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Save the date for IEATA’s 16th International Conference: June 20–22, 2025!

All about REAT®

Registered Expressive Arts Therapist

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What is REAT®?

A Registered Expressive Arts Therapist (REAT®) is a professional who integrates multiple forms of the creative arts (drama, movement, visual arts, music, writing, etc) in counseling, psychotherapy, or in other mental health and helping professions to address behavioral, mental health, life challenges or stressors with individuals and groups. 

Drawing upon the arts’ inherent indigenous nature, imagination, and play, Expressive Arts Therapy (EXA) simultaneously uses multiple senses, cognitive processes, and different areas of the brain/body. Clients and patients are able to reclaim their inborn ability and right to heal in their own creative and unique ways.

A REAT® offers EXA as an interdisciplinary therapeutic model, intermodal process, and multimodal approach. These professionals received their REAT® status from the International Expressive Arts Therapy Association®, indicating that they met all of the necessary requirements, including thorough training, education and supervised experience in expressive arts therapy to ensure that clients and individuals have safe, beneficial and high quality treatment.

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Why become a REAT®?

Having a REAT® status with IEATA indicates that you have been approved by a global committee of reviewers and the Professional Standards Committee and have met all the requirements with training, education, supervised practice and experience that we believe is necessary to provide safe and effective expressive arts therapy to others.

Having a REAT® status behind one’s name clarifies with others that you’ve gone through intensive training which would support your clinical position with hospitals, clinics, expertise as a practitioner and would also give you clout for academic roles and EXA training.

You would also be part of a growing global field and community, giving you the opportunity to network with other professionals around the world.

REAT® Continuing Education Requirement

In the spirit of IEATA’s mission to promote professional excellence and standards of practice, we now have CE Requirements for annual renewal of the title Registered Expressive Arts Therapist (REAT®).

Click here to learn more about the new requirements.

How to register as a REAT®

One key element of IEATA’s mission is to promote professional excellence and standards of practice for practitioners and consumers. To that end, we have established the title of Registered Expressive Arts Therapist (REAT®) and developed a screening and registration process to certify qualified members.

To become a Registered Expressive Arts Therapist, an IEATA member must meet all of the registration standards and requirements.

Save the Date 16th International Conference!

16th International Conference June 20 - 22, 2025 in Beverly, MA