Who can provide art therapy supervision?

You may choose to work with a local registered art therapist or you may choose to work with one at a distance using technology. Art therapists who are recognized by CATA have either received their registration from the Canadian Art Therapy Association (RCAT); the Art Therapy Credential Board (ATR); the Ontario Art Therapy Association (OATR); or British Columbia Art Therapy Association (BCATR).

Other qualifications that are deemed equivalent include art therapists who are Registered Art Therapists Board Certified in the USA with license to practice and supervise art therapy as required by their practicing state (ATR-BC), who are Art Therapy Cedrentialed Supervisors in the USA with license to practice and supervise art therapy as required by their practicing state (ATCS), who are registered with the British Association of Art Therapists (BAAT) or registered with the Australia, New Zealand and Asian Creative Arts Therapies Association (ANZACATA).

Marina CrosbieSupervision
Who can provide non-RCAT supervision?

You may have up to 10 hours of non-RCAT supervision. This can be completed with another regulated professional. For example Registered Psychologist, Registered Social Worker, Psychiatric Nurse, Registered Counselling Therapist, Registered Psychotherapists, this list is not exhaustive. 


Marina CrosbieSupervision
Can I count supervision and client contact hours if I have completed all my coursework but haven’t completed my thesis or capstone project and am working as an Art Therapist? 

No. Graduation from an art therapy training program that is in compliance with CATA’s education standards is a requirement for registration with CATA. Supervised art therapy and client contact hours are not eligible to be counted towards registration until the student art therapist has completed all the academic, practica, supervision, thesis approval and any other requirement your training program requires for graduation and must be able to provide proof of graduation. 


Marina CrosbieSupervision
Can I be supervised by an art therapist who is not Registered with CATA, BCATA, OATA or AATA and have these hours count towards my 50 hours of clinical supervision hours for registration?

No. Art therapy supervision must be received from a Registered Art Therapist to be eligible to submit an application for registration from CATA. You may be supervised by an art therapist, but may not use the supervision to count towards your registration clinical hours.

Marina CrosbieSupervision
Do I have to complete the RCAT Regular Application with CATA when I am already registered with another art therapy association?

No. If you are registered with British Columbia Art Therapy Association, the Ontario Art Therapy Association, the Art Therapy Credentials Board, British Association of Art Therapists or Australian, New Zealand and Asian Creative Arts Therapies Association you may complete the Short Application.

Can I apply for RCAT membership with CATA if I have graduated from an international art therapy program? 

You may qualify for CATA professional membership if you have graduated from an international accepted art therapy training program. To determine if your international art therapy training program is meets the equivalency, please check with the national art therapy association where your program resides such as the United Kingdom - BAAT; New Zealand or Australia - ANZATA; or United States of America – AATA with the Art Therapy Credential Board (ATCB). You can find the CATA Membership criteria and application on the CATA website, www.canadianarttherapy.org.


How do I know if the international art therapy program I have graduated from is in compliance with CATA’s education standards? 

The most important factor is whether the program you have graduated from is accepted by the national art therapy association in the country that your program is located, such as ANZCATA (NZ/AU), BAAT (UK), or ATCB (US and international). CATA does not recognize art therapy programs that are not in compliance with a national art therapy association’s education standards, domestically or internationally. If the program you graduated from is not an approved program in Canada or abroad you can fill out the Education Standards Matrix, with supporting documents and submit it to CATA education director for review. Education programs must meet CATA's education standards for approval of professional membership.