When graduating from an art therapy masters program one is both eligible to earn their LPC & ATR. You are trained both to fulfill all responsibilities and roles as a counselor, case manager, and an art therapist. To specialize in art therapy provides you with specialized skills in using art as a form of communication and tool for change and healing. To be supervised by an art therapist as you work towards your LPC ensures that you not only receive sound clinical supervision as a counselor but additionally, as an art therapist, you are able to receive supervision specific to your skill set. This will allow art therapist the oppurtunity to  learn how both counseling skills and art therapy skills can be blended together in the workplace, allowing such professionals to provide the best care to all clients. An art therapists is able to provide the same quality of clinical supervision as a counselor provides. An art therapist is governed by professional standards set out by the American Art Therapy Association, which has built a positive professional relationship with the Counseling Board. For these reasons it is clear that registered art therapists should be listed as professionals qualified to provide supervision towards licensure.

As a Virginia resident and art therapist, I hearty endorse Jacqueline Biggs’ request to amend qualifications for supervisors of residents to include art therapists.  As an adjunct professor at three universities, I am aware of the training that art therapists receive in their master’s degrees programs is of high quality, and follow standards that are aligned with those of Professional Counselors.  Through my teaching experience providing NBCC-approved continuing education courses to LPCs, social workers and art therapists I have seen first hand that there is much similarly in the clinical issues faced by these mental health workers.  The Board should add art therapist to the list of professionals who can supervise the first 100 hours of LPC supervision.

Please consider modifying your regulation, in order to allow Registered Art Therapists to provide supervisory hours to new providers within the profession.  As a soon-to-graduate student in this field, I feel that this change would be extremely benficial to myself and my peers, as well as to other individuals who work within the mental health field and the overall field of public health services.  At this time, the American Art Therapy Association encourages all Art Therapists to obtain their master's education through an accredited institution, become board-certified, continue receiving education, and maintain membership within the organization.  This allows art therapists to remain up to date on new developments and research within the field.  Art therapists put forth a great amount of time and effort to not only meet professional requirements, but also to support this growing field, so that more individuals may receive the type of services that they need.  Becoming an LPC in Virginia, in addition to being a Registered Art Therapist, allows art therapists more freedom and credibility in forming new programs, helping other organizations to grow, working more collaboratively with other mental health professionals, and bringing validity to the work that is being done in our field.  By modifying regulation C.3. in 18 VAC-115-20-10, you will help art therapists to streamline their efforts in obtaining their LPC and, thus, in being able to provide services to the citizens of this nation.  Please look to the regulations of Kentucky, Maryland, Massachusetts, Mississippi, New Mexico, New York, Pennsylvania, Texas, and/or Wisconsin regarding this relevant issue, so that new Art Therapists may more easily obtain supervisory hours under othe, more established Art Therapists and become licensed in the state of Virginia.  Thank you so much for your consideration on this topic.

As an art therapist praciticing in a medical facility, there are often issues, obstacles, or questions that arise which are specific to art therapy theory, technique, and practice.  While I respect and admire other mental health disciplines, the appropriate supervision for these issues must come from an art therapist.  Having to seek out a supervisor for the application of our practice, and a different supervisor to acquire hours towards a license is both time consuming and cost ineffective.  Art therapists are trained in clinical coursework that is based in psychological theory, uses validated and reliable assessments, teaches treatment plans appropriate to diagnoses, and requires a 2-year practicum of work in the field among other degree requirements.  Many art therapy degree holders go on to work in a clinical capacity, gaining knowledge and skills valuable to younger and less experienced therapists seeking supervision.  It makes sense that these qualified art therapy professionals would supervise their fellow colleagues.  Please make the change to allow art therapy supervision to count towards some fo the LPC supervision requirements.  Allowing art therapists to act as LPC supervisors for the first 100 hours is more reasonable than requiring all supervision be with a professional who is unfamiliar with many of the techniques used with our art therapy clients. 

Please consider adding Art Therapists as eligible to supervise the first 100 hours for LPC licensure. Art Therapists are qualified to supervise on a number of levels. Art Therapy graduate degree programs meet standards that align with the American Counseling Association and trains their students acordingly.   In addition, the National Board for Certified Counselors recognizes the pertinece of Art Therapy in counseling.  In the intern and professional setting, Art Therapists fulfill all responsibilities and roles as a counselor, case manager, and an art therapist and are bound by strict ethical guidelines set forth by the American Art Therapy Assocation.   Finally, Art Therapists  are schooled to carefully and safely utilize creativity and art making as a means of alternative communication, insight and reflection.  Art Therapists can be effective supervisors for Art Therapists seeking LPC licensure because they can offer supervision particular to their training and expertise.  For these reasons it is clear that registered art therapists should be listed as professionals qualified to provide supervision towards licensure.  Thank you for your careful consideration of this important matter.

Given that Art Therapy standards are aligned with those of Professional Counselors and that the National Board for Certified Counselors (NBCC) has an established relationship with the American Art Therapy Association (AATA) and recognizes the pertinence of art therapy to counseling, the Board should consider adding art therapist to the list of professionals who can supervise the first 100 hours of LPC supervision. 

In the past several decades, Art Therapy has been recognized as a valuable and credible form of therapy in the Military, in- and outpatient health care, schools, and community health agencies.  Art therapy may help to process depression, anxiety, grief or trauma,  support relief from stress, or may provide the one mode through which an individual may communicate,   Many registered art therapists receive specialized training in the treatment of trauma, family systems, substance abuse, traumatic brain injury, and others.  For these reasons, and to expedite LPC licensure of Art Therapists, it makes sense that qualified, registered Art Therapists be included in the list of credentialed supervisors for art therapists along with licensed professional counselors, marriage and family therapists, substance abuse treatment practitioners, school psychologists, clinical psychologists, clinical social workers, or psychiatrists, as licensed professional supervisors..  This would target and support skills specific to the professional art therapist.  Please consider the amendment to Regulation C.3 18VAC-115-20-10, allowing the inclusion of Registered Art Therapists to the list of licensed supervisors for art therapists.

I am in full support of LPC candidates being able to be supervised by qualified art therapists for the first 100 hrs.  Art Therapy standards are commensurate with that of the American Counseling Association standards. The American Art Therapy Association (AATA) is also recognized by the National Board for Certified Counselors (NBCC) as a viable counseling profession. In addition, as an experienced art therapy supervisor I believe that it is highly important for a trainee who is learning about utilizing art therapy techniques to be supervised by a knowledgeable clinician who has had specific training in art therapy. The Board should consider adding art therapists to the list of professionals who can supervise the first 100 hours of LPC supervision. 

I write to strongly support this amendment.  As an art therapist living in Virginia who is also a licensed professional counselor, I know that I am a vital part of the fabric of mental health providers available to help people in emotional distress.  As an independent mental health educator who teaches NBCC-approved courses, I know that the educational preparation and standards of my field equal those of other allied professions.  As a small business owner with a private practice within which I am the primary therapist with full legal and ethical responsibility for the well-being of my clients, I know art therapy is a unique and essential way to help people with major mental illnesses.  As a supervisor and consultant to art therapists, counselors, psychiatric nurses, social workers, and psychology interns in APA-approved settings, I know that what we art therapists offer is sound and valuable. 

Clearly, supervision by an art therapist is an excellent option for counselors who want to improve their ability to refer to and work alongside art therapists.  However, it is invaluable for the increasing number of art therapists who have been trained according to LPC standards and seek licensure, yet wish to receive supervision that addresses both art therapy and counseling skills and knowledge. 

Thank you for giving every consideration to this overdue amendment. 

 Please consider granting registered Art Therapists the ability to supervise other Art Therapists for LPC hours. As a student, I find that many of my questions and concerns are specific towards the process art-making. Art therapists gain another familiarity with the client before, during, and after the art making process, of which a non-Art Therapist may not have the knowledge or experience of. Having access to a registered Art Therapist will provide a further enhanced understanding of the field. This understanding will be to the benefit of prospective mental health clients in the state of Virginia, receiving art therapy services.   

In the process of applying for the certicication of LPC, applicants are able to include 100 required supervision hours provided by licensed profesional counselors, marriage and family therapists, substance abuse treatment practitioners, school psychologists, clinical psychologists, clinical social workers, or psychiatrists. Art therapists as well as their training are competent to provide supervision to a LPC applicant. To be an art therapist, a person need to hold a master degree, be trained to work with a diverse population with professional knowledges in counseling and psychology, and practice therapy work under supervision. It is important for art therapists to have supervisors from the same field to provide advices and their own experiencs. This petition is also for the benefits of people who receive services, as it allows better quality of therapy work to take place. Please add art therapists to the list of professionals that provide supervision to LPC applicants!

I endorse Jacqueline Biggs’ request to amend qualifications for supervisors of residents to include art therapists.   I am aware of the training that art therapists receive in their master’s degrees programs is of high quality, and follow standards that are aligned with those of Professional Counselors.  As an experienced clinician,  I have found that there is much similarly in the clinical issues faced by these mental health workers.  The Board should add art therapist to the list of professionals who can supervise the first 100 hours of LPC supervision.

Please consider this petition. I am in full support of Jacqueline Biggs' request to amend qualifications for supervisors to include Art Therapists. The training and education of Art Therapists in the credentialed master's education programs meets standards that align with the American Counseling Association, which are of similar quality to Professional Counselors. In addition, Art Therapists are schooled and trained to insightfully, carefully, and safely utilize art making as a means of alternate communication, expression, and reflection. Art Therapists are effective supervisors for other Art Therapists seeking LPC licensure because they can offer supervision central to their training and expertise. For these succinct reasons, the board should add Art Therapist to the list of professionals who can supervise the first 100 hours of supervision.

I support fully the request to include Art Therapists as qualified supervisors for the first 100 hours of supervision for those seeking LPC licensure in the state of Virginia. The standards of training and education are equitable to those in other counseling professions, and their insight and expertise would be valued by anyone working toward their LPC license. 

I am in full support the amendment to include art therapists as qualified supervisors for the first 100 hours of LPC supervision, as proposed by Mrs.Jacqueline Biggs.  Art therapy is an immensely valuable therapeutic method for clients to communicate and connect through the creative process, utilizing the same tools practiced by talk therapists and counselors.  As a member of a clinical team, the art therapist is expected to have knowledge and skills in the various realms of counseling, which also includes case management, and receives the equal education in this field.  Where an art therapist differs is the introducion of art making, an expansive process which has been shown to be incredibly effective with an immensely long list of populations.  While in supervision towards LPC, it is very important for art therapists to maintain this clinical identity, building upon his or her skills with a supervisor who can share information and guidance within this specific field.  Allowing an art therapist supervise as part of this process would allow emerging art therapists better establish their skills in the most effective methods, while adding value to their position as clinicians.  

I am in strong support of Jacqueline Biggs request to include Art Therapists as qualified supervisors for the first 100 hours of supervision for LPC residents in Virginia. As stated in many other comments, Art Therapy training and education are commensurate with that of the American Counseling Association standards.

Since graduating in 2010, I completed the hours necessary for achieving registration and board certification as an art therapist. I found it extremely valuable that those 100 hours of supervision were from multiple disciplines. I am currently a counseling resident with less than 100 hours supervised by one person with both credentials. This was the best decision for me, as I wanted to have a strong clinician able to guide me through talk therapy and art therapy challenges, despite already having art therapy credentialing. I am struggling to complete my necessary hours, as I have been employed part-time, non-permanent in a qualifying clinical position for the last eight months. I have essentially already completed the required hours for LPC licensure, but was unable to receive supervision from an LPC, or other qualifying professional for the first year after graduate school. If this amendment were in place when I graduated, I would be only months from completing my hours for licensure. I truly believe that if this were the case, I would be able to find and maintain consistent, permanent employment status. Please consider the amendment to Regulation C.3 18VAC-115-20-10, allowing the inclusion of Registered Art Therapists to the list of licensed supervisors for art therapists. 

Reforming the regulations is critical to practicing art therapists as it directly impacts our ability to become licensed in our field and help our fellow art therapists obtain licensure hours. I am a Virginia resident and I currently pracitice as a full- time art therapist in a medical facility with children. My role as an art therapist on the treatment team is integral to the success of the practice and the mental health of the children undergoing treatment at our facility. Art therapy is unique and valuable in its own right and this reform would recognize that we practice with the same Master's Degree level of education, clinic training, certification, and ethical guidelines as our fellow mental health specialists. Like our fellow mental health specialist, we provide quality care and with that we need professional supervision for issues that arise from our work with clients. Being able to obtain this professional supervision from an art therapist and have this supervision count towards an LPC license is critical.  Not being able to seek supervision from a fellow art therapist hinders our practice and our ability to obtain the LPC licensure as it is time consuming and costly. Allowing art therapists to supervise would also benefit institutions, as it permits clinical staff  to obtain an additional supervisory resource and broaden their scope of supervision. Making art therapy supervision count towards the first 100 hours of LPC supervision is critical to the advancement of the art therapy field. Thank you very much for considering this reform.

I am a Virginia resident who is currently attending George Washington University as a Candidate for a Master's in Art Therapy at the campus in Old Town Alexandria.  I urge the Board to consider this fundamental change as an opportunity to foster a growing number of qualified Art Therapists in their mission to deliver affordable, approachable, and evidence-based mental health interventions for Virginia residents.

During my year-long internships at St. Elizabeths, Fort Belvoir Community Hospital, and Washington DC VA Medical Center, I valued the numerous interdisciplinary approaches toward psychotherapeutic issues that I’ve observed within my teams.  I also learned that awareness of informed art therapy interventions is vital to the art therapist’s ability to deliver a reliable continuity of care to his or her clients. 

The dedicated service of veteran art therapists has been a source of tremendous inspiration; the current law makes it difficult to look toward these mentors to improve our skills which ultimately supports our Virginia clients in their pursuit of goals and enhanced quality of life.

I strongly support the inclusion of art therapists as qualified supervisors for licensed professional counseling applicants in Virginia.  I am proud of my education, training, and continued growth as an art therapist, and I believe that art therapists are not only qualified but invaluable to the growth of the counseling profession.  Art therapy is often seamlessly integrated with verbal psychotherapy and counseling techniques, and it takes an incredible amount of skill and sensitivity to address client needs through multiple orientations (which art therapists do constantly).  My 60-hour master's degree qualifies me for licensure as an LPC, but my hours of supervision towards my ATR (which I received from an ATR-BC/LCPAT) do not count towards that experience despite the rigorous standards and professional requirements of that credential and of my field as a whole.  This is a slap in the face to art therapists, who already struggle for recognition and support in many institutions.  In addition, I believe that many LPC candidates from traditional mental health counseling and psychotherapy orientations would benefit greatly from working under the supervision of a registered art therapist.  Creativity, learning styles, and personal growth are all important and significant components of an excellent counselor or therapist -- regardless of their theoretical orientation or practical modality.  Art therapists offer these opportunities and more in their roles as supervisors and colleagues within the helping professions.  Please consider the amendment to Regulation C.3 18VAC-115-20-10, allowing the inclusion of Registered Art Therapists to the list of licensed supervisors for LPC candidates. 
 

I believe it is important for art therapists to be included as one of the other mental health disciplines to be approved to supervise LPC candidates for their hours.  To me, it only makes sense for the NBCC/Virginia Counseling Board to recognize credentialed art therapists as qualified supervisors since the ATCB recognizes LPC's to qualify as approved supervisors for 50% of the hours accrued for the ATR.  In addition, art therapists also obtain most of their CEU's through NBCC approval, which is another relationship that counseling and art therapy have shared together.  If the ATCB is willing to recognize NBCC credentials, then why shouldn't the NBCC/Virginia Counseling Board likewise recognize the ATCB credentials? Since other mental health professionals (i.e., psychiatrists, psychologists, social workers, etc.) are approved to supervise counseling supervisees, it only stands to reason that art therapists - also mental health professionals - should also be included in that group.  Given the already long history that the counseling and art therapy fields share with each other, I believe it is important for the reciprocation to go both ways to include art therapists as valid supervisors for LPC candidates for the 100 hours allowed by other credentialed mental health providers.

Thank you very much for considering this reform. Art therapists are increasingly subjected to parallel demands similar to LPC (and LCPC or LSW) in regards to program management, staff training, and student/intern development. As we increase in responsibility, unfortunately, our status within our professional communities remains the same. This reform will honor the work we do, enable qualified professionals to legitimately take on increasingly more challenging roles with the backing of professional regulation. 

I write in strong support of amending regulation C.3 in 18VAC-115-20-10 to include registered or licensed Art Therapists as part of the qualified professionals able to provide supervision for the first 100 hours towards LPC licensure. Art Therapy graduate degree programs have developed a comprehensive curriculum and internship program reflecting standards that align with the American Counseling Association, resulting in professionals who are qualified to earn both their LPC and ATR, thus making them qualified supervisors. As a professional in the field, eager to utilize my specialized skillset I often find myself in the role of teacher. In my role as teacher I utilize valuable time informing my own supervisor of both the theory and value of each intervention specifically chosen to meet the needs of the client. With an Art Therapist as a supervisor this valuable time would be utilized more effectively. As a supervisee both myself and my clients would benefit from the insight and experience gained from having an Art Therapist supervisor. The addition of an art therapist does nothing to diminish the quality of supervision; rather it strengthens it by providing the most comprehensive training tailored to the unique skills of an Art Therapist. For the reasons stated above and varied responses left by others, I support the amendment.

I strongly support this effort to include art therapists as qualified supervisors for 100 hours of supervision for LPC candidates in Virginia. Agencies greatly benefit from being able to offer art therapy as a treatment approach. However, supervision provided by the current list of qualified supervisors who do not have art therapy backgrounds are limited in their ability to address critical aspects of an art therapist’s job. Thus, if a LPC candidate with a Master’s degree in Art Therapy is utilizing art therapy in his or her job, it seems reasonable and critical to allow for part of his or her supervision be provided by a credentialed art therapist who meets specific criteria for competency in art therapy practice and art therapy supervision. It is my belief that in order to offer high quality care and protect the welfare of the individuals with whom art therapists work, art therapists in good standing should be considered a valid option for supervision for LPC candidates. Thank you for your consideration of this petition.

I am in support of this amendment to allow qualified art therapists the ability to supervise LPC candidates for the first 100 hours of supervision. The training and education of art therapists are equivalent to those of other professional counselors. Art therapists are required to hold a masters degree from an accredited program and practice art therapy under the supervision of either registered art therapists or other professional counselors. Art therapists are also trained with a knowledge of psychological and counseling work with diverse populations, as well as specific training to utilize art-making as a non-threatening means of alternative communication and self expression. The Board should include registered art therapists to the list of professionals who can supervise the first 100 hours of supervision for LPC candidates.