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Advancing art therapy to restore and enhance lives

• 2009 American Art Therapy Association Annual
  Conference
• Meeting of the Assembly of Chapters
• Leadership and Advocacy Training for Chapter
  Delegates
• Wednesday November 18, 2009
• 300 430 p.m.
• Presented by
• Christopher C. Campbell, M.A., Director, Public
  Policy
• Sarah Kremer, ATR-BC, Chair, Governmental Affairs
  Committee

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Leadership and Advocacy Training for Art
Therapists

• Introductions
• Sarah Kremer, ATR-BC, Chair, AATA Governmental
  Affairs Committee
• Christopher C. Campbell, M.A., Director, Public
  Policy, AATA

www.americanarttherapyassociation.org
Advancing art therapy to restore and enhance
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3
Leadership and Advocacy Training for Art
Therapists

• Why Public Policy Matters?
• Policy affects you at the national level
• National healthcare reform
• Ability to treat Veterans
• Special education (IDEA)
• Being listed as a separate occupation in the
  Dept. of Labors Occupational Outlook Handbook,
  Occupational Information Network ( ONet), and
  Standard Occupational Classification
• Policy affects you at the state level
• Licensure
• Title protection

www.americanarttherapyassociation.org
Advancing art therapy to restore and enhance
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Leadership and Advocacy Training for Art
Therapists

• Licensing Standards State Picture
• Art Therapy -Only 3 states license ATs (KY, MS,
  NM)
• ATs licensed as Creative Arts Therapists in NY
• ATs included in licensure law for counselors in
  PA, MA, and TX
• Counseling -All 50 states license LPCs-CA became
  last state in October!!
• Other (MFT) -48 states license or certify MFTs

www.americanarttherapyassociation.org
Advancing art therapy to restore and enhance
lives
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Leadership and Advocacy Training for Art
Therapists

• Individual Activity sketch out how you would
  like to practice and what you would need to
  practice

www.americanarttherapyassociation.org
Advancing art therapy to restore and enhance
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Leadership and Advocacy Training for Art
Therapists

• Debrief

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Advancing art therapy to restore and enhance
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Why YOU Matter!
AATA
Without grassroots activity, lobbying is
ineffective!
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Youre listened to MUCH more than lobbyists
source Communicating With Congress,
Congressional Management Foundation, 2005
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Leadership and Advocacy Training for Art
Therapists

• Advocacy is like baseball
• Legislative change happens s-l-o-w-l-y. Its
  supposed to!
• Most of the time when a batter steps up to the
  plate, nothing happens (VERY successful baseball
  players hit around .300).
• On most issues, a certain number of calls or
  letters will convince a legislator to take action
• Your single or double may not win the game, but
  it makes game winning run possible.

www.americanarttherapyassociation.org
Advancing art therapy to restore and enhance
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Leadership and Advocacy Training for Art
Therapists

• Legislators are people too
• Like other humans, legislators decisions are
  often based on personal experiences with other
  individuals
• Many times, a one-on-one contact with a
  legislator or his/her staff does the job

www.americanarttherapyassociation.org
Advancing art therapy to restore and enhance
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11
Leadership and Advocacy Training for Art
Therapists

• Theres almost always something specific your
  legislator can do to help on an issue
• Offer an amendment during floor consideration or
  a committee mark-up
• Send a Dear Colleague letter on your issue
• Speak in favor of your position in public
• Find a colleague on the other side of the aisle
  to work with
• Talk/write to committee chair about your bill
• Talk/write to Administration office about your
  issue
• Introduce a bill
• Cosponsor a bill
• Cosign a letter on your issue

www.americanarttherapyassociation.org
Advancing art therapy to restore and enhance
lives
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Leadership and Advocacy Training for Art
Therapists

• So, how do you contact lawmakers?

www.americanarttherapyassociation.org
Advancing art therapy to restore and enhance
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Leadership and Advocacy Training for Art
Therapists

• A personal visit with a state legislator or a
  member of Congress is the most effective form of
  communication, as its the most likely to give
  the legislator (or his staff) a human face to
  associate with your issue.
• Visits with state legislators can occur either in
  the state capitol or in their local office a
  visit with a member of Congress can be scheduled
  in Washington, D.C., or at one of his or her
  district offices.

www.americanarttherapyassociation.org
Advancing art therapy to restore and enhance
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Leadership and Advocacy Training for Art
Therapists

• First, do your homework
• Know Your Legislator
• Check the status of the legislation, and likely
  next steps
• Find out if your legislator has taken a position
  on the legislation
• Find out if your legislator cosponsored your
  legislation or similar legislation
• Find out if your legislator has any special
  interest in or influence over the legislation
  does he or she sit on a committee with
  jurisdiction over your bill?
• Know Your Issue
• Check AATAs website for stats/arguments
  supporting your position
• Keep in mind the arguments and opposition you may
  come up against

www.americanarttherapyassociation.org
Advancing art therapy to restore and enhance
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Leadership and Advocacy Training for Art
Therapists

• Writing, Faxing, E-Mailing Legislators
• Public officials and their staffs pay careful
  attention to their correspondence (i.e. letters,
  faxes, e-mail) since it forms the major body of
  public and voter sentiment on pending legislative
  activity.
• Do your homework first. Know what the
  legislative situation is, whether or not the
  legislator has taken a position yet, etc.
• Keep it short. Letters should be one or two
  pages, maximum!, e-mails should fit on one screen
• Stick to one issue
• Provide reasons for supporting the bill/issue
• Say how the bill would affect your community or
  state
• Always include/leave your name and mailing
  address
• Keep a copy of your e-mail or letter for future
  reference, or make a note to yourself when you
  make a call

www.americanarttherapyassociation.org
Advancing art therapy to restore and enhance
lives
16
Leadership and Advocacy Training for Art
Therapists

• Writing/e-mailing your Members of Congress what
  happens when
• I dont get a response in three weeks (it will
  likely take that long)
• Call the office back and politely offer to resend
  or fax the letter/e-mail again
• Remember, the squeaky wheel gets the grease
• I get a non-specific or non-germane response
• Send another letter or e-mail back thanking the
  legislator for responding, but politely asking
  for a more specific response addressing your
  specific request

www.americanarttherapyassociation.org
Advancing art therapy to restore and enhance
lives
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Leadership and Advocacy Training for Art
Therapists

• Using the telephone
• Telephone calls work, too, and can be especially
  important when time is of the essence and the
  issue you are concerned about will be addressed
  in the next few days.
• When you call, you may not be able to speak
  directly with the legislator, but you can be
  assured that your message will be relayed to him
  or her by the staff person you speak with.

www.americanarttherapyassociation.org
Advancing art therapy to restore and enhance
lives
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Leadership and Advocacy Training for Art
Therapists

• The three top rules for advocacy success
• Follow through
• Follow through
• Follow through
• The lobbying visit, letter, or e-mail is NOT the
  end point of engaging in advocacy. The end point
  is getting a concrete, specific answer from the
  legislator/bureaucrat on your particular request.

www.americanarttherapyassociation.org
Advancing art therapy to restore and enhance
lives
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Leadership and Advocacy Training for Art
Therapists

• Other ways of being an advocate
• Phone call
• E-mail
• Letter
• Visit
• Volunteer on a political campaign
• Contribute money
• Stage a protest
• Participate in a march
• Hold a press conference

www.americanarttherapyassociation.org
Advancing art therapy to restore and enhance
lives
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Leadership and Advocacy Training for Art
Therapists

• Group Role Play How to Conduct a Lobbying Visit
• Walk into the office and introduce yourself to
  the receptionist, and say who you have an
  appointment with
• When the staff person comes out, introduce
  yourself, follow their lead on where exactly
  youll be meeting, make small talk, etc.
• Talk about your issue
• Provide materials for future reference
• Thank the legislator/staffer for their time and
  help, and exchange business cards
• Follow up!

www.americanarttherapyassociation.org
Advancing art therapy to restore and enhance
lives
21
Leadership and Advocacy Training for Art
Therapists

• Conducting a lobbying visit the sales pitch
• What I want to talk to you about today is
  ___..
• Explain who art therapists arespecific to this
  issue! (Are you familiar with who ATs are?)
• Talk about your background, including education
  and training
• Talk about the specific legislative issue, and
  why its important to you, your colleagues, and
  your neighbors give the staffer your handouts
• Make a specific request for action (Id like the
  Senator to cosponsor S. 1234, which would
  establish licensure for art therapists
• Ask when you can follow up with the staffer

www.americanarttherapyassociation.org
Advancing art therapy to restore and enhance
lives
22
Leadership and Advocacy Training for Art
Therapists

• Things to keep in mind
• Be brief you may only get 15 minutes
• Share your experiences you are an expert on you
• Ask for something specific
• Remember what you communicate may be shared
• DONT make up an answer. If youre asked a
  question you cant answer, just say Im not sure
  about thatlet me get back to you.
• DONT be partisan
• Practice your presentation, and know who will say
  what
• DONT expect an answerthe staff person will have
  to run your request up the food chain

www.americanarttherapyassociation.org
Advancing art therapy to restore and enhance
lives
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Public PolicyThe most prestigious US based
organization in the field of art therapy

• Government Affairs Committee (GAC)
• The American Art Therapy Associations Government
  Affairs Committee (GAC), working closely with the
  Director of Public Policy, monitors state and
  national legislation to ensure that the interests
  and objectives of the AATA are adequately
  represented at the federal, state and local
  levels of government
• The committee supports and advocates for
  legislation and policies that establish
  nondiscriminatory standards and regulation for
  the practice and profession of art therapy
• The GAC is working with a number of other groups
  to support legislation and regulations that
  ensure, secure, and improve employment
  opportunities for art therapists and recognition
  of art therapy in mental health and health care
  settings

www.americanarttherapyassociation.org
Advancing art therapy to restore and enhance
lives
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Leadership and Advocacy Training for Art
Therapists

• Group Activity Network with other participants
  by state or interest group

www.americanarttherapyassociation.org
Advancing art therapy to restore and enhance
lives
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Leadership and Advocacy Training for Art
Therapists

• You may never know what results come from your
  action. But if you do nothing, there will be no
  results.
• Mahatma Ghandi

www.americanarttherapyassociation.org
Advancing art therapy to restore and enhance
lives