Is Art Therapy Covered By Insurance?

The short answer: it depends on the insurance and where you are located in the US!

If you want art therapy to be covered by insurance in Virginia, find a provider who has both a certification (ATR-P, ATR, ATR-BC) and a professional license (LPC, LCSW, LMFT, LCP). Any combination will do.

To further break it down:

To become an in-network provider with insurance, a mental health provider must have a professional license issued by the state. Each state will have varying titles for licensed mental health providers such as:

• licensed mental health counselor (LMHC)

• licensed professional counselor (LPC)

• licensed professional clinical counselor (LPCC)

• licensed clinical social worker (LCSW)

• licensed substance abuse treatment practitioner (LSATP)

• licensed marriage and family therapist (LMFT)

Certifications are not the same thing as a professional license. When I applied to be in network with a few different insurance companies, the application wanted to know if I was board certified in the medical sense; however, I noticed there was no space or opportunity to indicate my specialized certification as a board certified art therapist (ATR-BC). In fact there was no space to indicate other kinds of specialized certifications such as:

• certified substance abuse counselor (CSAC)

• national certified counselor (NCC)

• board certified music therapist (MT-BC)

Certification is not the only way to indicate you are a trained art therapist in the United States. Just as each state has varying professional licenses for mental health providers, each state also may have a professional license for art therapy. These professional licenses look like:

• licensed art therapist (LAT, Virginia)

• creative arts therapist license (LCAT, New York)

• licensed professional art therapist (LPAT, DC)

• professional clinical art therapy license (LPCAT, Maryland)

Some insurances in New York, DC, and Maryland may reimburse for art therapy services, while other insurances still may not recognize or have specific service codes for art therapy regardless if the state has a professional license for art therapy or not.

In one example, Aetna will reimburse for art therapy services under the LCAT license in New York. In another example, TRICARE will cover art therapy in approved residential, acute inpatient, and partial hospitalization settings, but will not cover art therapy in the outpatient setting (private practice).

Virginia has a professional license for art therapy. However, legislation was passed during COVID, so there has been a loss of momentum in terms of applying for and receiving the LAT. As of this blog post, no art therapists in Virginia have the Virginia-specific professional art therapist license.

As a result, insurance in the commonwealth of Virginia will not pay for art therapy… per se. Art therapy can still be covered for my clients as long as I bill under my LPC.

So, for the most part, now you know whether art therapy is covered by insurance! Hope this information help clears things up. Understanding private/commercial insurance can be unnecessarily complicated from both consumer and provider perspective.

If you have insight into whether art therapy will be covered by insurance in your state, contact us and let me know!

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