AATA Blog

Art Therapy Legislation to Watch in 2020
January 2, 2020
As most state legislatures prepare to begin their 2020 legislative sessions in January, we wanted to share some bills to watch this year and also recap the art therapy victories and advancements of 2019!

Featured Member: Meet AATA’s New President Margaret Carlock-Russo, EdD, LCAT, ATR-BC, ATCS
January 2, 2020
As we step into the New Year, we wanted to hear from the AATA’s new President Margaret Carlock Russo, EdD, LCAT, ATR-BC, ATCS about the year to come for our association and also take the opportunity to learn a bit more about Margaret as a clinician and an advocate for the field.

The Year in Review: AATA Achievements and Highlights of 2019
December 19, 2019
As we prepare to head into the next decade, we’d like to take this opportunity to take stock and reflect on what we have accomplished collectively as a profession in this 50th year of our association’s life. We’ve made remarkable gains in legislative goals and public awareness for the profession as well as significant improvements and expansions in membership experience and programmatic offerings. Let’s look back together at the accomplishments of the past year!

Featured Member: Barbara Fish, PhD, ATR-BC, ATCS, LCPC, 2019 Honorary Life Member
December 18, 2019
“My advice for the next generation of art therapists is the same as the advice that was given to me. Use the tools that you offer to others to guide your own path. By employing our own creative process as a resource in our lives, we can understand the personal challenges and rewards of self-investigation. Without our ongoing personal practice, our requests for client involvement in image making can fall flat. I encourage art therapists to use their imaginations to explore, expanding the potential and public awareness of art therapy.”

Thank YOU for Making Our 50th Year a Success
December 17, 2019
As 2019 comes to a close, we want to take a moment to say thank you to each and every member for making our 50th Anniversary Year a success! Please scroll through some highlights from our celebration including a collaborative video, testimonials of support, and photos from conference and social media.

4 Art Therapy Journal Articles Open Access through the End of the Year
December 5, 2019
These four articles are perfect for your holiday reading list! AATA members enjoy full access to Art Therapy: Journal of the American Art Therapy Association year round. And for a limited time through the end of the year, the following four articles are available open-access online. Renowned authors include pioneers in art therapy as well as art therapists contributing to the growing literature in the field of neuroscience!

Interview with Peter Buotte on “Invisible Wounds” Exhibit
November 12, 2019
Yesterday on Veteran’s Day, we shared a blog post by Peter Buotte, veteran, art therapist, and sculptor, on his exhibit “Invisible Wounds,” now on display in the Texas State Capitol ground floor Rotunda in Austin from November 11 to November 18, 2019. We asked Peter to answer a few questions about this exhibit and his art process!

“Invisible Wounds” Exhibit in Texas State Capitol by Veteran and Art Therapist
November 11, 2019 | By Peter J. Buotte
As an art therapist, I get to encounter the invisible consequences of war each day. As an artist, this series intends to make visible the experience of today’s Wounded Warrior who was physically or mentally wounded in Iraq or Afghanistan from 2001 to the present. In another act of courage, each service member has selected a gesture and posed as a sculpture.

Collaborative Video Celebrating #AATA50th — We Couldn’t Do It without You!
October 30, 2019
Check out our first-ever collaborative video project celebrating 50 years of healing through art! Thank you to our more than 200 members and friends who participated in this video project via the SeenIt app!

Developing a Permanent Presence for AATA in the Washington, DC Area: Twenty Years Later
October 24, 2019 | By Paula Howie, ATR-BC, LPC, LCPAT, HLM
The AATA’s presence in Washington DC has allowed the Association to foster relationships and participate in national events with organizations such as Americans for the Arts, Substance Abuse Mental Health Services Administration, and the Mental Health Liaison Group. These have in turn helped us increase public awareness, informed our legislative agenda, and amplified our voices when speaking out on national policy issues.