Springfield College Professor Earns Outstanding Creative Applied Practice Award

SPRINGFIELD — Dr. Simone Alter-Muri, Springfield College’s director and professor for Art Therapy/Counseling and Art Education Programs, recently received the American Art Therapy Assoc. (AATA) 2021 Outstanding Creative Applied Practice Award (OCAPA). Alter-Muri received her honor during the AATA’s recent 2021 virtual awards ceremony.

“I am honored to be the first recipient of the Outstanding Applied Creative Practice Award by the American Art Therapy Association,” Alter-Muri said. “This award was founded in memory of Dr. Lani Gerrity, an amazing art therapist. Receiving the award would not be possible without the support and inspiration from my colleagues and students. This award talks to the language we all know, the language of our hearts. I hope to serve as a mentor for students in the applied creative practice of art therapy.”

The criteria for this award included personal art making that emphasized social justice, resilience, and the promotion of art therapy in the community. Alter-Muri’s art making has demonstrated a commitment to creative practice and has significantly influenced the art-therapy community with these art-based practices. She has demonstrated support for the value of art in art therapy as evidenced by both personal and professional practice as an artist and art therapist.

The OCAPA is designated for an active member of the AATA whose contributions as an artist and art therapist (or student in a current art-therapy program) have significantly influenced the art-therapy profession.

The AATA is dedicated to the growth and development of the art-therapy profession. Founded in 1969, the association is one of the world’s leading art-therapy membership organizations. Its mission is to advance art therapy as a regulated mental-health profession and build a community that supports art therapists throughout their careers.