The American Art Therapy Association (AATA) is committed to supporting our community of art therapists during this time of crisis related to the COVID-19 pandemic. We know you are dealing with not only your own struggles and those of your family, but also thinking of your clients in this time of uncertainty. We will continue to update this list of resources for art therapy clinicians, students, educators, and for the general public.

Resources for the Public 

• If you need help, please text SHARE to 741741 to reach a crisis counselor with Crisis Text Line. You can also call The Lifeline at 1-800-273-8255 to be connected to free and confidential support and crisis resources for you or your loved ones.
• Check out the Quarantine Family Toolkit by Kristin Ramsey, ATR-BC, LPC, which offers suggestions and resources on how to talk with children about COVID-19, a sample daily schedule for working/learning at home, online apps, podcasts and other resources for daily activities, mindfulness activities and short guided muscle relaxation script, as well as many art activities instructions and examples.
•  Resources for addressing COVID-19 — The National Council for Behavioral Health offers resources to help manage coronavirus-related anxiety and to communicate with your kids about this crisis among other topics. Behavioral health care workers will also find resources including telehealth best-practices and implications for certain vulnerable client groups.
• Affirmations for Coping during Coronavirus Times — AATA Blog, March 30, 2020

Resources for Members

• AATA’s webinars “Mental Health on the Front Lines of COVID-19”and“Tools for Art Therapists to Care for Clients and Self during COVID-19” can now be accessed on our continuing education platform. Both 1-credit courses are free for members and available for purchase for non-members.
• “Art Therapy in Pandemics: Lessons for COVID-19,”  Special Report in Art Therapy: Journal of the American Art Therapy Association. REMINDER – Members have access to the full digital archive of our Journal. You can access this article and others on MyAATA (first option under “Research” header in the Professional Development section).
• Art Therapy: Journal of the American Art Therapy Association Resources for Responding to COVID-19— AATA Blog, March 31, 2020
• Members are sharing their experiences, challenges, and tips on the member forum, with threads on remote art therapy, the sanitary use of art materials, and other topics. AATA invites you to share your questions and perspective during these challenging times.

Survey Report

To better understand how art therapists are responding to the Coronavirus pandemic and coping themselves, the American Art Therapy Association (AATA) conducted an online survey of art therapy professionals, educators, and students in May 2020. The findings offer a look into the impact of the Coronavirus pandemic on art therapists, the clients they serve, as well as access to mental health care. Download the “Art Therapy During A Mental Health Crisis: Coronavirus Pandemic Impact Report.”

Resources for Educators

Academic institutions, art therapy educators, and students who have been impacted by restrictions set in place due to COVID-19 can refer to the resources and statements below for guidance on how to proceed.

Resources for Art Therapists and Other Mental Health Providers 

• Coronavirus guidance and resources —Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA)
• COVID-19 Mental Health Resource Hub — A collaborative effort between national mental health leaders, national healthcare companies, and the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs
• An Art Therapist’s Tips to Help People with Dementia Cope during Coronavirus — AATA Blog (5/21/20)
• Drawing on Resilience – Reflections on How My Life has Prepared Me for this Pandemic (and Maybe Yours Has Too) — AATA Blog (4/20/20)
• Connecting and Reassessing during Coronavirus, a Message from AATA President Dr. Carlock-Russo — AATA Blog (4/7/20) 
• From an Online Art Therapy Grad Student, Here are 5 Tips for Making the Transition to Virtual — AATA Blog (4/6/20)
• Virtual Intimacy in Therapy and in Life — AATA Blog (4/6/20)
• To My Colleagues that are Changing Everything, Here are 5 Tips for Effectively Teaching Art Therapy Online — AATA Blog (3/20/20)
• Reflections on Creative Arts Therapies Week during COVID-19 — AATA Blog (3/20/20)
• Best Practices for Using Art Supplies Hygienically during the COVID-19 Outbreak — AATA Blog (3/16/20)
• AATA Statement on the Developing Coronavirus Pandemic — March 12, 2020
• COVID-19: Inpatient Creative Art Therapists, a Facebook Group for creative arts therapists in this setting to  “share ideas, support one another, and look for best practices during this difficult time.”

Legislation and Calls to Action

• As State Legislative Calendars Adjust to Prioritize Coronavirus Response, Here’s the Status of the 12 Art Therapy Bills — AATA Blog (4/9/20)
• What the CARES Act Means for Art Therapists — AATA Blog (3/31/20)

AATA has joined our coalitions in mental health, specialized instructional support personnel in schools, and the arts in engaging with congressional COVID-19 relief package negotiations. A list of COVID-19 related Mental Health Liason Coalition letters can be found here. In addition, AATA has signed on to the following letters: 

• Asserting that return to in-person instruction in our nation’s schools must be guided by reliable local public health data and must consider the needs of students, families, and staff (7/21/20)
• Urging Congress to include the Improving Social Determinants of Health Act of 2020 (H.R. 6561) in any further iterations of legislation to respond to the COVID-19 pandemic. (7/15/20)
• Expressing support for Evaluating Disparities and Outcomes of Telehealth During the COVID-19 Emergency Act of 2020 or EDOT Act (H.R. 7078). (7/15/20)
• Requesting that HSS designate specific behavioral health distribution from the Health Care Provider Fund, authorized in the CARES Act (6/18/20), and thanking HHS Secretary Eric Hargan for a meeting and commitment to do so (7/10/20). 
• Urging Congress to include at least $150 billion in direct aid to states for fiscal relief and an emergency increase of 12 percent to Federal Medicaid matching funds. (3/20/20) 
• Urging Congress to reject any effort to provide the Secretary of Education with blanket waiver authority for the Every Student Succeeds Act  (ESSA) or the Individuals with Disabilities in Education Act (IDEA). (3/20/20)

Creative Activities

• Share your creativity with us on social media! Please join us on Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook!
• Global Open Call for Art — In response to COVID-19, Amplifier and partners are launching an emergency campaign with top art curators and public-health advisors from around the world. Open call ends May 8th.
• #Coronart is a Facebook group for people to share personal renditions of the coronavirus. “Paint it, draw it, build it, carve it, knit it, grow it, sing it, play it. Anything you can imagine it. Let’s make this thing ours and share our vision!”
• Remote Art Therapy Resources — Children’s National Hospital 

“Stronger Together”  DE&I collective response art during this time of change

In the News 

• Art Therapy is Lifting the Spirits of Pediatric Patients — ABC 10  (7/9/20)
• How art therapists are adapting during the pandemic, featuring AATA member Katherine Jackson, Ph.D., ATR-BC — PBS (6/10/20) 
• Researchers in Texas using art therapy to help frontline workers during pandemic, featuring AATA member Rebekah Poynor  LPC-I, ATR-P, LCDC-I — WNYT  (6/11/20)
• The difference makers: These North Texans help bring light to dark times, featuring AATA Stacey Birst-Yates, ATR-P, LPC  — Dallas News (6/5/20)
• Nassau Museum Launches Trauma Therapy Program, featuring AATA member Deborah Adler, ATR-BC, LCAT — Long Island Weekly (5/30/20)
• A local man was homeless for 2 years, now he has a home — WJLA (5/28/20)
• SkyART bringing art kits directly to Chicago youth during stay-at-home — Chicago Sun Times (5/28/20)
• SIUE Head Start/Early Head Start Boosts Staff Wellness With Art Hives, featuring AATA member Janis Timm-Bottos, PhD, ATR-BC, PT — RiverBender.com (5/27/20)
• 10-year-old girl sent more than 1500 art kits to kids in foster care and — KMOV (5/20/20) 
• Expressing yourself could help reduce the effects of social distancing and isolation, featuring AATA member Theresa Adamchik, Theresa Adamchik ATR-BC, LPCC, LPAT — WDRB (5/13/20)
• How KC Therapists Are Coping With ‘Communal Trauma’ During Pandemic featuring AATA member Melanie Arroyo, LPC — Flatland (5/12/20)
• With Red Tape Lifted, Dr. Zoom Will See You Now — The New York Times (5/8/20)
• COVID-19 interrupted childhood routines — including mental health visits. Families turn to telehealth for continuity.  — Public Source (5/8/20)
• At 107, this artist just beat covid-19. It was the second pandemic she survived — The Washington Post (5/7/20)
• Teens at Middletown state psychiatric center learn art can heal, featuring AATA member Heather Cassella, ATR — Middletown Press (5/7/20)
• Kids connect with isolated seniors by creating virtual art, featuring AATA member Morgan DeFranco– Miami Herald (5/6/20) 
• Hoosick counselor finds creative way to thank frontline workers, featuring AATA member Eileen Druckenmiller, MA, ATR-BC, LCAT — Bennington Banner (5/6/20)
• The coronavirus pandemic is pushing America into a mental-health crisis — The Washington Post (5/4/20)
• Children’s National Hospital Offers Virtual Art Therapy — NBC Washington (5/4/20)
• Art Museum And College Of Psychology Team Up To Provide Art-Focused Virtual Wellness Activities, featuring AATA member and Past President Mercedes Ballbê ter Maat, Ph.D. ATR-BC, LPC — Broadway World (4/30/20) 
• Focusing on mental health: how art therapy can help during the pandemic, featuring AATA member Lisa Lounsbury, ATR-BC, LMFT– Fox 9 (4/28/29)
• Children’s Art During The Pandemic Offers A Window, featuring AATA member Nadia F. Paredes, MA, ATR, LMFT — Romper (4/22/20)
• Coronavirus Philadelphia: Twist Out Cancer Expanding Virtual Community To Help People Struggling With Anxiety — 3 CBS Philly (4/19/20)
• Art therapy: Helping people cope through quarantine — WAVY  (4/17/20)
• Local therapist uses art, modern technology to connect with students — Eyewitness News 3 (4/10/20)
• N.J. grad student offers online mindfulness art-making course for healthcare workers amid coronavirus outbreak, featuring AATA student member Emily Wexler — NJ.com (4/10/20)
• Students amid COVID: Creation as an act of healing, featuring AATA student member Sarah Taylor — Denton Record-Chronicle (4/10/20)
• Artistic responses, featuring AATA student member Alyssa Anderson — Daily News (4/10/20)
• How people are doing therapy in the time of coronavirus — SLATE (4/10/20)
• Magic of the Metaphor, by AATA member Nicole Porter Davis, ATR-BC, LPC, LCAT— Thrive Global (4/9/20)
• Eskenazi Museum of Art sustains group art therapy sessions through Zoom, featuring AATA Member Lauren Daugherty, ATR-P —  Indiana Daily Student (4/9/20)
• Op-Ed: This Art Museum Was Founded in Response to a Pandemic Death. It Has Much to Teach Us Now. — ARTnews (4/3/20)
• Schedule shakeup: living with autism during a pandemic — ABC News 4 (4/3/20)
• County rolls out mobile mental health services — Santa Fe New Mexican (4/3/20)
• Why You Should Create Art, Even If You’re Not Good At It — Study Breaks (4/2/20)
• Art Therapy Student Honored Online — Emporia State University (3/31/20)
• Clark County experts: Art journals offer creative outlet in face of COVID-19, featuring AATA member Jocelyn Fitzgerald ATR-BC, LMFT — The Columbian (3/31/20)
• Can Art Therapy Combat Depression During Self-Isolation And Social Distancing? — Forbes, March 30, 2020 
• Coronavirus blight, transformed by art: Across Philly, signs of solidarity sprout amid the gloom, featuring AATA member Kathryn Snyder, ATR-BC, LPC — The Philadelphia Inquirer (3/29/20)
• Ordinary people, extraordinary times, featuring AATA student member Melissa Love  — The New Mexican (3/28/20)
• 5 stress-relieving activities recommended by art therapists that you can try at home right now — CBC (3/27/20)
• ‘Quarantine Quilts’ Facebook Group Brings People Together — ITK (3/26/20)
• A new angle on the COVID-19 outbreak, featuring AATA member, Rosalie Frankel, ATR-BC  — Q13 Fox (3/26/20)
• Managing stress with art, featuring AATA member Rachel P. Feldwisch, PhD, MA, LMHC, ATR-BC– WTHR (3/24/20)
• 5 Tips for Staying Emotionally Healthy During COVID-19, featuring AATA member Katie Hinson, MPS, LCAT, ATR-BC — SVA, NYC (3/23/20)
• Alzheimer’s Foundation of America Offering Therapeutic Community Programming; Check out our Facebook Live videos from recent art, music and dance therapeutic programs — FOX 47 (3/23/20)
• Coronavirus: Mendocino County therapists offer tips for coping during COVID-19 pandemic — Ukiah Daily Journal (3/23/20)
• Podcast: Managing anxiety and stress during the coronavirus outbreak, featuring AATA member Malissa Morrell, ATR-BC, LMFT — Utahpolicy.com (3/22/20)
• Montreal’s Museum Of Fine Arts Has Free Online Art Therapy That You Can Do From Your Couch — MTL Blog (3/20/20)
• 7 reasons adult coloring books online are the hottest new trend — LADDERS  (3/20/20)
• Feeling stressed out? Licensed professional counselor holds virtual art therapy classes to help, featuring AATA member Shazia Siddiqi ATR-BC, LPC — WXYZ Detroit (3/17/20)
• For parents trying to replicate school for children with disabilities, a confusing task — The Washington Post (3/19/20)
• Dear Therapist’s Guide to Staying Sane During a Pandemic — The Atlantic (3/17/20)
• Lexington nursing home asks for greeting cards — WKYT (3/14/20)