AATA News
When Meaningful Contribution is for the Greater Good (and How It Benefits You, Too)
As a Director on the board of the AATA, you will play a pivotal role in helping establish and execute the strategic plan of the organization. This is the big picture, long term planning that helps set the AATA on the best possible future course.
Want to Bring More Joy to Your Work? Focus on “Colleagueship”
As adults, we typically spend a third of our days in a workplace. Often, we might spend more time surrounded by workplace colleagues than friends or family. We have words for our relationships with friends: friendship. We have names for our relationships with family members: kin. What then do we call our workplace humans? Our kith? And how might we conceptualize our relationship with them? In conversation recently at my university, a word came up: “Colleagueship.” It is a way of being that is really important for our ability to contribute to society and our own well-being.
Join us for this special Asian American Heritage Month event, May 20th
May 18, 2023 On May 20th, AATA is hosting a panel discussion with Asian/Asian American art therapists. Join us as we hear from the panelists on how they embody the contexts behind being Asian and Asian American art therapists. They will be sharing their stories,...
Featured Member: Kai-Ying Huang
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.
AATA Joins the National Foster Youth Institute in Support of Mental Health Care for Foster Youth
On April 26, the American Art Therapy Association joined the National Foster Youth Institute (NFYI), the American Music Therapy Association, and others to brief congressional staff about the unique benefits of various therapeutic approaches. The briefing supported NFYI’s efforts to advance legislation to increase the availability of tailored mental health care for foster youth.
This AAPI Heritage Month, Join Us for Asian/Asian American Art Therapists: Embodying the Contexts
As a way to honor AAPI Heritage Month, this panel brings us an opportunity to critically examine the lenses that we use to perceive race, cultures, art, and identities from social-justice oriented perspectives.
Featured Member: Massami Ichikawa
Understanding our own cultural influences is essential in appreciating the diversity of our clients and their cultural backgrounds. Art provides a means of exploring and celebrating these differences, allowing us to connect with others and understand their experiences more deeply.
Featured Member: Jackie Schuld
Sometimes I feel overwhelmed by everything I want for our world. I’m only one person. I cannot provide therapy for everyone nor address all of the various mental health needs and systemic injustices of our communities. When I see the work of my fellow art therapists who are creating private practices, developing businesses, starting non-profits, designing programs, experimenting with new ideas, collaborating with institutions, and doing other innovative work, it fills me with hope for our future. None of us can singularly resolve systemic injustices and mental health needs, but our collective and collaborative work can.
Your Continuing Education Questions Answered
As art therapists prepare for the upcoming ATCB renewal deadline, we wanted to answer some questions that we received from AATA members about their continuing education options.
Introducing the Art Therapy Ethics CEU Series
In time for the ATCB’s re-certification deadline in June, AATA is proud to present a new Continuing Education Series on Art Therapy Ethics featuring Ethics Committee Co-Chairs Deborah Fung, LCAT, and Jen Waters, ATR, LMHC, LPCC.