Provisional Registered Art Therapist (ATR-Provisional)

  1. Provisional Registered Art Therapist (ATR-P)

The Provisional Registered Art Therapist (ATR-Provisional) is the credential that ensures an art therapist meets established educational standards, with successful completion of advanced specific graduate-level education in art therapy, and is practicing art therapy under an approved ATCB credential holder at the time of application. Beginning on July 1, 2025, at 12:00am EST, the ATR-P will be required for the ATR. 

The Provisional Registered Art Therapist (ATR) application fee is $60 non-refundable and non-transferable. This fee covers the administrative costs of the application review.  Candidates submit their applications to the ATCB via MyATCB. All applicants must create their MyATCB portal; directions on how to complete this process can be found here.

Do not use application handbooks from previous years; all applicants must submit applications according to the standards and procedures outlined below. 

Please note those applying for the ATR-P can begin to collect and document supervised hours toward their ATR before the ATR-P is granted.

The application review process for the ATR-P varies based on the education program applicants attended. If the applicant attended a master’s level program that is CAAHEP accredited or AATA approved, the following items are needed for the application. 

The following materials are required for the application:
1. Official transcript submitted to the ATCB from an academic institution.
2,  Applicant Attestation and Supervisor Agreement form

If the applicants attended a master’s level program that is NOT CAAHEP accredited or AATA approved, the application will undergo an education review following items are needed for the application. 

The following materials are required for the application:
1. Official transcript submitted to the ATCB from an academic institution.
2. Verification of Practicum and Internship
3. Verification of Coursework
4. Applicant Attestation and Supervisor Agreement form

 

All ATR-P applicants must provide the name and email of their Supervisor, who must be an ATCB credential holder in good standing. The National Office will contact these individuals on the applicant’s behalf. Applicant Attestations must be uploaded with the application.

Candidates must respond truthfully to all questions in the Disciplinary and Litigation History section of the ATR-P application if an applicant has a current or past disciplinary or legal event that requires a yes response to any of the questions. In that case, copies of the related documents and the applicant’s written account of the event(s) must be included. This information should be uploaded within the application on MyATCB. All ATCB applicants and credential holders agree to abide by the ATCB Code of Ethics, Conduct, and Disciplinary Procedures and report any issues to ATCB in writing.

Once all supporting application documents are received, the application will move to “In Review”; review times can take eight to twelve weeks. Applicants will be notified when the application has finished the review. Applicants can check the status of their application review process on your MyATCB portal. Once approved, applicants are now ATCB credential holders and may use the AT-P professional designation for the remainder of the approved credential year.

The ATCB credential year is July 1- June 30. Once approved, you may use the ATR-P professional designation for the remainder of your approved credential year.  

The ATR-P is a credential that requires renewal every year by June 30. The main function of the annual renewal of your credential is to complete and file the mandatory annual ethics attestation. There is a $25 administrative fee for credential renewals. As a non-profit, all fees cover the costs of maintaining the credentials, the national registry, and The Code of Ethics, Conduct, and Disciplinary Procedures.

The ATR-P can be used for five years; in that time, the ATR-P should collect direct client contact hours and direct supervision of those hours to qualify for the ATR. Learn more about the ATR requirements.

Any credential that is not renewed will become inactive. Learn more about maintaining credentials. 

Be sure all requirements are completed and documented before applying for the ATR-Provisional credential. If you have any questions about the application or credentialing process, please get in touch with us at applications@atcb.org