Origins

The Canadian Art Therapy Association or Association Canadienne d’Art Thérapie (CATA-ACAT) was founded in 1977 to unite and promote the emerging profession of art therapy in Canada.

On November 24, 1981, CATA-ACAT became an incorporated non-profit organization with Industry Canada (formerly known as Consumer and Corporate Affairs Canada).

Vision & Mission

We are the Canadian voice of art therapy. We bring together art therapists to raise standards and advance the profession.

Values

We see ourselves as guided by five key values:

  1. Collective voices of our members

  2. Commitment to art therapy best practices

  3. Inclusion & diversity

  4. Collaboration, creativity, and innovation

  5. Integrity and accountability in action

 

What We Do

CATA-ACAT works in cooperation with provincial art therapy associations to raise professional standards in the interest of public safety and trust. This includes upholding ethical standards; setting standards and processes for professional and registered designations for art therapists; working with art therapy training programs to ensure that they meet CATA’s educational standards; publishing a tri-annual online magazine and bi-annual academic journal, support and encouraging research about art therapy and raising awareness about of art therapy in Canada.

Links

CATA-ACAT Fact Sheet

CATA-ACAT Advocacy Sheet

Archives


Board of Directors


Organizational Structure

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