Art therapy treatment may become more accessible as therapists push for licensure in Florida

TAMPA, Fla. - It may soon be easier for patients to be able to afford art therapy in Florida.  

For some trauma victims, expressing their thoughts through art can be a lot easier than talking about it, especially for children and service members. 

Art therapists say the industry is growing, but because Florida doesn’t have a licensure program, some therapists are leaving the state, but a bill in the Florida legislature would change that.

"We believe that art in itself is therapeutic and healing," Florida Art Therapy Association President Joseph Scarce said.

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But as Scarce explains, the process of creating art can help restore hope reduce anxiety, and help people approach their trauma through a different lens.

If art therapy has licensure, Scarce says it would be easier for patients to be reimbursed by their insurance companies. 

"They may not be able to talk about that, but they may be able to draw or sculpt it or paint it and then talk through the art and be able to process their feelings that way," Scarce shared.

Scarce has been practicing art therapy for the last 24 years and over that time has seen how patients benefit from it first-hand, but for many in Florida finding the right art therapist isn’t easy.

"It's very confusing in Florida which is why we are looking for licensure because we really do want to provide the knowledge to the public that they are going to be working with a licensed professional like most other professions that have that," Scarce said.

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Currently, 15 states, and the District of Columbia, have a form of professional art therapy licenses, but Florida isn’t one of them. 

It’s why Scarce and other art therapy advocates are pushing for the passage of Florida Senate Bill 878 which if passed would require the Florida Department of Health to license professional art therapists legitimizing a growing industry and helping better meet the increasing needs facing mental health.

For some trauma victims, expressing their thoughts through art can be a lot easier than talking about it.

"It provides an opportunity for them to be able to feel safe and know that if they are struggling with a mental health challenge that the person that they're working with can help guide them through that," Scarce said.

As Scarce explains, the state licensure would open the door for insurance reimbursement making art therapy more affordable for clients and helping provide therapists with bill opportunities to fund their practices. 

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Currently, the bill is waiting to be heard in the Appropriations Committee on Health and Human Services before it can move forward.

"It can help so many people and the licensure just makes that more of an opportunity to see more people, have more therapists in Florida, and provide more opportunities for healing," Scarce explained.

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