforts by the licensure committee, which consists of credentialed art therapists and arts advocates residing in Nebraska.
Ms. Hallaert has participated as a pilot-tester for the Online Community Forum, which will be launched for the entire membership on August 8th! Since attending the 2017 conference in Albuquerque and building her first relationships within the AATA community, Hallaert has “stayed connected to multiple persons at the AATA National Office who have promptly answered my many questions for both personal and professional development. Now with the new forum, I can reroute some of those questions to my fellow AATA members and make even more connections.”
Hallaert earned her BA in Art Therapy and Psychology from Concordia University, Nebraska, and her MS in Counseling Psychology from the University of Kansas. After recognizing that her “lack of immersion in art making was causing a gloomy identity void,” she decided to continue her art therapy studies at GWU.
For the future of the profession, Hallaert hopes “to see the credibility of the profession continue to flourish through increased research output and advocacy efforts that will lead to greater accessibility to art therapy services, graduate education, and state license-eligibility across the nation.”
“Foot Fetish” by Jenelle Hallaert. Sugar, food coloring.
Artist Statement: “An exploration of normalizing a psychological fetish.”