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Kansas art therapists ask state regulator to back licensure bill
Summary
A coalition of Kansas art therapists urged the Kansas Behavioral Sciences Regulatory Board to endorse legislation creating a Licensed Professional Art Therapist title and regulatory pathway, saying licensure would protect the public, provide title protection and improve access to reimbursable care.
Katie Leisman, a board-certified and registered art therapist, told the Kansas Behavioral Sciences Regulatory Board at its hybrid meeting that the Kansas Art Therapy Licensure and Advocacy Coalition is asking the board to endorse legislation to license art therapists in Kansas.
"First and foremost, art therapy licensure under the BSRB would ultimately protect the public to help the public identify properly trained professionals from fraudulent clinicians utilizing tools outside of their scope," Leisman said. She described practice settings where art therapists work, from inpatient pediatric medicine to community mental-health programs and services funded through recent federal grants.
The coalition presented clinical and workforce reasons for licensure, telling the board that licensed status would provide title protection and make services more likely to be reimbursed by insurers. "Licensure would also grant title protection for art therapists. Therefore, only clinicians holding the Licensed Professional Art Therapy, LPAT ... can call themselves professional art therapists," Leisman said. The group also said licensure would help attract and retain art therapists in Kansas.
Speakers who joined Leisman at the podium included Raven Milam, identified as president of the Kansas Art Therapy Association; Wendy Lynch, vice president of the association and a provisional registered art therapist; Amber Dalzell and Noel Kearns, both described in the public comment as registered or board-certified art therapists; and Sherry Jacobs, appearing by Zoom and identified as a licensed marriage and family therapist who has provided art therapy services. They described providing services in settings including hospitals, schools, juvenile detention and veteran supports, and they said art therapy provides nonverbal, trauma-informed and culturally accessible options for clients who struggle with traditional talk therapy.
Board members asked clarifying questions during and after the presentation. One board member asked whether licensure affects the ability of art therapists to obtain insurance reimbursement; the presenters responded that licensure typically supports reimbursement pathways but the coalition’s draft bill does not itself create a reimbursement guarantee.
The coalition told the board that art therapy credentialing commonly uses the Art Therapy Credentialing Board (ATCB) exam and that many state licensure laws rely on that credentialing and exam as part of the licensure standard. The presenters said 15 states and the District of Columbia already regulate art therapy and that bills are pending in additional states.
The board did not take formal action on the public comment item. The presenters said they hoped the board would work with them on next steps and with legislative sponsors to draft and advance a bill.
Why this matters: advocates said licensure would make it easier for Kansans to find clinicians with master's-level training in art therapy, allow clearer title protection, and could increase access to reimbursed care for patients who rely on Medicaid or other insurance.
Sources: public comment presented to the Kansas Behavioral Sciences Regulatory Board on the record by Katie Leisman and colleagues from the Kansas Art Therapy Licensure and Advocacy Coalition.
