April 25, 2019
The AATA is proud to announce that Washington D.C. Council Chairman Phil Mendelson and three co-sponsors introduced B23-0250 – Professional Art Therapist Licensure Amendment Act of 2019 on April 2nd. B23-250 would define a scope of practice, provide title protection, and create a Professional Art Therapist License (LPAT) under the Board of Professional Counseling.
The bill’s cosponsors include three of the of the Council’s four-member Committee on Health: Chairman Vincent Gray (D-7); and Council Members David Grosso (I-at large) and Mary Cheh (D-3). The Committee oversees the Board of Professional Counseling and will have initial responsibility for considering the bill. This strong support among the Council’s members most focused on health issues should assure that it is placed on the Council’s agenda this year.
Congratulations to the Potomac Art Therapy Association (PATA) for this achievement. A strong team representing various sectors in which art therapists work across the city led this effort, including: Cheryl Doby-Copeland, PhD, ATR-BC, LPC, LMFT, (psychiatric); Gwendolyn Short, ATR-BC (community), Jane Woo, ATR-BC (medical); and Leslie Milofsky, ATR-BC, LCPAT (education). Jordan Potash, PhD, ATR-BC, REAT, LCPAT, LCAT, chair of the DC Art Therapy Licensure Committee says:
DC has been an epicenter of art therapy in the US with early practitioners at historic St. Elizabeth’s Hospital, the first journal of art therapy, and one of the oldest master’s educational programs. Currently, art therapists work in psychiatric, medical, educational, and community settings in all sections of the city. We are grateful for the strong support that our licensure initiative has received and look forward to further working with DC Council to ensure the residents of DC receive qualified art therapy services.
Follow all the art therapy licensure bills under consideration in the 2019 legislative sessions:
- Connecticut HB 5444
- District of Columbia B23-250
- Iowa HF 362
- New Hampshire HB 546
- Nebraska LB 422
- Massachusetts SD 682
- Pennsylvania HB 932
- Tennessee HB 781/SB 55
PATA wishes AATA a Happy 50th
Happy 50th Hello: The Pomomac Art Therapy Association
A special #AATA50th hello from the Potomac Art Therapy Association- PATA – www.arttherapy.org/aata50th
Posted by American Art Therapy Association on Wednesday, February 27, 2019
This year the AATA is celebrating our 50th Anniversary! Thanks, Potomac Art Therapy Association for the birthday wishes! We invite everyone to download the Seenit Capture app on your iPhone or via Google Play and join our project called #AATA50th. (You can use aata50 to search for the project and as the login code.) Browse videos from colleagues and then take a video telling your story about why you’re passionate about art therapy and AATA! We’ll be combining videos to create fun montages throughout our 50th year.