§ 8404. Creative arts therapy. 1. Definition of the practice of creative arts therapy. The practice of the profession of creative arts therapy is defined as:

(a) the assessment, evaluation, and the therapeutic intervention and treatment, which may be either primary, parallel or adjunctive, of mental, emotional, developmental and behavioral disorders through the use of the arts as approved by the department; and

(b) the use of assessment instruments and mental health counseling and psychotherapy to identify, evaluate and treat dysfunctions and disorders for purposes of providing appropriate creative arts therapy services.

2. Practice of creative arts therapy and use of the titles "creative arts therapist" and "licensed creative arts therapist". Only a person licensed or exempt under this article shall practice creative arts therapy or use the title "creative arts therapist". Only a person licensed under this article shall use the title "licensed creative arts therapist" or any other designation tending to imply that the person is licensed to practice creative arts therapy.

3. Requirements for a professional license. To qualify for a license as a "licensed creative arts therapist", an applicant shall fulfill the following requirements:

(a) Application: File an application with the department;

(b) Education: Have received an education, including a master's or higher degree in creative arts therapy from a program registered by the department or determined by the department to be the substantial equivalent thereof, in accordance with the commissioner's regulations. The graduate coursework shall include, but not be limited to, the following areas:

(i) human growth and development;

(ii) theories in therapy;

(iii) group dynamics;

(iv) assessment and appraisal of individuals and groups;

(v) research and program evaluation;

(vi) professional orientation and ethics;

(vii) foundations of creative arts therapy and psychopathology; and

(viii) clinical instruction;

(c) Experience: Have completed at least fifteen hundred hours of postmaster's supervised experience in one or more creative arts therapies satisfactory to the department and in accordance with the commissioner's regulations. Satisfactory experience obtained in an entity operating under a waiver issued by the department pursuant to section sixty-five hundred three-a of this title may be accepted by the department, notwithstanding that such experience may have been obtained prior to the effective date of such section sixty-five hundred three-a and/or prior to the entity having obtained a waiver. The department may, for good cause shown, accept satisfactory experience that was obtained in a setting that would have been eligible for a waiver but which has not obtained a waiver from the department or experience that was obtained in good faith by the applicant under the belief that appropriate authorization had been obtained for the experience, provided that such experience meets all other requirements for acceptable experience;

(d) Examination: Pass an examination in creative arts therapy satisfactory to the department and in accordance with the commissioner's regulations;

(e) Age: Be at least twenty-one years of age;

(f) Character: Be of good moral character as determined by the department; and

(g) Fees: Pay a fee of one hundred seventy-five dollars for an initial license and a fee of one hundred seventy dollars for each triennial registration period.