May 17, 2018
Claudia Itzel Márquez, MFT Associate, recently graduated from Loyola Marymount University with a degree in Marriage and Family Therapy with a specialization in Art Therapy. During her studies, she interned with the Helen B. Landgarten Art Therapy Clinic, working with children, adolescents, and adults, and working in a high school setting through a Department of Mental Health contracting agency. As a student member of the AATA, Márquez was granted the Cay Drachnik Minorities Fund in 2017 to help cover the costs of her conference attendance. “At the AATA conference, I connected with and met art therapists of color. It was inspiring to learn about the work that many of them are doing as educators, researchers, and art therapists. I hope to continue connecting with and learning from others in the field,” says Márquez.
For the future of the profession, Márquez hopes that “[we] develop a system that interrogates our values, beliefs, and practice as they relate to power, privilege, and oppression. Our country was built upon a great divide based on race, class, gender, sexuality, ability, age, religion, and so on. The long-term effects of white supremacy remain among our most vulnerable populations. The training of Art Therapist must include a thorough historical understanding of our origin, so that we can mediate the most troubling signs and symptoms. So that we may honor the resilience in our communities while developing our understanding of complex trauma.”
Regarding her own career, Márquez notes, “It is important to me that the services I provide as an art therapist are accessible to all, particularly to those who have no health care and have limited access to resources.” And she hopes to “develop a practice based on collaboration with other art therapists and in the community in which I establish myself.”
“La Creación” by Claudia Itzel Márquez. Tissue paper on construction paper. 2018.