Art Therapy Examination Questions

[Guest guest]

A member of the list-serve sent me an email following my email regarding Licensure. Her email proposed a “catch 22” scenario around the issue of the examination and credentialing.

She states:

“By requirements of the Art Therapy Credentials Board, art therapists can only take the BC exam after receiving the ATR, a lengthier process than fulfilling the 1500 hours work experience requirement for the state of New York. While the state may not explicitly require the ATR-BC, they do apparently require the applicant to pass the BC. So in effect, you need to have your ATR-BC before getting your LCAT. Please help me to understand how this could be otherwise. The last BC exam held in New York was in June, 2006. There is no BC exam scheduled for New York for at least another year, so it is a great concern that art therapists will have a very difficult fulfilling these requirements within a two year period, given the rarity of exam opportunities.”

I appreciate the time she took to express her concerns. I can only assume that others have similar concerns. I have reached out to the Office of the Professions to get clarification on this issue.

To clarify...

The Art Therapy Credentials Boards’ BC exam is one of three possible exams accepted by the Department for licensure. If one chooses to take the ATCB –BC exam for the purposes of a NYS CAT License, they DO NOT need to fulfill any requirements other than what is outlined by the NYS Education Department standard pathway towards licensure. Once the NYS Education Department determines an CAT applicant is qualified to sit for the exam — the Department will provide the ATCB with their name. The ATCB must allow that individual to take the BC exam without having to satisfy any further requirements. Plainly stated, you do not need to receive the ATR before taking the BC exam if the NYS Department of Education has determined you to be eligible to sit for the exam for the purpose of a LCAT. If the ATCB attempts to force you to take or fulfill additional requirement before sitting for the exam, contact the Department immediately. The relationship is specifically expressed in the ATCB’s contract with the state. In addition, the exam must be available to NYS CAT applicants in NYS at least once a year.

I hope this helps.

Best,

--

G.

Senior Associate

Carr Public Affairs

388 Broadway

Albany, New York 12207

(ph)

(fx)

evans@...

[Guest guest]

Dear -

You said the BC exam is one of three possible exams to qualify for licensure. What are the others and what are the circumstances and the frequency/availablity of them? Also, are there different pros and cons of the three exams that we could know about? Lastly, how do we prepare for these exams?

Tomar Levine