Testimonials
Testimony in Favor of the 2024 bill:

Erin Rafferty-Bugher, ATR-BC, LPCC

Emily S. Taylor, LPCC, ATR- BC
"Why I Support Art Therapy" Survey Responses: (shared with permission)
"With Licensure, we can acknowledge a facet of psychotherapy and allow alternative ways to process outside of talk therapy to assist more clients and patients we serve as well as create more opportunities for services providers especially in those high need or rural areas where resources are limited."
-Jessica W.
"When words may be difficult to identify, the art materials have been an essential tool that provides a journey into a sensory experience, self-exploration, meaning, knowledge, and healing."
- Rachelle M.
"I have been working as a pre-licensed therapist under supervision for the past year and a half. In this time, I have seen tremendous growth within my clients by integrating art therapy into treatment. I see folks of all ages, with various mental health diagnoses. In getting a Clinical Art Therapy License I could help so many of my current and future clients. Art plays a significant role in this world and within the therapeutic process."
-Alicia B.
"[Art therapy is] a way to non-verbally express her emotions and feelings, which are sometimes hard to put into words."
-Parent
"Art therapy is an important tool for individuals to comfortably communicate what’s on someone’s mind that could not express properly with words."
-SL
"Using art, I explored difficult things for me with my words. It not only gives me confidence but also helps me drive myself to be a better human being. With art, I personally can say that it has saved my life. I love expressing myself using art and helping the supporting clients use art therapy. As an art therapist, I love my job, and I love supporting my clients using art."
-Bethani K.
"It helped her open up to her therapist, especially in the beginning. She can be guarded and self-conscious, but art is a language that she can understand and engage with. Over time, she and her therapist spent more time talking and working through issues in the more traditional way, but art was the vehicle that got them to that point."
-Parent
"[Art therapy] allowed me to reconnect to my creativity and see new possibilities for my own life. Art therapy helped me reconnect with younger versions of myself and begin to find healing for those younger parts of myself. And, art therapy opened a new career prospect for me, blending my artistic self with my desire to be in a helping profession."
-Lauren G.
"[My child] will mentality process a session better if he get to work with [art] while he talks."
-Parent
"I believe art therapy is very important and deserving of its own State licensure because the research supports its effectiveness. Expressing feelings can be difficult for some, especially when trauma is involved. Art Therapy allows client expression in a more creative way instead of the more traditional verbal process. This process helps others to better understand their feelings more clearly. The nonverbal approach to understanding the self allows clients to explore what may be underneath the surface."
-Anonymous
"When people are in crisis and at a crossroads in terms of their physical and psychiatric health, I have witnessed how they have experienced connection, meaning, healing, acceptance, and relief within themselves due to working with an Art Therapist. Art Therapy has the power to uplift the human spirit by promoting hope, peace, and compassion during these troubled times."
- AE
"[Art therapy] has been a game changer. Her ability to identify and manage her anxiousness with the resources she has been given has allowed her to return to her life as a healthy, active teenager."
-Parent
"We believe in the power of art therapy from a neuroscience standpoint as well as it creates significant improvements for people's mental health. I believe that art therapists deserve their own licensure because of the in-depth education and training one takes to embark on a career in art therapy."
-Melanie V.
"Working in inpatient mental health, I have worked with people who are severely struggling, disorganized, and experienced trauma. Although not an art therapist myself, I work very closely with one and I have witnessed firsthand the importance of this work. Art therapy has a way of engaging people for long periods of time who are typically unable to stay on any other task. It draws people in who traditionally don't see themselves as "artsy." It allows people to express themselves and heal, especially when they may not feel comfortable doing so verbally. In a population that is in desperate need of more healing, help, and caring individuals, it would be a disservice to so many to not have art therapy."
-Anna K.