Standards of Practice
Canadian Art Therapy Association //
l’Association canadienne d’art-thérapie
Standards of Practice
Revision 2021-2026
Introduction
ohútsya’ kékha’
Of the Earth (Oneida)
The Canadian Art Therapy Association / l’Association canadienne d’art-thérapie (CATA-ACAT) is a professional organization, governed by a board of directors, representing and supporting a membership of Canadian as well as international art therapists and associated professionals.
Guiding Commitments of the CATA-ACAT Standards of Practice
Understanding that the Association is founded in the settler colonial state of Canada on Indigenous Lands, actively working to dismantle systems of colonial oppression, racism, ableism, cisheteropatriarchy, ecological destruction, and all interconnected forms of violence in the art therapy profession and practices.
Supporting the decolonization of the art therapy profession, guided by and in collaboration with Indigenous practitioners of art therapy and healing arts.
Providing guidance, support, and resources to its membership community to practice ethical and socially responsive art therapy.
Upholding accountability to the highest possible standards of ethical art therapy practice and care, centring the needs and perspectives of people and communities who experience intersecting forms of oppression and violence.
Guiding, supporting, and promoting the dignity of the profession through the continued advancement of art therapy education, practices, and research that honour the inherent worth, dignity, uniqueness, and growth of all peoples, as well as protection of the environment, lands and waters on our shared earth.
Working to dismantle and challenge racism, and actively seek to identify, prevent, and mitigate inequitable outcomes and power imbalances between groups and change the structures that sustain racist inequities. Specifically, in response to the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada Calls to Action, incorporating in its structural analyses and organizational practices the recognition and understanding of genocides, ethnic cleansing, and ecocide as processes of colonial violence and racism against Indigenous communities, here on Turtle Island (North America) as well as globally, including but not limited to: Palestine, Sudan, the Democratic Republic of Congo, and Ukraine.1
Requiring and supporting its membership to respect the rights and freedoms of others, including the freedom of thought, inquiry, and artistic and creative expressions. At the same time, recognizing that cultural appropriation is not an acceptable conduct, particularly the appropriation, misappropriation, extraction, decontextualization, exotification, and exploitation of Indigenous cultures, knowledges, and identities, as well as the cultures, knowledges and identities of peoples who have historically been racialized and marginalized. CATA-ACAT acknowledges the distinct status of Indigenous Peoples as affirmed by section 35 of the Constitution Act, 1982, Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms. CATA-ACAT also acknowledges and recognizes the importance of the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous People (UNDRIP), and the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples Act (S.C. 2021, c. 14), including that: Indigenous peoples have the right to maintain, control, protect and develop their cultural heritage, traditional knowledge, and traditional cultural expressions, including medicines, ceremonies, knowledge of the properties of fauna and flora, oral traditions, literatures, designs, and visual and performing arts.
Understanding CATA-ACAT’s location and participation in the imperialist structures of the Global North, committing to anti-oppression as processes of learning, reflexivity, systemic analysis, and social justice advocacy and actions, rooted in the recognition of historical and ongoing inequities, including sexism, ableism, homophobia, transphobia, and discriminations based on religion, which are interlocking with the ideological and economic domination and extractive practices imposed by the Global North on the Global South.
Building capacity in critical thinking and mutual support amongst its members to collectively challenge interlocking manifestations of racism, including but not limited to: anti-Indigenous racism, anti-Black racism, Islamophobia, anti-Palestinian racism, antisemitism, and anti-Asian racism.
Particularly, as practitioners in art therapy, understanding of anti-oppression is grounded in the recognition of the complicity of the mental health, psychiatric, and healthcare systems in perpetuating structural oppression.
Contributing to efforts to dismantle interlocking systems of oppression by actively identifying, preventing, and mitigating inequitable outcomes and power imbalances imposed by dominant groups upon marginalized groups, and changing the structures that sustain inequities.
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The Association is not a government regulatory body or legal entity. However, the privileges and professional statuses afforded by having membership with the national art therapy association come with the responsibility of being accountable to the association’s Standards of Practice. The CATA-ACAT Standards of Practice are only effective when membership collectively commits and endeavors to uphold them, and hold each other accountable as a community.
This latest revision of the Standards of Practice was initiated by Dr. Fyre Jean Graveline, Jean Tait, and Jennifer Vivian, Indigenous art therapists and educators who, in the 2021 CATA-ACAT Annual General Meeting, advocated for the Standards’ revision in alignment with the 94 Calls to Action from the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada. Building from this foundation, the Standards revisions are further co-created by a group of art therapy practitioners and students from diverse backgrounds, through a collaborative policy analysis process, focus groups with membership, and numerous circles of generative discussions between 2021-2026.
It is crafted from a deep desire for community support and aspiration for the art therapy profession to contribute to conditions for justice, care, and thriving for current and future generations on Turtle Island and beyond.
The Standards of Practice offer guidance reflecting the commitments outlined above, and rooted in the shared values in ethical and socially responsible art therapy practices, as expressed by art therapists and students in our community. The below grounding values emerged as major themes from the advocacy letter and initial analysis of the Standards of Practice written by Dr. Fyre Jean Graveline, Jean Tait, and Jennifer Vivian; data from focus groups with Indigenous, Black, racialized, queer, and disabled CATA-ACAT members; and a re-analysis of the previous version of the Standards of Practice from an anti-oppressive lens.
Grounding Values in the CATA-ACAT Standards of Practice
Care for Dignity
Social Responsivity
Honesty and Reflexivity
Interconnectedness
Humility
The following document with details that illustrate and explain the Standards of Practice are organized based on these values.
Committing to the aforementioned values requires that the Standards of Practice document undergo regular review and necessary revisions, in response to the developments of the art therapy and related fields, and changes in our social contexts and shared world.
Contributors of the CATA-ACAT Standards of Practice - 2021-2026 Revision
CATA-ACAT Standards of Practice Working Group
LIFE as Medicine: Circle of Indigenous Healing Arts
Creative Arts Therapists and Students Against Genocide
Language contributions: Neebun Bear, Shae Seqaqkind Anthony, Mo Thunder.
Care for Dignity
aaniin
ᐋᓃᓐ
I see your light (Anishinaabemowin / Ojibwe)
Rooted in the value of care for dignity, this section refers to ways of practice that respect the self-determination, choice, inherent worth, uniqueness, and potentials of all art therapy participants / clients.
Respect for Self-Determination
In committing to ethical practices of care, art therapy practitioners and students respect and support every person’s inherent right and self-determination, to choose whether to participate in art therapy, whether to continue, and whether to end their participation.
Upholding individuals’ self-determination in their participation in art therapy requires that art therapy practitioners and students:
Before beginning art therapy and throughout the therapeutic relationship, in collaboration with the art therapy participant / client, ongoingly assess whether the therapeutic relationship will serve or is serving the participant’s / client’s best interest.
Ongoingly consult with their supervisor and, if applicable, other supportive people or community members connected to the art therapy services for the participant / client, about whether the therapeutic relationship will serve or is serving the participant’s / client’s best interest.
Understand that it is unethical and exploitative to continue a therapeutic relationship with a participant / client for the sole purpose of financial remuneration to the art therapist, or when the therapy and/or relationship is no longer clearly in the best interests of, or causing harm, to the participant / client.
Informed Consent
Specifically, facilitating informed consent is central in supporting individuals’ self-determination in their participation in art therapy, to ensure that the art therapy participant / client, or the people who support their decision-making (i.e. legal guardian or substitute decision makers) can exercise choice and control about the participant’s / client’s engagement in art therapy.
Facilitation of informed consent requires that art therapy practitioners and students clearly explain and discuss the relational practice in the following section, in collaboration with the participant / client before the beginning of the art therapy process, and throughout the process, in response to relevant concerns or needs that arise.
Moreover, commitment to anti-oppression and awareness of colonial violence requires that practitioners and students critically analyze in each situation how consent and capacity to freely give consent is mitigated upon power dynamics of oppression and access to privilege. For example, agreeing to and participating in therapy may be a condition for the return of children, food or housing security, access to other essential supports, job performance review, release from incarceration, etc.
Accountability and Recordkeeping
Commitment to the participants’ / clients’ informed consent for art therapy services also requires that art therapy practitioners and students “walk the talk” – to ongoingly enact and align with the practices and safeguards that they have committed to in their discussions with the participant / client, and create spaces for the participants / clients to exercise agency, power and choice, in relation to the conditions under which they are consenting to receiving therapy.
The process of informed consent thus requires that art therapy practitioners and students collaborate with the participant / client in creating a clear record of the conditions of the informed consent, so that the practitioner / student can be held accountable to the services and safeguards they committed to providing, and it can be referred to throughout the art therapy process if questions or concerns arise.
This record of informed consent most often takes the form of an informed consent form which the participant / client (or their legal guardian or substitute decision-maker) is asked to sign.
It may also take other forms in consideration of cultural appropriateness or particular community settings in regard to making an agreement between parties. However, it is important to acknowledge that the forms in which this record may take is influenced and at times dictated by the referral source and levels of accountability required by state authorities, such as child welfare, correctional offices, etc.
Therapeutic Approach, Roles, and Qualifications
Explain what art therapy entails and the specific modalities and approaches practiced by the art therapy practitioner or student.
Identify the specific format of art therapy that the practitioner / student is offering, whether it is in-person, virtual, phone, or a combination of these.
Identify the location or online platform of where the art therapy sessions will take place.
Identify the art therapy practitioner’s or student’s qualifications regarding their education and training in art therapy, and professional membership status with CATA-ACAT.
Discuss the specific training and education necessary for practicing art therapy ethically, responsibly, and effectively for the specific concerns that the participant / client is seeking therapy for, to practice art therapy with or within particular communities, such as Indigenous and racialized communities.
Identify other professional, institutional, and/or college registration status relevant to the art therapy practitioner’s or student’s practice of art therapy.
Explain the rights, responsibilities, and roles of both the art therapy participant / client and the art therapist, in accordance with the settings and contexts of where this work takes place.
Confidentiality
Discuss the process and safeguards relating to how all of the participant’s / client’s personal identifying information and records will be kept confidential, including:
The meaning of personal identifying information, which includes any information that can cause the person to be identified, including name, email address, the person’s engagement with the art therapy service, etc.
How and where the hardcopy or digital records are stored, whatever is applicable for the practitioner’s / student’s practice setting.
Who has access to the participant’s / client’s records aside from the practitioner / student, if relevant to the practice setting.
For how long will the records be kept confidentially, and how the records will be disposed of confidentially after the above timeframe.
Discuss the process by which the art therapy practitioner / student will obtain written or explicit verbal consent from the participant / client about sharing information with any third party, requested by the participant / client or otherwise, before sharing any information about the participant / client to any third party, explaining:
Wherever possible, for each instance of the request, discuss with the participant / client the specific information being requested, who the information would be shared with, and for what purpose the information is being requested
Collaborate with the participant / client what information they wish to share and to determine what would serve their best interest to share.
That only information pertinent to the purpose of the request would be shared.
Depending on the community setting where the therapeutic relationship takes place, and in collaboration with the participant / client about their care needs, discuss how the art therapy practitioner / student will engage with the participant / client if they encounter each other in the community, in person or online, in ways that prioritize the participant’s / client’s confidentiality while respecting their self-determination and relevant cultural relational practices.
If the therapeutic process includes the display of participant artwork or video / audio recording of any portion of the art therapy session for research or education purposes, discuss how ongoing consent from the participant / client will always be sought, with clear explanation of:
Where, in what contexts, and for what purpose will the collected artwork and session materials be used.
Individuals and/or groups who will have access to the artwork and material.
Process for the participant to review and edit the material before it is shared outside of the therapeutic relationship.
The right of the participant / client to decline giving consent, or withdraw their consent for sharing their artwork and material at any time.
Limits of Confidentiality & Safety Planning
In collaboration with the art therapy participant / client, dedicate time as required by the participant / client to thoroughly discuss and understand the limits of confidentiality and situations in which the participant’s / client’s personal information would be shared without their permission, in accordance with the regulatory body and provincial legislations to which the art therapy practitioner or student must legally abide by, included but not limited to abuse of children under the age of 17, and imminent risk of bodily harm to self or others.
Recognizing the systemic oppressions and violence experienced by Indigenous, Black, racialized, and marginalized communities when emergency services or other authorities are contacted:
Discuss with the participant / client their preferred methods of support in response to emergency situations or safety concerns.
Discuss ways that the art therapy practitioner or student will collaborate with the art therapy participant / client, their supervisor, and other trusted supportive people in the participant’s / client’s circle of care if applicable, to develop a safety or care plan that respects the person’s self-determination to the best of the practitioner’s ability.
Identify who the practitioner’s / student’s supervisor is, and the kind of participant / client information that will be shared with the supervisor for the sole purpose of ensuring ethical and appropriate art therapy services.
Financial Arrangements
Explain the art therapy practitioner’s or student’s fee or compensation structure (please see also Honest and Reflexivity section for ethical determination of fees structure and policy).
Discuss the process or fees policy that the art therapy practitioner / student will implement for non-payment of fees, including any interest being applied to outstanding balances.
Grounded in the value of care for the dignity of all people, respectful collaboration and discussion with the art therapy participant / client should the issue of non-payment arises during the therapeutic process, consulting with a supervisor as needed, to care for both the participant’s / client’s well-being as well as honour the labour of the art therapy practitioner / student.
Provide at least 30 days notice and discussion with the art therapy participant / client whenever there is a change to the fee structure.
Complaint Process
Outline the options and processes of communicating concerns or formal complaints about the art therapy practitioner’s or student’s conduct to the CATA-ACAT Ethics Committee, or the professional, institutional, and/or regulatory bodies that the art therapy practitioner or student is accountable to.
Develop and ongoingly review a structure of processing complaints and concerns that acknowledges and responds to issues regarding racism, discrimination, and insensitivity to diversity.