Art Therapy Associations

After training, the development of associations of art therapists became the next step. The art therapists who were by now receiving training recognized the need to take responsibility as professionals. Rather than work in isolation, without governance and professional scrutiny, as well as lack of recognition, we began to come together as groups. As a result we now have the Canadian Art therapy Association, the British Columbia Art Therapy Association, the Quebec Art Therapy Association, and the Ontario Art Therapy Association.

Canadian Art Therapy Association: In 1977, sitting in Dr. Fischer’s large, sunny office where he did most of his teaching of art therapists, I remember the day he founded the Canadian Art Therapy Association. An idea was born and made into a reality. The intention at that time was to promote our work across Canada. Then came the work of registering the organization, creating by-laws and so on. Key people on board were Gilda Grossman and Krista Soste. We started our work for the Canadian Art Therapy Association by holding conferences and very quickly created a journal, both of which are still very important functions of CATA today. Much to our satisfaction as we put out the word people came. At first the conferences went back and forth between the Toronto and Vancouver, but have also been held in Quebec City (1986) and Calgary (1989), and Nelson, B.C. The work of CATA continues.

British Columbia Art Therapy Association was founded in 1978. In the late 1960’s, Kay Collis, an art student was invited to set up an art program at the Victoria Mental Health Centre to work with psychiatric patients as a volunteer. Through this work she was put in touch with the Robert Ault at the Menniger Clinic who was active in promoting art therapy and one of the founders of the American Art Therapy Association. Kay was invited to the founding meeting of the AATA. In her contact with the American art therapists she was delighted when told that she was doing art therapy and at the founding meeting was acknowledged as an art therapist.

Kay’s ongoing work led to the establishment of an art therapy department in the Victoria Mental Health Center. By 1973 because she collected interested people around her wanting to learn to do what she was doing, she established an informal training program, not only in Victoria but she also traveled throughout the province spreading the word.

This group wanted to come together as an association. They found a lawyer, created their bylaws and in 1978 the BCATA was born. Kay reminded me that the BCATA was founded before a definitive training program had developed.

Ontario Art Therapy Association was founded in 1978 by Irene Dewdney, Linda Nicholas and Bina Smith. As an offshoot of Irene Dewdney’s training program, the people who were learning from her wanted to come together as a group and an association was born. The original intention was to support each together and promote this work which was gaining ground. This desire developed into a professional association that promotes and supports its members.

Quebec Art Therapy Association/ Association des arts-thérapeutes du Quebec was established in 1981. As previously mentioned in 1978 Concordia University, Montreal, had started its first program with the Introduction to Art Therapy. By 1981 Concordia had established a graduate diploma program and the climate was right for a group of art therapists to form. Nancy Humber who had been in the first cohort of students in the early program and had gone on to do more training in Vermont, met up with Rachel Garber and Sandy Cooke, both graduates of the Concordia program. They gathered people together and in 1981 they formed the Friends of Art Therapy and at a meeting. Sixteen people showed up. Each person contributed a dollar, which went towards the costs of paying for fees for chartering the organization. !n 1982 the Quebec Art Therapy Association was established with 40 people as members.

It is notable that all the art therapy associations have had very similar beginnings; they have started from nothing but desire and dedication. They also have similar goals of support, networking, lobbying, professionalism, education, training, research, and ethics. As far as we have come over the past 30 odd years, we still have a lot of work to do in bringing this skill and profession into the mainstream. However, inspired by these few people mentioned here, those who have been willing to work together to create activity and interest, it is evident that the ground breaking work has been done.

Finally, as Dr Fischer said at a Vancouver Art Therapy Institute graduation ceremony in 1990.