The History of the North Texas Art Therapy Association (NTATA)

Contributors: Linda L McCarley and Carmen Drew

 

The North Texas Art Therapy Association (NTATA) is a chapter of the American Art Therapy Association (AATA). The NTATA has a sister chapter, the South Texas Art Therapy Association (STATA), based in Austin. The  NTATA and the STATA are separate chapters of the AATA, but they have an important connection in the evolution of art therapy throughout Texas.

 

Felice Cohen (1919-2002) was an early art therapist living and working in Houston, Texas. She became a founding member of the American Art Therapy Association (AATA) and served as the first Secretary of the AATA. She later served as the 3rd President of the AATA, and she was eventually awarded the designation of Honorary Life Member of AATA in 1989. For more about her life and about how she helped establish art therapy in Texas, see this article: Irene Corbit (1994) Interview with Felice W. Cohen, A.T.R., HLM, Art Therapy, 11:4, 246-249, DOI: 10.1080/07421656.1994.10759097

 

Harriet Wadeson (1931-2013), who was also a founding member of the AATA, accepted a position to direct an art therapy program at the University of Houston-Clear Lake, from 1978 to 1980. In 1980, she left Houston to direct a new program at the University of Illinois at Chicago (UIC). While at UIC, she also established an intensive summer program at Lake Geneva, Wisconsin, which was attended by her students from UIC, as well as students from north Texas, including Linda McCarley and Carmen Drew. For more about the life of Harriet Wadeson, go to the following journal article: Judith A. Rubin (2016) Harriet Claire Wadeson (January 9, 1931, to January 26, 2016), Art Therapy, 33:2, 103-106, DOI: 10.1080/07421656.2016.1164461

 

After Harriet moved from Texas to Illinois, Dr. Jerry Fryrear filled the vacancy at the University of Houston-Clear Lake (UHCL). Dr. Fryrear was a psychologist and a photo therapist. Irene Corbit, PhD, ATR, joined him at UHCL to teach art therapy.

 

Art therapy was also being taught in north Texas at the University of Texas at Arlington by Dr. Hodnett. Carmen Drew attended her classes from 1978 to 1979. Dr. Hodnett’s students started meeting as a group. Although Dr. Hodnett separated herself from the AATA, her students stayed connected and eventually formed the North Texas Art Therapy Association.

 

In 1988, Linda McCarley learned about art therapy during her studies at Texas Women’s University. She decided to attend the AATA conference in San Francisco to learn more about art therapy. While there, she met Harriet Wadeson. Harriet encouraged her to attend the University of Illinois at Chicago (UIC) summer program, which was held annually at Lake Geneva, Wisconsin. Linda attended the summer program from 1989 to 1990. During this time, Linda met Carmen Drew who also attended the UIC program. Linda later graduated from the University of Texas at Arlington with a master’s degree in social work. Her social work internships were enriched by her art therapy education from UIC. She also studied play therapy during her social work internship at the Dallas Child & Family Guidance Center. She was eventually credentialed as a Licensed Clinical Social Worker Supervisor (LCSW), a Registered Art Therapist - Board Certified (ATR-BC), and a Registered Play Therapist - Supervisor (RPT-S).

 

In 1995 Jerry Fryrear invited Linda McCarley to teach play therapy at UHCL. During this time, Linda collaborated with Jerry, the directors of the Continuing Education program at UHCL, and the art department at Texas Women’s University in Denton to offer an intensive 45 hour introductory course in art therapy. Linda invited several credentialed art therapists in the north Texas area to present to the students.

 

In 1996, Linda McCarley established the Art Therapy Institute (ATI) in Dallas, which was a full certificate program for those who wished to meet the education requirements for the designation of ATR. Several art therapists from the area were invited to teach, as well as well-known art therapists from afar, including Don Jones, Harriet Wadeson, Barbara Fish, Myra Levick, Doris Arrington and Frances Anderson.

 

Linda served as President of the NTATA during 1995 to 1996. While president, she worked with members of the NTATA and the STATA to lobby and testify to the State Affairs Committee at the state capitol to help pass a bill that recognized art therapy as a specialization under the LPC license. Prior to this, many art therapists throughout Texas had difficulty getting reimbursement for their work.

 

Graduates of the Art Therapy Institute established art therapy services throughout the metroplex. One graduate, Jane Avila, established a non-profit service known as the Art Station in Fort Worth. Another graduate, Andrea Davis, established a non-profit service known as Dallas Art Therapy in 2014 in Dallas, which was later relocated to Richardson. Other graduates established private practices or worked in schools, hospitals, and clinics. The ATI closed in 2004, but many of the graduates continue to provide art therapy services throughout north Texas.