Day: September 6, 2009

After some thought regarding Cathy Malchiodi’s post on her Psychology Today Blog and comments left on both her page and on my response, I decided to email Peg Dunn Snow Ph.D. ATR-BC, LPAT, LMHC directly. I realized that since her name was not used in Cathy’s original post and in responses to it, even if Dr. Dunn Snow had a google alert on her name, she would most likely not be aware of the controversy that her facebook fan page drummed up.

The following is my email to Dr. Dunn Snow, dated August 18, 2009:

Hi Dr. Duun-Snow,

My name is Elizabeth Beck. I’m an active member of the online art therapy community. I recently came across an article by Cathy Malchiodi on her Psychology Today Blog:

http://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/the-healing-arts/200907/facebook-fan-page-your-private-practice

Although your name is never mentioned in her article, after doing an online search it’s clear to me that Cathy is referring to your fan page for Children’s Corner: Art Therapy for Children. I write a blog myself, which can be found at http://www.lizbeck.net

I was wondering if you have a response to the article and comments made on both Cathy and my blog? I think many art therapists would benefit from clarifying your methodology in assessing the ethics of posting videos on your fan page. This truly is a new frontier and your guidance is most appreciated.

Also, I’m giving a workshop at the AATA conference in November on the topics of blogging and podcasting. Would I be able to use your response for teaching purposes in my workshop? With your permission I would also like to post your response on my blog as well.

Thank you for your consideration,
Elizabeth Beck

Dr. Dunn Snow did respond to my email, but has not given a “yes” or “no” response as to whether I can post her comments. This is only a summary of her response, rather than a direct quote:

Trademark, copyright, defamation and confidentiality all apply to the internet.

AATA’s Technology Committee and Ethics Committee will be issuing a report on the internet and electronic communications during the upcoming Art Therapy conference in Dallas, TX.

I was hoping for a more in depth response to all of our questions, comments and thoughts. I also hope that our reactions were taken to heart by Dr. Dunn Snow. I haven’t checked her fan page in a while, but I would expect that some changes would be made, for example putting a disclaimer regarding informed consent along with the videos.