AATA Blog
Creating an Inclusive and Equitable Space for LGBTQIA+ Clients
June 16, 2022 | Michael Galarraga (he/him) Pride month commemorates the Stonewall riots that occurred at the end of June 1969 in NYC. These riots were a call to action, a fight, and more importantly, a movement to increase inclusivity and equity for LGBTQIA+ people,...
Featured Member: Megan VanMeter, MA, LPC (AZ), LMHC (IN), LPC-AT/S (TX), ATR-BC
June 2, 2022
The clients I support are helping professionals who identify with burnout. I’ve long been interested in person-of-the-therapist issues and know that these tend to be unaddressed sufficiently in training programs and continuing ed opportunities.
Pride Month 2022: LGBTQ+ Mental Health Resources
As we enter Pride Month, the American Art Therapy Association (AATA) would like to stress the importance of accessible mental health care for the LGBTQ+ community. Art therapists, as mental health professionals, strive to provide a sense of safety and openness to their clients, especially those vulnerable to stigma and discrimination.
Whether you are a part of the LGBTQ+ community or have LGBTQ+ clients, peers, friends, and family, we encourage you to check out and share the following resources.
Americans for the Arts 2022 Annual Convention Recap
Being a non-profit professional with a bachelor’s degree in Arts for Social Change, I was excited to have the opportunity to attend this convention as a representative of the American Art Therapy Association and participate in key discussions regarding the crossroads of the arts and social justice.
Featured Member: Makiko Harada (Young)
May 19, 2022
As a Tokyo-born art therapist, I am inspired and motivated by the hate [against Asians] to offer lectures and educate the art therapy community on what we can do about it.
The Cyclical Nature of Mental Health in AANHPI Communities
Amplifying silenced voices in the AANHPI communities through discovery, exploration, and engagement with art therapy is a stride in itself. We can take the taboo of mental health and reconstruct our community into one that is inclusive, open, welcoming, and, above all, filled with understanding.
Featured Member: Jie Shen
May 5, 2022
In my own response to art, I have written many Chinese poems about myself, my family, and my responses during or after art therapy sessions. My personal art has shifted through many phases, from using bamboo strolls, wires, paint, and magazines. As a collage artist right now, my biggest challenge for honoring my heritage is finding magazines, or collage materials that have AAPI faces.
Why Licensing Matters to the Future of Art Therapy as a Profession
For a long while, even before art therapists first became licensed anywhere in the US, art therapists have been debating the value of professional licensure. Many of us who have been professionals in the field for more than 10 years most likely had to pursue an alternative license such as licensed professional counselor (LPC) or licensed marriage and family therapist (LMFT) to work providing mental health counseling in most states. If you already hold a license as an art therapist, LPC, or LMFT, you may not realize or be personally affected by the changes—particularly in the counseling profession—that will very soon lock art therapists out of gaining an LPC. Similar changes are coming regarding the LMFT license as well. Whether you are personally affected or not, your attention must be on these changes for the long-term sustainability of the profession. We need to think about those in education programs now and future art therapists.
Featured Member: Nomita Advani
April 21, 2022
I find great meaning in my role in supporting the well-being and quality of life of my clients, while also learning so much from them. I am grateful for that. The bonus is to be able to engage with artmaking and expressive, visual language every day.
Featured Member: Virginia Bobro
April 7, 2022
Birth stories contain the full range of human experiences: resilience, trauma, persistence, triumph, creativity, confusion, grief, connection, and more. I’m becoming an art therapist to more deeply understand and utilize art as a way to work through and transform trauma, disconnection, and distress during the childbearing years.