Art Therapy Licensure in TN!
APRIL 22, 2021 BILL SB 101 PASSED - LICENSES TO BE ISSUED TBD
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THANK YOU to each of you - for your support, time, energy, emails, calls, sharing, and all the amazing ways you have helped make this happen!
Very special thanks also goes to our prime sponsors Rep. Bob Ramsey (Maryville/Blount County) and Senator Becky Massey (Knoxville/Knox County) - and their incredible staff Rochelle Frazier and Austin Deal (respectively) - who have supported us and fought along us for many years, never considering to give up year after year as we worked together. You can also see our many, wonderful co-sponsors, as well as everyone who voted for our bill here (click the "Votes" tab).
We also could not have accomplished this without the support of the American Art Therapy Association (AATA). Clara Keane, Dean Sagar, and Cynthia Young Woodruff helped us in countless ways for the past six years - from helping us write our bill to guiding us through navigating opposition and lobbying groups to essentially being on-call anytime we needed them. Thank you, AATA!
And thank you to TATA Governmental affairs co-chairs Catherine Harris & Paige Scheinberg for making this happen!
The next major step is to get the Art Therapy Advisory Committee formed, which should begin happening in the summer months. We are still learning about these next steps and will share updates with y'all as we know more.
We look forward to celebrating this incredible accomplishment and step forward for art therapy - and mental health care and access - in TN with you later this year or next year!
Why is state licensure important?
Licensure will help protect consumers by ensuring that individuals who offer Art Therapy services in our state have completed the approved education and credentialing requirements set by the American Art Therapy Association and the Art Therapies Credentials Board.
By regulating the practice of Art Therapy in this manner, TATA hopes to ensure that consumers in TN receive the highest quality of care when seeking Art Therapy services. In addition, a state license will provide more access to Art Therapy and more affordable care for individuals in TN by rendering Art Therapy as a reimbursable service through insurance.