Join us for the AATA2024
Virtual Conference, Oct. 26 – 27!

All-new, never-been-seen sessions on a new platform designed specifically for AATA.

Connect with presenters, meet new friends, and catch up with colleagues from around the globe—or augment your in-person experience in Pittsburgh.

AATA2024 in-person attendees will receive a 50% registration discount for the virtual conference!

Adolescents: Comparing 3D Virtual Reality and Traditional 2D Art-Making Experiences

Presenter reveals insights into adolescents’ artistic exploration through virtual reality (VR) art-making. Participants depicted safe spaces with traditional art materials, later recreated them in VR. Thematic analysis unveiled themes: diminished confidence, empowerment, multisensory engagement, and shared experiences of gender-switching. Virtual reality empowers non-traditional expression of thoughts, fostering participation and creativity. [PAPER]

Presenter: Lidice Cohen

Building Capacity Back Home: Art Therapy Post-Graduate Certificate Program Based in Istanbul

This presentation describes the development of an art therapy training program in Turkey by six art therapists trained in the US during the 2000s. Returning in the 2010s, they crafted a curriculum bridging US and Turkish academic and social norms, showcasing capacity building by international therapists in their home country. [PAPER]

Presenters: Asli Arslanbek Evci, Bihter Yasemin Adali, Leyla Akca, Aslıhan Özcan Morey, Seyma Cavusoglu

Doctoral Education: Is it for Me?

This panel of doctoral level art therapy students and educators will provide an opportunity to learn more about the intended values and goals of doctoral education, especially as related to students of diverse backgrounds, races, gender orientations, and perspectives facing implicit and explicit institutional hierarchies. [PANEL]

Presenters: Danielle Chen, Nancy Gerber, Lisa Hinz

Art Therapy Efficacy Study For Indian Women With Chronic Mental Health Conditions

The presentation will discuss an original pilot research using clay-pottery based art therapy intervention with residents of an assisted-living community facility for women with chronic mental health conditions in India. A structured Art therapy intervention module developed for the research will be discussed in detail. [PAPER]

Presenter: Saoni Banerjee

Sensory-based Relational Art Therapy Approach: Supporting the Emotional Needs of Autistic Children

I will outline the Sensory-based Relational Art Therapy Approach and explain the rationale behind its seven themes. The exploration of these themes will be done through case vignettes, illustrating their practical implications. [PAPER]

Presenter: Huma Durrani

Papermaking as Art Therapy to Address Trauma and Loss

This panel will explore hand papermaking as a form of art therapy from the experiences, practice, and reflections of four art therapists. Attendees will learn about papermaking materials, methods, and applications to implement this media to specifically address trauma, grief, and loss, as well as empower resilience and recovery. [PANEL]

Presenters: Gretchen Miller, Meredith McMackin, Annie McFarland

Silhouettes That Unveil: A Revealing Insight Into Sexual Abuse Survivors In Singapore

The presentation will highlight the consistent patterns observed in female sexual abuse survivors’ artwork during art therapy sessions in Singapore. Some sexual abuse survivors tend to create similar metaphors that aid in identification and tailored interventions. This presentation will be especially useful for clinicians working with clients with complex trauma. [PAPER]

Presenter: Buvenasvari Pragasam

Transformative Art Therapy: Self-Discovery in Women’s Correctional Facilities with Expressive Post

This presentation explores the impact of the Expressive Post impact in a women’s prison, utilizing relational art therapy to foster self-discovery and empowerment. It highlights innovative techniques and transformative outcomes, emphasizing the role of art in facilitating change and connection within the challenging carceral environment. [PAPER]

Presenters: Theresa Van Lith and Hayley Arjona

Cult Recovery, Complex Trauma, and Art Therapy: A Comprehensive Approach

This presentation delves into the intersection of cult recovery, complex trauma, and the innovative application of art therapy as a transformative modality for survivors. Coercive control, a subtle yet insidious form of abuse, often leaves survivors grappling with complex trauma, a multifaceted and enduring aftermath that challenges traditional therapeutic approaches. [PANEL]

Presenters: Natalee Bigger Stockdale, Ashlen Hilliard, Erin Falconer

Charting the Future of Art Therapy Research: Implementation for Advancement and Sustainability

This presentation describes the outcome and implementation of multi-phasic research project the goal of which was to create an art therapy research strategic plan. Projects such as Teaching Research and The Metaphor Project are discussed as exemplars of the implementation of the five broad art therapy research strategic goals. [PANEL]

Presenters: Nancy Gerber, Theresa Van Lith, Madeline Centracchio

Numbers Tell the Story: Teaching, Learning, and Applying Quantitative Research Methods

Numbers tell the story. Using quantitative research methods, students and practitioners learn ways to find the story in numbers. What are mental health professionals’ attitudes towards art therapy? Does this treatment method cause a change? Art therapy educators learn innovative ways to experientially teach research. [PAPER]

Presenter: Patricia St John

HeART in India: Indian Perspectives on Art and Healing (Through Art)

The HeART in India panel will explore: cultural aspects of art therapy, art, and healing in India, the ongoing shifts in awareness and acceptance of art therapy as a mental health profession/field, and a few accessible therapeutic art techniques that might help increase accessibility of art therapy in India. [PANEL]

Presenters: Alison Kearley, Vishakha Rao, Megha Ananth, Manjari Srikanth

Decolonizing Art Therapy from Within: Disarming with your Inner Colonizer

This presentation will discuss the universal nature of art therapy, the need for constant self-reflexivity, and the benefits of cultural adaptation in practice and research. It will emphasize the importance of a decolonized and socially just stance, including all voices from different locations. The role of reflexivity and self-reflexivity in art therapy is highlighted, along with the significance of understanding the inter-relationality present in all aspects of life. We will also explore how creativity can be used as a form of resistance towards meaningful social change. Finally, it calls for acknowledging our contribution to sustaining inequalities and working towards liberation and social justice in exploring our inner colonizer. [PAPER]

Presenters: Natalia Gómez-Carlier

Psychedelics and Art Therapy: Bridging Two Worlds

This panel will explore the historical use of psychedelics in traditional and Western practices, including the use of psychedelics in mental health treatment. Panelists will review ethical and legal implications of incorporating this work into clinical practice and present their experience using art therapy at different stages of psychedelics therapy. [PANEL]

Presenters: Rebecca Wilkinson, Amelia Laver, Charmaine Husum