Naming who performs care: Occupational segregation in the creative arts therapies

Abstract

The creative arts therapies, similar to other helping and mental health professions, are occupationally segregated with white women predominating the fields thus shaping notions of who can provide care and who is deserving of care. However, while membership data and observational accounts support the existence of occupational segregation, there is a lack of systematic understanding of the extent to which it exists in the creative arts therapies. Furthermore, there is a lack of understanding of how this is experienced in work life. A secondary analysis of data from a qualitative pilot study with three (n=3) creative arts therapy faculty of color who identify as women was conducted to analyze, from their responses about their experiences of changes in higher education, how the four aspects of managerialism – productivity, accountability, efficiency, and standardization – were experienced. Results focus on the standardization aspect, categorized as three themes: 1. Challenge and critique of standardization by centering diversity, 2. See remote learning as a possibility to remove negative gatekeeping strategies, and 3. Identify the inequities within measurement requirements of faculty and courses. This article concludes with a call for action to obtain data on who practices and teaches in the creative arts therapies, with particular attention to gender expansive and women identified persons of color. By looking to those creative arts therapists who are most ignored and at risk to the adverse effects of racism, sexism, and managerialism, new solutions can be imagined to create systems that are beneficial to all.