We’re thrilled to share the detailed program for AATA’s 2020 virtual conference, Art Therapy Connected: Advancing Mental Health in a Virtual World. The three-day program provides 57 hours of learning and continuing education. A very special thank you to our presenters who prepared their content at least a month earlier than usual in order to be recorded for the conference!  

We want to update our members about AATA’s Strategic Priority of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) and share some upcoming next steps and how to get more involved.

At a time when our country is facing an unprecedented mental health crisis on top of a pandemic, art therapists are on the job, helping people of all ages experiencing stress, anxiety and trauma. Let’s celebrate these amazing heroes supporting mental health everyday, and show pride for the art therapy profession! These masks are available for purchase through October 23. Supplies are limited, so order today!

Mark your calendar! This year’s Annual Meeting of the Membership will take place on Monday, December 7, 2020, from 7:30 – 9:00 PM EST. With the event online and accessible from your home for the first time, we look forward to broad participation. Stay tuned for more details on the program agenda and how to register.

Maine is a state where the overwhelming majority of people identify as white. I have a lot of younger clients who were really grappling with the magnitude of racism and systemic racism for the first time. As a clinician it felt like I was trying to hold space for these young people who were collectively realizing that not everyone experiences life the same way they do. I felt a lot of personal energy around the topic of racism and anti racism and that energy combined with the frustration I had about the toll I saw COVID taking on the mental health of the kids I work with.

Art therapist Edie Morris took over AbilityLab’s Instagram and shared what a typical day at Shirley Ryan AbilityLab looks like. Followers asked questions throughout the day; here is a compilation of her answers.

Before COVID-19, one mother was able to hide the abuse she endured while her children were at school. But when schools closed in March, she wasn’t able to go to work as a school art therapist. Her sons also stayed home, watching their mom’s boyfriend’s rage build and burst.

The ground-breaking Commander John Scott Hannon Veterans Memorial Health and Suicide Prevention Bill is currently under review. The bill includes a pilot program that will provide veterans with access to complementary and integrative health programs, such as animal therapy, agritherapy, sports and recreation therapy, art therapy and post-traumatic growth.

In the hours after Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg’s death in September, thousands of mourners gathered at the Supreme Court. Many sang, lit candles, cried together and hugged. The group gathered again for several nights after. “Grief is so highly individualistic,” said Thomas Jefferson University art therapist and bereavement expert Rachel Brandoff.

"If mantras or mindful breathing aren't your vibe, that's OK. When it comes to managing your mental health, the best therapies are the ones that work for you. [Art Therapy] transcends the limits of language, according to the American Art Therapy Association. Jill McNutt, PhD, a board-certified, licensed art psychotherapist and licensed professional counselor at the Art Therapy House in Brown Deer, Wisconsin, tells LIVESTRONG.com that she works with clients to establish their personal story, then deconstruct areas of discomfort and, ultimately, 'rewrite' that story."

At a weekly children’s art therapy session at Emma’s Place in Staten Island, a group of young girls is encouraged to write down whatever they want on paper. One six-year-old named Sofia asks, "Can we write Dad?" Shortly after, she scribbles "Daddy" in pink marker. 

"The biblical words 'love is patient, love is kind,' have significant meaning to close friends Lonisha Johnson and Kristy Johnson, both of whom are incarcerated at the Clark County Jail. The two women joined more than a dozen other inmates in creating pieces of art to be displayed in a special showcase at the Jeffersonville Township Public Library during September. The goal is to shed light on National Recovery Month, recognizing and honoring individuals in recovery as well as those still battling substance use disorder."

At the Kids Escaping Drugs Renaissance Campus, art therapy is helping kids and teenagers with communication, coping and self-expression. "A lot of things that the patients have gone through, especially trauma, there's not necessarily words for, or words are not enough," Lynette Gawron tells WGRZ. "So, art helps us be able to access some of that information. It helps a patient be able to express what words can't do."