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Art Therapists are Recreation Therapists?

Sigh. As Cathy Malchiodi pointed out on her Facebook page today, it’s very disappointing to see that the US Department of Labor considers Art Therapists to be Recreation Therapists. Not Therapist or Mental Health Counselor. And of course, not just plain old Art Therapist. Art Therapy apparently can’t stand alone, like Marriage and Family Therapist, Counselor or Social Worker.

Oddly enough, according to AATA, Art Therapy is now a “distinct employment classification” according to the Department of Labor:

“The Association has been working diligently in the past 2 years to add the profession of art therapy to the Bureau of Labor Statistics database as a distinct employment classification.”

Apparently, according to AATA, the definition of a “distinct” profession is to simply be classified at all. But, the meaning of the words and the taxonomy used to describe any given thing defines how we perceive that thing. If Art Therapy is merely a sub-classification, then we’re on a path of public misconception. And once that path is forged is very difficult to gain back ground.

And, while I’m glad that Art Therapist made it onto the list of jobs recognized by the Labor Dept, it’s a blow to the profession that AATA did not come through for and Art Therapy classification that is worthy of the Art Therapy field. To be a certified Recreation Therapist you need a BA. All art therapists at minimum have an MA, and many are PhDs, with specializations in specific psychotherapeutic techniques to treat mental illness and trauma. I’ve worked with several rec therapists, and they all were fly by the seat of their pants when it came to clinical work (if they were even expected to do any clinical work)…because they were not trained in clinical work at the level of an Art Therapist or any other clinician for that matter.

I’m having trouble understanding AATA’s rationale for this decision. Is it that they’ll take what they can get and be happy to be included in the Labor Dept statistics at all? How can they justify Art Therapists needing an MA in order to practice if we’re lumped in with a profession that only requires a BA? Why are they ok with placing the Art Therapy profession on the wrong path? Is it not worth struggling for a longer period of time, but actually being a truly distinct profession, such as Marriage and Family Therapists?

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Tigers Be Still

A play that’s touring the country who’s main character is a recent art therapy graduate, who can’t find a job and who ends up moving back in with her parents.

Tigers Be Still has great reviews, and even had an extended showing in NYC. But, isn’t it disturbing that the whole basis of the play is that this recent art therapy grad can’t find a job? But, don’t tell that to the educators who claim a large percentage of new grads go on to work in the field.

Anyhow, I missed the play while it was in SF…but if anyone sees it, I’d love to hear a review. Next stop is the Dobama Theatre in Cleveland October 21 – November 13, 2011.

Here’s the Dobama’s description of the play:

Critically acclaimed in its 2010 New York premiere, TIGERS BE STILL is a quirky, endearing and deliciously dark new comedy. Sherry Wickman, a young woman expects the perfect career and life to fall into place immediately upon earning her master’s degree in art therapy. Instead, Sherry finds herself unemployed, overwhelmed and back at home hiding out in her twin-sized childhood bed. But when Sherry gets hired as a substitute art teacher, things begin to brighten up. Now if only her mother would come downstairs, her sister would get off the couch, her very first therapy patient would do just one of his take-home assignments, her new boss would leave his gun at home, and someone would catch the tiger that escaped from the local zoo, everything would be just perfect.

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Mental Health and Art as Therapy – an interview with Stuart Semple

British organization Mind, starts a fund to help people experiencing mental health problems explore the benefits of creative arts therapies.

Read an interview with artist, Stuart Semple, about his art making and the Mind project:

“I was left with this strange sense of questioning – what happened, what can I eat, what can I not eat – and nobody could really give me any answers…So in one way I guess I had an eating disorder, but also I was just incredibly anxious about anything and everything…Of all things we tried – and they did eventually point me to a psychologist – it was actually my art that was there for me and helped me through it all.”

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Drawings About Amnesia—Recovery Art

Via Live Science:

After suffering devastating brain damage from a viral infection, artist Lonni Sue Johnson lost her memory. Now, after years of therapy, she is unveiling a new portfolio of “recovery art,” while also teaching scientists a bit about the brain and creativity.

The new show at the Walters Art Museum in Baltimore follows Johnson’s journey, including her artwork from before she got viral encephalitis in 2007 and as she recovered. The journey is providing scientists unique insights into the dire effects of amnesia and the complementary roles played by language and memory in her artistic expression.