Our vision

Our vision is of a society where the arts and arts therapies are recognised as an essential and integral part of supporting and improving wellbeing and mental health; a society where art therapy is accessible and widely available in health and social care, educational and other settings, in order to help people to achieve good mental health and reach their full potential. 

We seek to work with our members in a transparent and inclusive way to help develop the art therapy profession and to help others understand the potential of art therapy to change lives. Our work places the people who make use of art therapy at the centre of our thinking and is guided by the evidence of the efficacy of the clinical work. 

We acknowledge that structural racism and all forms of discrimination have had an enormous impact across our society and that there is much that needs to be done to ensure our art therapy community is truly representative of the wider society. We are committed to equality of opportunity and to supporting the creation of a fair, inclusive and diverse community, where all are free from prejudice and discrimination and have the support they need to achieve their full potential. We are working to ensure that this commitment is adhered to as an employer, as a membership organisation and in our promotion of the profession.