Key Takeways
If you have ever wondered what the letters after a therapist's name are actually for, this post is for you. It is also for art therapists who are building toward their own credentials and looking for a supervisor who might fit.
My two primary credentials in art therapy are ATR-BC and RCAT. I hold the Board Certified Art Therapist designation through the Art Therapy Credentials Board in the United States, and I am a Registered Canadian Art Therapist with the Canadian Art Therapy Association. Both are trademarked credentials with their own standards, exams, and ongoing requirements. I want to walk you through what they mean, what they are for, and what they allow me to offer to two different people who might land on this post: someone seeking art therapy, and an art therapist seeking supervision.
Vancouver-based and online across Canada, my art therapy practice is part of a larger relational and somatic therapy practice with my colleague Laura Hoge and our practicum student Laith.
What the letters after my name actually do
Credentials are one of the ways a profession tells you that care is not being improvised. They signal supervised clinical hours, passed examinations, ongoing ethical accountability, and continuing education. They do not tell you whether a therapist is the right fit for you. That part is felt in the room. What they do tell you is that someone external has checked, in a formal way, that this person has met a standard.
ATR-BC, in plain language
Board Certified Art Therapist is the highest credential in the field of art therapy in North America. To earn it, I completed a master's degree in counselling psychology and art therapy at Adler University, accumulated supervised clinical hours beyond graduation, and passed the Art Therapy Credentials Board's national board certification exam. The ATR-BC exam is accredited by the National Commission for Certifying Agencies, which means it has been reviewed for rigour by a third party that accredits professional credentialing exams.
Maintaining the credential requires ongoing professional development hours every five years and compliance with the ATCB Code of Ethics. I can be audited. If a concern is raised, the ATCB can investigate and, in serious cases, revoke the credential.
In plain terms, ATR-BC means that the way I practise art therapy has been checked against a specific standard, and that I continue to be held to that standard.
RCAT, and what's changing in Canadian art therapy supervision
Registered Canadian Art Therapist is the Canadian equivalent, held through the Canadian Art Therapy Association. RCAT recognises a professional member in good standing who has completed 1,000 direct client contact hours and 50 hours of clinical supervision post-graduation, and who maintains ongoing standards of practice and professional development.
Canadian art therapy is in a moment of evolution around supervision. As of June 1, 2027, a new designation called RCAT-S, for Registered Canadian Art Therapist Supervisor, will be the required designation to supervise art therapy students, professional art therapists, and other registered art therapists in Canada. Between now and April 30, 2027, CATA has opened a legacy phase that allows existing RCAT members like me to apply for RCAT-S through a modified application.
I am preparing to apply through the legacy phase. Until then, my RCAT designation continues to meet the current requirements for supervising art therapists in Canada.
When words do not reach it
If you are considering art therapy as a client, the credentials matter less than what the work actually feels like. Here is the part of the post for you.
Many adults come to therapy with a lot already behind them. You may understand your history. You may be able to name patterns clearly. You may have tried to think your way through what hurts. And still, something stays hard to name.
Sometimes it shows up like this: you can talk about what happened, but your body stays braced. You know what you want to change, but you freeze. You keep circling the same story, and nothing lands.
Art therapy offers another doorway. Not because an image is the answer, but because the process can carry meaning as it forms. It can hold complexity without forcing clarity too soon. It can make room for contradiction without asking you to flatten yourself into a neat narrative.
This is not art instruction. It is not critique. It is not a therapist interpreting your work from a distance. We stay close to your meaning-making and your lived experience, at a pace that respects your capacity. You do not need to be good at art. You do not need a plan. We can work with simple materials and small creative experiments that match your real life.
How we work together
Sessions are relational, paced, and consent-based. We begin with what is present for you. Sometimes we create in session. Sometimes we talk while you hold an image, describe a symbol, or notice what is shifting inside. Sometimes we do not use art at all until it feels right. The work follows your readiness, not a script.
Most of our work is offered online across Canada. I do not assign meaning to your work from a distance or tell you what your art means. We stay close to what you notice, what you feel, and what you want next.
Over time, many people notice a few grounded shifts. You get closer to what is true without having to force the right words. Self-judgement softens as your coping starts to make sense in context. You find more choice in how you respond, especially when emotion or memory shows up fast.
If this approach sounds like a fit, you can learn more on our art therapy online in Vancouver and across Canada page.
For art therapists seeking supervision and mentorship
This is the part of the post for the therapist audience. If you are working toward an art therapy credential and looking for a supervisor or mentor who is queer, trans, somatically oriented, and justice-rooted, I want to be clear about what I can and cannot currently offer you.
For art therapists in Canada working toward RCAT: I supervise under my current RCAT designation. My supervision hours count toward your 50 hours of post-graduate clinical supervision for registration with CATA. When I complete the RCAT-S designation through the legacy phase, that will continue without interruption.
For art therapists in the United States working toward ATR-P, ATR, or ATR-BC: I am an ATR-BC in good standing. I offer clinical mentorship, peer consultation, and supervision conversations that can support your professional development and case work. What I am not currently able to do is sign off as your formal ATCB supervisor of record for ATR-P to ATR progression. That role requires the ATCS designation, which is a separate credential offered to ATR-BC holders who apply for it specifically. If you are looking for a formal ATCB supervisor, I will be honest with you about that and can help you think about who else might fit.
What I do bring, for supervisees in either country, is more than a decade of clinical art therapy practice, a somatic and parts-work orientation, experience with 2SLGBTQ+ and gender-affirming work, and a relational approach to supervision that treats the supervisee as a colleague rather than a trainee. My supervision sits inside the broader clinical supervision and peer consultation offerings at our practice, which also include Sensorimotor Psychotherapy consultation and trauma-informed work.
If you are weighing whether we might be a fit, reach out. I would rather have a direct conversation about your credentialing pathway and what you actually need than make you guess from a website.
Frequently Asked Questions
Do I need to be good at art to benefit from art therapy?
No. Art therapy is not about talent, performance, or making anything that looks a particular way. It is about using simple creative process to let meaning, emotion, and sensation move in ways that words alone sometimes cannot reach. If you have not picked up a crayon in 20 years, that is fine. If you are a practising artist, that is also fine.
What happens in an art therapy session?
We begin with what is present for you. Some sessions include art-making with simple materials. Some sessions are more talk-based. Some blend both. The work follows your readiness, not a predetermined arc. I do not interpret your art or tell you what it means. We stay close to what you notice.
What's the difference between ATR-BC and RCAT?
ATR-BC is administered by the Art Therapy Credentials Board in the United States. RCAT is administered by the Canadian Art Therapy Association. Both credentials require a master's-level art therapy education, supervised clinical hours, and ongoing professional development. I hold both because my training and practice span both countries.
Can you supervise me toward my RCAT in Canada?
Yes. I hold RCAT in good standing and my supervision hours count toward your CATA registration requirements. I am preparing to apply for the new RCAT-S designation through the legacy phase, which will maintain my supervision credentials after June 2027 when RCAT-S becomes required.
Can you supervise me toward my ATR in the United States?
Partly. As an ATR-BC, I can offer you clinical mentorship, peer consultation, and rich supervisory conversations. I cannot currently sign off as your formal ATCB supervisor of record for ATR-P to ATR progression, because that requires the ATCS designation, which is a separate credential. If you need a formal ATCS supervisor, I will tell you that plainly and help you think about who else might fit.
