March 18, 2024
The Department of Labor’s Occupational Network (O*NET) Program is the nation’s primary source of occupational information. Central to the program is the O*NET database, which classifies and defines hundreds of jobs. The ways in which professions are classified and defined within the database directly impact insurance reimbursement for various professions, including art therapy.
This spring, the Department of Labor is updating the O*NET database and has asked for AATA’s help. They need a list of art therapy professionals who have 5 or more years of experience and hold an ATR-BC to complete the O*NET survey. In order for AATA to provide this list, we are asking all art therapists to update their MyAATA profiles with the most up-to-date information about their credentials and years of experience.
Our goal in participating in this O*NET process is to provide data to support our desire to move the art therapist classification from our current category code 29-0000 to category code 21-0000. Code 29-0000 encompasses Healthcare Practitioners and Technical Occupations such as Nurses, Physical Therapists, Dentists, Surgeons, and Speech-Language Pathologists, to name a few. Code 21-0000, on the other hand, includes all Community and Social Service Occupations, such as Counselors, Marriage & Family Therapists, and Social Workers. It’s clear that code 21-0000 is much more closely aligned with the work and identity of the art therapy profession than our current code. We’ve been advocating for the reclassification of art therapists for years—and your updated information will help us achieve this goal. Some of you may recall that prior to 2021, art therapists were classified under “Recreational Therapy.” Thanks to the participation of our members in the O*NET survey, as well as advocacy by AATA, art therapy was given a new code (29-1129.01) and recategorized under the subcategory “Therapists: All Other.” We hope with new data provided by the survey, we can reclassify art therapists again.
Survey data collected during the Department of Labor’s phone questionnaire is the only way for the tasks and classification of our profession can be changed, so we are counting on art therapists like YOU to update their MyAATA profiles! With your participation we can make these changes a reality.
To be included in the O*NET survey, please take a moment to update your ATCB credentials and years of experience in your MyAATA profile. The process takes less than 5 minutes and will ensure we have a sufficient number of participants for the upcoming survey. You do not have to be an AATA member to update your profile or participate in the survey! To update this information, log in and find the demographics section on your profile, then follow the instructions below. Those selected to participate by DOL will be contacted via email to schedule a phone call to complete the survey. Survey participants will receive a $40 Visa code and a framed certificate of participation.
We appreciate your assistance and thank you for your continued dedication to the art therapy profession.
How to Update Your Credentials and Years of Practice in MyAATA
1.
Log into your MyAATA account and click on the account tab, within the account tab click on the “Personal Information” section.
2.
Scroll down to the section titled “Demographics”, locate the ATCB credentials and years of practice question, and fill in the information accordingly.
The years of practice question can be found directly below the question “What is your education level?”.
The ATCB credentials question can be found if you scroll down past the question about work settings and areas of specialization. Credentials are located directly below the question “Are you a member of another professional association? (check all that apply):”.
3.
Do not forget to click save! Scroll to the bottom of the page and click the blue save button located under the Educational History section.
