Below is a copy of the letter sent to our members on November 2nd.
Dear Valued Member of SoCalATA,
Many of you are aware that the second lady, Karen Pence recently announced her art therapy initiative: Art Therapy Healing with HeART. This announcement was made in October at the FSU campus alongside AATA President, Donna Betts and other community leaders. As a board, we are painfully aware of the challenges many art therapists in our community (and around the nation) are experiencing regarding this controversial issue.
We write this letter to acknowledge our many members who have voiced concern and strong reactions to AATA and this announcement. As a board and affiliate chapter of AATA, we were also surprised by the recent alliance made between our National Association, AATA, and Mrs. Pence.
The SoCalATA Board would like to take this opportunity to make it clear to our members that we are an inclusive community of healing arts practitioners and their supporters. We are cognizant that our professional members work hard each and every day to remove disparities among different groups of people we serve, and to remove mental health obstacles for those who are most vulnerable and disenfranchised in this country. As art therapists, we advocate for marginalized persons who have been stigmatized, villainized, and victimized in our society. We also oppose conversion therapy as it goes against the code of ethics of our profession in addition to violating the code of ethics of LMFTs, LPCCs, LCSWs and other licenses that many art therapists hold.
As fellow colleagues, we implore you to share your perspective, wisdom, and insight on this issue, and any issue that affects our community here in Southern California and nationally. We continue to request feedback; and in an effort to be transparent and the voice of our membership, we want to hear from you! Should you have any questions regarding this matter or any concerns pertaining to the direction of our field, our chapter, professional identity, or specific agenda that you would like to see your local chapter focus on, we welcome your input. You may contact us atinfo@socalarttherapy.org, or reach out to any of us personally.
SoCalATA is launching a campaign that demonstrates our inclusiveness to best represent our chapter’s interest. We will be looking for a tag-line image/design to go with our SoCalATA logo. We invite all members to submit an image and tagline! Please send a high-resolution jpeg image in both color and B&W. A final image will be selected at the Annual General Meeting (AGM) in January of 2018 by the popular vote of those in attendance. Additionally, the winner will receive $100 and a free SoCalATA membership for a year. We are looking for a design that speaks to this campaign communicating SoCalATA’s intention to promote Art Therapy for the benefit of all.
To consolidate our effort to clarify the needs and desires of Art Therapists practicing in California, we (1) collaborated with NorCATA and sent out a member survey in the month of March 2017, for which we received combined 21% response rate; and we (2) provided feedback from the survey to AATA; and (3) immediately following our Annual General Meeting (AGM) in January of 2018, we will be holding a Round Table discussion regarding feedback received in an effort to strengthen our chapter and to clarify our chapter goals for the coming year. Please do attend the meeting and the Round Table and have a direct impact on your chapter’s activities.
We look forward to seeing you and holding a space where we can openly share our concerns and desires for our chapter. Please look out for SAVE-THE-DATE e-mail regarding the AGM.
P.S. Please also note that we have requested nominations for Board Member positions and Committee Chair positions. If you are interested please contact info@socalarttherapy.org and review what positions are available at our website: www.socalarttherapy.org
|
This letter has been sent to all SoCalATA members. As we desire to be transparent, AATA and the NorCATA Board have been copied on this email.
|
|
SoCalATA values you!
Sincerely,
Your SoCalATA Board
Saba Harouni Lurie, President
Angelique Poisson, President Elect
Madoka Urhausen, Delegate
Sung Liskin, Treasurer
The Southern California Art Therapy Association (SoCalATA) is a 501(c)(3) non-profit chapter of the American Art Therapy Association.
The Southern California Art Therapy Association includes Los Angeles, Orange, Ventura, Santa Barbara, San Luis Obispo, Kern, Riverside, San Bernardino, San Diego, and Imperial Counties.
It is the mission of the Southern California Art Therapy Association to serve its members and the general public by supporting standards of professional competence, developing and promoting knowledge in and of the field of art therapy within Southern California.
|