Assemb. Bronson & Senator Brouk Join Organized Labor, Healthcare Providers & Educators to Call for Expanding Mental Health Care by Funding Licensed Creative Arts Therapy in FY25-26 Budget
Press release available as PDF here
Media contacts:
· Ron Heaney - Senator Samra Brouk: 732-619-4053 | broukpress@gmail.com
· Mary McClelland - Assemblymember Harry Bronson: 585-851-1011| mcclellandm@nyassembly.gov
Assemblymember Bronson & Senator Samra Brouk Join Organized Labor, Healthcare Providers, Educators & Advocates to Call for to Expanding Mental Health Care by Funding Licensed Creative Arts Therapy in This Year’s Budget
March 10, 2025, Albany, NY – Organized labor, healthcare providers, educators, and advocates are calling for the Legislature to act to improve access to mental health and substance abuse disorder services for all New Yorkers. The groups are requesting $2 million dollars and language in the budget to add licensed creative arts therapists (LCAT) to the state’s Medicaid Provider List. They are also fighting to pass A3319/S1001, which would mandate commercial insurance plans to cover psychotherapy services provided by Licensed Creative Arts Therapists.
The budget initiative Assemblymember Harry Bronson and Senator Samra Brouk are advocating for would authorize licensed creative arts therapists, who, at minimum, hold a master’s degree in Psychotherapy, to bill Medicaid directly for their services. Creative arts therapy uses the arts as a modality to offer psychotherapy to patients where traditional talk therapy is not effective. It is especially beneficial to non-verbal patients, as well as children, the elderly, people with intellectual disability, patients recovering from stroke or traumatic brain injury, non-native English speakers, and those with acute trauma.
“Licensed Creative Arts Therapy provides many advantages and is an important component to successful, dignified mental health care for patients who do not respond to traditional modes of therapy. Without a guarantee of reimbursement, these patients are often excluded from receiving therapy that may dramatically improve their mental health and well-being. I am proud to stand with my colleague, Senator Samra Brouk, to advocate for my bills, A5773 and A3319, which will ensure that Licensed Creative Arts Therapy are covered by Medicaid and commercial insurance companies so that all people in New York have access to mental health treatment that works for them.” – Assemblymember Harry Bronson - Chair, Assembly Labor Committee.
“Individuals have unique learning styles–and we must acknowledge that traditional therapy is not a one-size-fits-all treatment. Licensed Creative Arts Therapists (LCATs) are masters-level licensed practitioners specializing in mental health, psychotherapy, and the arts. My bills, S1001 and S6025, will require more insurance policies to cover outpatient care provided by LCATs to expand mental health services to patients, and authorize LCATs to bill Medicaid directly for their service. I thank my colleague in the legislature, Assemblymember Harry Bronson, for his unwavering dedication as the Assembly sponsor of this legislation. We must help culturally competent specialists provide care to individuals who they are well qualified to serve while ensuring New Yorkers in need receive that high quality care.” - Senator Samra G. Brouk, Chair, Senate Mental Health Committee.
This is an important tool for increasing access to successful mental health care, and with funding, urgently needed providers would be added to the Medicaid psychotherapy benefit, which is already covered under law, and increase the supply of providers available to serve some of New York’s most vulnerable populations. This budget language seeks to amend the Social Services law to authorize licensed creative arts therapists, who, at minimum, hold a master’s degree in Psychotherapy, to bill for services that have been licensed under Article 163 of the State Education Law for nearly 20 years.
Psychotherapy is already part of New York’s established scope of practice with LCATs well-integrated into health and mental health systems across New York State – serving children, teenagers, adults and elderly. LCATs currently work in OMH, OASAS, and HHA operated agencies and clinics, schools, inpatient & outpatient treatment hospitals, and substance abuse treatment facilities.
“For over 30 years, I have witnessed the extraordinary ways communities are transformed by creative arts therapy engagement following loss, disaster and suffering. A proactive, creative approach capitalizes on our innate abilities to discover the resilience we hold and focus on what is vital rather than what is pathological. To add, research has thoroughly documented the successful merits of creative art therapies on neurological, psychological and physiological functioning.” - Marygrace Berberian, PhD, LCAT, ATR-BC, LCSW, Director, Graduate Art Therapy Program New York University, Steinhardt
Creative arts therapists are licensed under Article 163 of the State Education Law, which created four mental health practitioner licenses – mental health counselors, marriage and family therapists, creative arts therapists and psychoanalysts. Like their Article 163 counterparts, licensed creative arts therapists complete 60-credit master's degrees approved by the Department of Education. Curriculums include psychotherapeutic approaches, evidenced-based trauma treatments, psychological assessment, diagnosis and treatment planning, and addictions and substance abuse treatment.
If enacted into law, A3319/S1001 would require commercial insurers to reimburse licensed creative arts therapists:
This change serves the intent of Timothy's Law by making needed mental health services available to more patients:
· It will ensure that a patient does not lose their existing LCAT therapist if they change jobs and insurance plans;
· It will ensure that a patient is not denied mental health services because the providers of commercial health insurance plans are located too far from the patient's home or the patient is unable to afford the out-of-pocket expense of a therapist;
· It will expand patient choice by increasing the variety and number of reimbursable providers available to treat mental health disorders;
· It will benefit rural areas where a patient may have limited access to therapy; and 6. It eliminates the patchwork of insurers who until now have been able to choose which licenses they cover for psychotherapy.
New York's licensed creative arts therapists are a critical component of our mental health system, and their services are widely in demand by patients and medical care systems. Commercial health insurance plans including Cigna, United Health Care and Healthfirst have covered LCATs as providers of psychotherapy since 2008, but there is no state mandate requiring all commercial carriers to participate, leaving gaps for patients insured under some of New York’s biggest commercial insurance plans.
LCATs provide individual, group, and family psychotherapy in a wide variety of inpatient outpatient settings across New York State, including Office of Mental Health operated programs, Article 31 and 32 clinics, substance abuse treatment outpatient clinics, professional corporations licensed by New York State to provide psychotherapy, non-profits, medical hospitals, psychiatric facilities and others. Job titles held by LCATs include clinical supervisor, director of mental health services, psychotherapist, primary therapist, trauma therapist, director of adult clinical services and others.
“In the inpatient hospital setting, patients’ access to creative arts therapy provides them with a rich and diverse palette to develop coping skills and insight. These patients thrive within the context of creative arts therapy, but once they leave the hospital, their access to the psychotherapy they value and benefit from is greatly diminished. Governor Hochul and legislators - by improving access to creative arts therapy for New Yorkers, you have the power to send a message to the people of our great state that their mental health matters, that they are free to choose the kind of psychotherapy that is most effective for them, and that you are committed to their wellbeing and the prevention of unnecessary suffering.” - Sophie Woods, LCAT, DC-37
These legislative initiatives are critical in light of Governor Hochul and the Office of Mental Health’s recently announced regulation aiming to shorten wait times and eliminate certain hurdles to access for behavioral health services. The new network adequacy regulations will standardize wait times with a requirement that an appointment be provided within 10 business days of the request and seven days of a hospital discharge. If an appointment can’t be provided, insurers must cover an out-of-network provider.
“I have seen the power of creative arts therapy in working on an inpatient psychiatric unit in the Bronx. Upon discharge patients often share that creative arts therapy was the most effective part of their stay – but there is no way for them to access that care in the community, as we serve mostly Medicaid patients who live below the poverty line. Legislators & Governor Hochul have an important opportunity to improve mental health care access & reduce the revolving door of patients cycling in and out of inpatient care.” – Monica Lopez Gamboa, LCAT, 1199SEIU member
"The mental health care crisis in New York State continues and therapy waitlists are still too long. Licensed creative arts therapists - the 2nd largest group of mental health practitioners in NY - provide valuable, culturally-attuned, accessible psychotherapy services- especially for children and teenagers, trauma survivors, non-verbal clients and those for whom English is a second language. New Yorkers deserve improved access to affordable mental healthcare for children and families covered by Medicaid or commercial health insurance." - Maya Benattar, LCAT, LCAT Advocacy Coalition founder, Clinical Coordinator & UUP Member, State University of New York at New Paltz
“During a crisis in the workforce, it is so important that we expand the options for individuals to receive quality support. We strongly endorse the proposal to expand access to treatment by adding creative arts therapists to the approved Medicaid provider list. LCATs are skilled and well prepared to support our families and young persons.”- William Gettman - CEO, Northern Rivers Family of Services
“Art therapy is able to help my children express themselves. Sometimes young children don’t have the words that they need to be able to express themselves and the feelings they have and the things they experience. Art therapy gives my children the ability to color, draw, and also use selective words to help describe how they are feeling so me as a parent and other adults can help utilize that. And also express ourselves more passionately, more thoroughly and getting a better response for each other. Sometimes we are going through tough things in our life. Sometimes you need an art therapist to encourage you to grab paper and a crayon. You never know what you’re going to find with some paint and paper.” – Earl, parent of young children receiving art therapy due to local gun violence, Albany, NY
“I'm often surprised by what comes out of my therapy sessions because it's always more meaningful (and actually useful!) than I would ever expect. Art therapy has allowed me to work deeply through complex emotions and issues that I had previously struggled to even access with just talking. It's a physical, real life experience that has been transformational for me.”- Eliza Frye, Creative Arts Therapy client, NYC
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