Inaction is not an option

[Guest guest]

As the Licensure talk slows down, I imagine most of

the CAT field is in the process of receiving their

licenses throughout the year. I wanted to bring some

attention to the people who are sure they are not

receiving their licenses: the alternate route CATs.

I am one of those people and this email also gathers

others in my same position. This also applies to Art,

Drama and Poetry Therapy as well.

We are the people who had so much passion for this

field that being a bystander was not enough, so we

went beyond our master's degrees to gather additional

courses anywhere we found them. We are the ones that

didn't have the protective bubble of an university,

who paid for this career with our own money because

student loans wouldn't cover it, who don't have an

university reunion to go to in conferences, who

struggled to find their own internships and contacts

and who traveled to become a part of this field.

But if you are in NY and have practiced for less than

7 years, you will NOT get licensed. For most of us, a

change in career is not an option.

So I ask, what is being done? Where are the

credentials committees that approved us, the lobbyists

for this license, the Alternate Route Centers that

taught us? Dani Fraenkel from Kinections can't do it

alone. Why have we not heard these voices? I don't

think we really understand that there are some

people's careers and homes at stake. And sitting back

and saying " those poor Alternate Route CATs wont get

it " or brushing us under the rug is not a way to show

support to professionals who have fought to be a part

of this field.

I thank the people who have listened and gave their

time to our emails and applications. But going back

and getting a master's in CAT or a different field is

not an option for many. I invite anyone who has an

interest in this issue to come forth with options and

solutions. I know all of us worked really hard to get

those applications together, which was a nightmarish

process. But the work is not over. Let's not forget

there are some of our colleagues left behind.

Inaction is not an option.

Thania Acaron, MA DTR

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