AATA Blog

ACATE Council Positions Open July 1st for Two Educators and One Practitioner
February 17, 2022 | Ron Hunt, DDS, MS, Chair, Accreditation Council for Art Therapy Education (ACATE)
The Accreditation Council for Art Therapy Education (ACATE) is currently seeking applications and nominations for two (2) Educator and one (1) Practitioner positions that will become open on July 1, 2022. Please consider applying or nominating someone whom you believe will work tirelessly to promote best practices for art therapy educational programs and help ACATE lead the upcoming standards revisions process for the art therapy accreditation standards.

Featured Member: Leonard Gerald Lambert
February 24, 2022
Known as the “King of Process” by his friends, Leonard Lambert’s career in art therapy has been quite the journey. Leonard was among the first black male art therapy students to graduate from Pratt Institute. In 1979, he completed his thesis, Stonecarving: A Projective and Creative Modality for the Drug User, working with groups at a Substance Abuse facility. After working as an art therapist for behavioral health at Harlem Hospital and receiving his ATR board certificate, Leonard decided to switch career paths to practice social work. Ten years later, he was called back to art therapy. Now conducting art therapy through Zoom interactions, he is excited to connect with other male art therapists and explore the “percolating” ideas within him.

New Jersey is Now Licensing Art Therapists!
February 18, 2022 | Traci Bitondo LPAT, LPC, ATR-BC, ACS, ATCS, New Jersey Art Therapy Association Government Affairs Chairperson
It feels so good to finally report this with confidence: New Jersey is licensing Art Therapists! While that alone is worth celebrating, for New Jersey art therapists, this is particularly amazing given the unexpected, winding journey we took over the years to get here.

Three More Art Therapy Programs Receive Initial CAAHEP Accreditation!
February 17, 2022 | Ron Hunt, DDS, MS, Chair, Accreditation Council for Art Therapy Education (ACATE)
CAAHEP awarded initial accreditations to the Art Therapy master’s programs at Caldwell University (New Jersey), Loyola Marymount University (California), and University of Louisville (Kentucky).
Black History in Art Therapy: A Living Reference & Resource Guide
February 10, 2022 | Compiled by Deanna Barton, MA, ATR-BC & Zachary D. Van Den Berg, MA, ATR-P, LPC-Associate Early Black History in Art Therapy Overview Boston, C., Doby-Copeland, C., & Short, G. (2001, November). Learning from our past: Honoring our...
In Honor of Black History Month: Centering Black Aesthetics in Art Therapy Past, Present & Future
February 10, 2022 | Deanna Barton, MA, ATR-BC & Zachary D. Van Den Berg, MA, ATR-P, LPC-Associate In February, we celebrate Black History Month by honoring the labors and contributions of Black art therapists towards their clients, the profession at large, and the...

Featured Member: Keren Arroyo-Mora
February 10, 2022
My advice to any future person interested in pursuing a career in art therapy would be to always come to the space of love, curiosity, and empathy. Love yourself and the job you do, have the curiosity to learn without judgment and have empathy for the people you will serve.
CAAHEP Accreditation for Southwestern College!
February 10, 2022. Ron Hunt, DDS, MS, Chair, Accreditation Council for Art Therapy Education The Commission on Accreditation of Allied Health Education Programs (CAAHEP) awarded initial accreditation to the Art Therapy/Counseling and Art Therapy for Clinical...

In Honor of International Holocaust Remembrance Day: Centering Memory, Dignity, and Justice in Art Therapy
January 27, 2022 | By Zachary D. Van Den Berg, MA, ATR-P, LPC-Associate & Pat B. Allen, PhD, ATR
Today, we reflect on the past to inform a meaningful critique of the present and ultimately imagine a future of justice. For art therapists, the question could be adapted to: How might art therapists remember our inherited professional past, rooted in the legacies of the Holocaust, to inform a meaningful critique of the present discourse in art therapy and imagine a future of justice for our clients and ourselves?

Art Therapy and the No Surprises Act and its Good Faith Estimates
January 27, 2022 | By AATA National Office Staff with Special Thanks to AATA Member Mike Fogel, MA, ATR-BC, LPC, for contributing his significant research on this subject.
The No Surprises Act was signed into law with the intention of protecting health care consumers from “surprise medical bills.” Beginning Jan. 1, 2022, health care providers, including art therapists, are required to provide uninsured and self-pay clients a Good Faith Estimate of costs for services when they schedule care or when requested.