A Survey on Faculty’s Perceptions of Art Therapy Accreditation

AbstractIn 2015, programmatic accreditation by the Commission on Accreditation of Allied Health Education Programs (CAAHEP) was initiated for art therapy education. The study examined art therapy faculty’s perception of the CAAHEP accreditation process through a nation-wide online survey research. The mixed-method analysis supports the complexity of the current art therapy programmatic accreditation as perceived by faculty. Three main themes were identified: (1) accreditation as accountability, (2) additional burden and time-consuming, and (3) limited support and skill mismatch. The findings suggest that programmatic accreditation brings both benefits and challenges while also supporting the development of quality accreditation procedures for art therapy education.Keywords: Art therapy educationprogrammatic accreditationfaculty’s perceptionaccountabilityburden Disclosure StatementNo potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.Additional informationNotes on contributorsSeung Yeon LeeSeung Yeon Lee, EdD, ATR-BC, LCAT, is a Clinical Assistant Professor of the Graduate Art Therapy Program, New York University, New York, NY.Janet K. KempfJanet K. Kempf, MA, ATR-BC, LPC, NCC, LCDC II, is a doctoral student in the Counselor Education program at The University of Toledo, Toledo, OH.Sara M. MillerSara M. Miller, PhD, ATCS, LCPC, is a Senior Research Specialist at the University of Illinois, Chicago, IL.Eileen O’Neill EstesEileen O’Neill Estes, PhD, LPCA, LPAT-S, ATR-BC, is an Assistant Professor of Art Therapy Program, University of Louisville, Louisville, KY.