This Values Statement has been approved by the Missouri Art Therapy Association Board of Directors on April 27th, 2018.
The Missouri Art Therapy Association embraces all people, and honors each individual’s race; ethnicity; religious and spiritual beliefs; national origin; ancestry; age; ability; sexual orientation; sex; gender identity; gender expression; political views; and socioeconomic, marital, immigration, and/or military statuses. The MATA will continue to commit to inclusivity by additionally embracing and honoring new cultural identities and expressions of those identities as they emerge.
The Missouri Art Therapy Association supports the affirmation and healthy development of individuals within LGBTQIA spectrums of sexual orientation and of gender nonconforming individuals. The MATA supports therapeutic interventions that foster healthy development across the lifespan of LGBTQIA individuals, and equally admonishes treatment purported to ‘cure’ or ‘curb’ natural variations of sexual orientation, gender identity, or gender expression. This decisive stance is in alignment with the values of major medical and mental health associations, including the American Counseling Association, the American Psychological Association, the American Psychoanalytic Association, and the American School Counselor Association, as well as with the American Art Therapy Association.
The Missouri Art Therapy Association, as a non-profit organization, neither endorses nor denounces any political platform, figure, or candidate, regardless of the political orientation of members within our chapter. The Missouri Art Therapy advocates for the needs of the populations we serve as art therapists, as well as the needs of our members, as voted by members, without politically identifying. This decision of action is to ensure the MATA, as an organization, maintains efficacy and integrity, and remains accepting and affirming of all members, as well as the populations we professionally serve.
The MATA remains committed to continuing advocacy and awareness efforts which support and promote inclusivity within our state and national memberships and within the populations we serve as art therapists. To support these efforts, the Missouri Art Therapist Association will make educational materials and programming more accessible and will increase advocacy and awareness efforts which embrace all people, regardless of cultural identity.
The Missouri Art Therapy Association embraces all people, and honors each individual’s race; ethnicity; religious and spiritual beliefs; national origin; ancestry; age; ability; sexual orientation; sex; gender identity; gender expression; political views; and socioeconomic, marital, immigration, and/or military statuses. The MATA will continue to commit to inclusivity by additionally embracing and honoring new cultural identities and expressions of those identities as they emerge.
The Missouri Art Therapy Association supports the affirmation and healthy development of individuals within LGBTQIA spectrums of sexual orientation and of gender nonconforming individuals. The MATA supports therapeutic interventions that foster healthy development across the lifespan of LGBTQIA individuals, and equally admonishes treatment purported to ‘cure’ or ‘curb’ natural variations of sexual orientation, gender identity, or gender expression. This decisive stance is in alignment with the values of major medical and mental health associations, including the American Counseling Association, the American Psychological Association, the American Psychoanalytic Association, and the American School Counselor Association, as well as with the American Art Therapy Association.
The Missouri Art Therapy Association, as a non-profit organization, neither endorses nor denounces any political platform, figure, or candidate, regardless of the political orientation of members within our chapter. The Missouri Art Therapy advocates for the needs of the populations we serve as art therapists, as well as the needs of our members, as voted by members, without politically identifying. This decision of action is to ensure the MATA, as an organization, maintains efficacy and integrity, and remains accepting and affirming of all members, as well as the populations we professionally serve.
The MATA remains committed to continuing advocacy and awareness efforts which support and promote inclusivity within our state and national memberships and within the populations we serve as art therapists. To support these efforts, the Missouri Art Therapist Association will make educational materials and programming more accessible and will increase advocacy and awareness efforts which embrace all people, regardless of cultural identity.