Position Statements
National Suicide Prevention Awareness Month 2020
September 10, 2020
As we recognize National Suicide Prevention Awareness Month amidst the Coronavirus pandemic, we know that the added economic stress, social isolation, loss of loved ones and myriad hardships that accompany the pandemic are causing more people to consider suicide. Suicide prevention is more important now than ever.
Statement by the American Art Therapy Association on Law Enforcement Response to Mental Health Crises
September 8, 2020
The American Art Therapy Association urgently calls on lawmakers to invest in community mental health services and shift response to mental health and substance-abuse emergencies from law enforcement to trained mental health professionals. These professionals can mitigate deadly and harmful incidents and reduce the number of unnecessary jail and psychiatric hospital admissions of people experiencing mental health and substance abuse crises.
Statement on ICE’s Mandate that International Students Resume In-Person Classes or Face Deportation during Coronavirus Pandemic
July 10, 2020
For art therapy students, this rule is particularly harsh. Few academic institutions offer art therapy programs, so students would be challenged to find an alternative program if the school they are currently enrolled in remains online in the fall. In addition, the art therapy profession itself is needed now more than ever as the mental health ramifications of the Coronavirus pandemic continue to grow—and our country faces a dire shortage of mental health care providers. Furthermore, the United States has long been a pioneer in the field of art therapy. Our art therapy programs educate and train over two thousand art therapists annually, many of whom go on to become mental health care providers and advocates in other countries.
Statement by the American Art Therapy Association on the Death of George Floyd
May 28, 2020
As mental health professionals, art therapists see the dreadful effects of racism in our communities every day. This week, our nation witnessed via bystander video the exceptionally horrific death of George Floyd. A police officer pinned Mr. Floyd down to the ground with his knee, applying his full body weight to his neck for four more minutes after he had stopped moving. Mr. Floyd’s last words were, “I can’t breathe.”
Statement from the AATA Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Committee: Revisiting our Values during the Coronavirus Pandemic
May 5, 2020 | AATA Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Committee
As art therapists, we value the essential need for the individuals, families, and communities we serve to have access to healthcare services and treatment no matter their ethnicity, socioeconomic status, age, location, gender, disability status, and sexual orientation.
AATA Statement on the Developing Coronavirus Pandemic
March 12. 2020
The American Art Therapy Association (AATA) shares in the concerns we are facing as a nation and a global community regarding the dynamic developments of the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. We stand with our art therapy community and people around the world, keeping everyone’s health—physical and emotional—as our number one priority.
AATA Releases Letter Condemning the Government’s Unethical Practice of Using Confidential Therapy Notes against Detained Children in Court
February 24, 2020
On February 24, 2020, AATA President Dr. Margaret Carlock-Russo sent a letter to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and the Office of Refugee Resettlement (ORR) condemning the current practice of using notes from required therapy sessions against detained youth in court – a clear breach of patient confidentiality and abuse of power.
AATA Board of Directors Approves Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DE&I) Mission and Vision Statements
September 5, 2019
As part of the AATA’s ongoing commitment to increasing Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DE&I), the AATA Board of Directors approved the following DE&I Mission and DE&I Vision statements to guide our work incorporating DE&I into all aspects the Association.
A Message of Support and Call for Action in the Wake of Mass Shootings
August 8, 2019
Our hearts are broken for the communities of Dayton, Ohio, El Paso, Texas, and Gilroy, California, where shooters took the lives of 34 people and injured dozens more in the course of one week. In the United States, mass shootings are a public health crisis – enabled by easy-access to assault weapons and fueled by hate, racism, and bigotry. To begin to address this epidemic, we must focus on evidence-based solutions to reform our gun laws and support the mental health needs of our communities. We reject rhetoric from the President and others that incorrectly links mental illness with mass shootings and further stigmatizes those with mental health challenges.
Call To Action: Humanitarian Crisis at the Border
July 10, 2019
One year ago, the AATA joined thousands of people and organizations across the country strongly condemning the Trump Administration’s systematically separating children from their caregivers. While Congress passed a border funding bill last week, which included health standards for both adults and children for “medical emergencies; nutrition, hygiene, and facilities; and personnel training,” many lawmakers and advocates believe that the protections aren’t strong enough.