March 31, 2025 | 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!
How Do We Prepare?
Given this was our third straight March hosting a Day on the Hill, we’ve become pretty good at planning what to do and knowing what we need to say. Our Day on the Hill events always have three parts: meeting with legislators, dropping off swag bags to those we didn’t get to meet with, and being a visible presence in the capital.
Breaking it Down
The trickiest part of any Day on the Hill event is getting meetings set up with Legislators. Most of our legislators will schedule meetings in 15-minute increments, so not only do we have to manage a schedule of multiple 15-minute meetings across two buildings (Senate and House office buildings) but we also have to fine-tune our message to fit into a 15-minute conversation. We were lucky to work with the AATA National Office a few years ago to identify our core messages, strategize how to talk to legislators from different parties, and the importance of a personal “why” story – we even have a video recording we’ve shared with art therapists to help them prepare.
MN Licensure Advocates with Representatives Liz Reyer and Matt Norris
Having hosted multiple Hill Days over the last couple years, we’ve become more confident and more consistent in the message:
- Licensure helps protect the public from harm
- Licensure increases access to mental health services
- Licensure eliminates barriers to entry into the field for art therapists (Especially with the passing of the Counseling Compact in our state and nationally).
We’ve also learned how to address questions about cost and budget considerations. We’ve fielded concerns about “where will regulation ever end” if art therapy licensure passes. We’ve provided information about having a graduate program in our state is unique in the Midwest and that licensure not only attracts students but incentivizes them to stay after graduation. We’ve shared personal stories about how we’ve seen art therapy benefit clients when traditional talk therapy hasn’t worked. Each year we learn more about what legislators are looking for and what we need to share to get and keep their attention and support.
Generally speaking, legislators are by and large willing to talk with us and learn about what we’re doing. Often, when we explain what we do and why it’s important, they get it and support us. One thing I’ve learned is that they are just people and that appealing to the human element is huge. This year, some of our advocates met with a Senator after a particularly difficult meeting about Medicaid, and he shared that spending time with us after that meeting was calming and raised his spirits. But we also have to be convincing about why regulating art therapy in this way is as important as regulating other mental health professionals – and this is how and why several legislators from both parties chose to hop on board as co-authors after meeting with them this year, including past and current members of the Committees who will hear the bills.
MN Licensure Advocates with Senators John Hoffman and Liz Boldon
The last one is easy: with bright and colorful t-shirts, buttons, and thank-you postcards designed by art therapists, we’re easily seen and recognizable. Nothing like consistent branding to make us look and feel professional!
Our swag bags were an inspiration after our first Day on the Hill event. Every year we bring thank you cards or postcards to meetings with legislators. In 2023, we had leftover buttons and stickers from previous events that we also gave away. Last year, we decided to expand and bought inexpensive white paper lunch bags, and decorated them at a “Swag Prep Party”, and filled them with Model Magic (donated by a local Art Therapy private practice) as well as buttons, stickers, and our Info sheet. This year, we gave away fidgets (Stress Cubes) instead of Model Magic. Nothing makes our day more than legislative aides AND legislators giving us wide smiles when they see us, knowing a colorful bag with something fun and useful inside is heading their way. They’ve come to know us by our swag!
Our strengths: Community Organizing and Sharing the Message
Minnesota Art Therapists have been through a number of challenges in the last 5 years, due to the pandemic, the murder of George Floyd, the dissolution of our state chapter, and a really tight 2024 election cycle, among other things. The one thing that keeps us unified and engaged is our Licensure Efforts and protecting the future of our profession. We’re happy to share any and all resources with other states working towards licensure, as we know that “what helps one of us, helps us all!”
To learn more about our efforts and 2025 Day on the Hill, visit our website: https://www.mnarttherapy.com/home.