About Us

Our Purpose

The Portland Creative Arts Therapies Association (CATA) is a voluntary group and welcomes creative arts therapists, health workers, and others who use creative arts for healing and are interested in seeing creative arts therapies become more entrenched locally in professional health services.

steering committeeCATA is led by a Steering Committee of eight people who are either therapists in the various creative arts disciplines or who are expressive arts facilitators. The Steering Committee oversees three subcommittees that support implementation of each of our four goals; each co-chaired by two members of the Steering Committee. All three subcommittees have developed work plans with objectives, strategies and actions to help CATA attain its goals within a three-year period.

We invite your participation.

Our History

The Portland Creative Arts Therapies Association traces its roots back to 2008, when art, music, and dance/movement therapists rallied together in a last ditch effort to dash lawmakers’ efforts to pass a bill that would have prevented creative arts therapy providers from practicing as master’s level therapists. Several creative arts therapists traveled to Salem to give testimony while others participated via conference calls.

Although state representatives voted to include creative arts therapies into the language of the bill, the bill did not pass. Nevertheless, state legislators were educated about the work and effectiveness of creative arts therapies.

Afterward, a small group of creative arts therapists met to identify common goals for political action. The group quickly realized that working together politically meant that we first needed to really understand and appreciate each other and our modalities. Thus the CAT Association was formed.

Over the past three years, we have produced three Nurturing our Community workshops as a way of sharing the approaches of the various creative arts therapies disciplines among local practitioners.

To coincide with the annual national celebration of Creative Arts Therapies Week, we have sponsored week-long local celebrations to showcase Portland’s diverse and vibrant creative arts therapies and to engage the local community.

Our Future


Our Mission is to foster connections among Creative Arts Therapists and to integrate and promote Creative Arts Therapies within the greater Portland area.

In our Vision the greater Portland area will become a place in which:

  1. Creative Arts Therapists are recognized as viable and valuable mental health professionals.
  2. The public understands the work of Creative Arts Therapists.
  3. Creative Arts Therapists are part of a collaborative community.
  4. Creative Arts Therapy services are endorsed by all health insurance plans.

Our four Goals are:

  1. To develop and maintain a support network for Creative Arts Therapists.
  2. To foster connections between Creative Arts Therapists, the public, and the larger creative arts community.
  3. To facilitate Creative Therapy programs for medical, behavioral mental health, educational professionals, and the general public.
  4. To advocate for Creative Arts Therapies in the Oregon public health policy.