EFAT - European Federation of Art Therapy

What EFAT - European Federation of Art Therapy does

EFAT - European Federation of Art Therapy is a Belgium-registered International Non-Profit Association (AiSBL / IVZW) founded in 2018, headquartered in Brussels at the Maison des Associations Internationales. It operates as the pan-European umbrella federation uniting qualified visual art therapists and national professional art therapy associations across Europe under a single governance, ethical, and professional-development framework. EFAT was constituted through a notarial deed signed on 12 April 2018 by art therapists from 27 European countries and formally registered via a Belgian royal decree on 15 July 2018 (KBO BE 0700958028), evolving from the earlier informal Network of European Art Therapists (NEAT, 2011).

The federation's product surface is community- and content-led rather than technology-led. Core deliverables include tiered membership services (Individual, Pioneer, Organisational, Student, Affiliate), the bimonthly newsletter and DeVisu magazine, the annual Day of Art Therapy in Europe (D.A.T.E.) on 24 September, biennial international conferences (online 2021, Riga 2023, London 2025, Lake Ohrid/North Macedonia 2027), free webinars and masterclasses, and eight Special Interest Groups (Art Therapy Directives, Museum Art Therapy, Art Therapy & Giftedness, Online Art Therapy, Early Years, Photo Art Therapy, Eco Art Therapy, Social Art Therapy). Governance artefacts include the Code of Ethics, Ethics Reference Guide, and Rules of Internal Order. Operations are entirely volunteer-run: the board (President Maria d'Elia, Vice-President Dominik Havsteen-Franklin, General Secretary Katerina Mavromichali, Treasurer Giuseppina Urso) and six committees (Application Review, Ethics, Communications, Professional Development, Conference, Research) execute all activity without paid staff.

EFAT's business model is a subscription membership model with event-based transaction fees layered on top. Membership pricing is tiered by country income classification (Tier 1 €7 Individual / €50 Organisational; Tier 2 €14 / €100; Tier 3 €28 / €200), with Pioneer, Student, and Affiliate variants. Conference fees generate secondary transaction revenue. Geographic reach spans 17+ countries with Full Organisational Members (Belgium, Germany, Lithuania, Slovenia, Bulgaria, Ireland, Luxembourg, Spain, Croatia, Malta, Czech Republic, Latvia, Norway, Sweden, Estonia, Romania, United Kingdom), with additional national associations in the approval pipeline. The only disclosed commercial alliance is a minor partnership with Expressive Media offering a 20% Film Library discount to members.

Name

EFAT - European Federation of Art Therapy

Legal name

EFAT IVZW (European Federation of Art Therapy - Association Internationale Sans But Lucratif)

Website

https://arttherapyfederation.eu

Company type

Private

Founded year

2018

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

EFAT is a Belgium-registered non-profit federation uniting visual art therapists and national art therapy associations across 17+ European countries, providing tiered membership, ethical standards, biennial conferences, and Special Interest Groups under a volunteer-run governance structure.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

Brussels

HQ country

Belgium

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B and B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Operations, Marketing or Sales, Personnel, Technology or R&D, Others

Revenue model

1. Membership Fees: EFAT generates revenue primarily through annual membership fees from individual members, student members, organizational members, pioneer members, and affiliate members. Fee structure varies by country tier.
2. Conference Fees: Reduced fees for EFAT's bi-annual conference for members who joined the year before the conference. Commercial/non-commercial event advertising in EFAT's magazine 'De Visu'.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels8 records

Core offering

EFAT is a non-profit professional federation that represents visual art therapists and national art therapy associations across Europe. It sells recurring membership subscriptions (Individual, Student, Pioneer, Organisational, Affiliate) and hosts paid bi-annual conferences, webinars, masterclasses, and the annual Day of Art Therapy in Europe (D.A.T.E.), while providing members with publications (DeVisu magazine, bimonthly newsletter), ethics guidance, and research collaboration infrastructure.

Product overview

EFAT - European Federation of Art Therapy is a professional umbrella organization (not a technology product) that unites art therapists and professional art therapy associations across Europe. The organization offers a portfolio of membership services including publications (DeVisu magazine, bimonthly newsletter), events (biennial conferences, annual D.A.T.E.), professional development (webinars, Ethics Club, masterclasses), research resources, and governance documents (Code of Ethics, Ethics Reference Guide). EFAT connects art therapists through Special Interest Groups and Committees rather than through a software platform.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• EFAT Newsletter: EFAT's bimonthly newsletter
• DeVisu
• D.A.T.E.

Products and services

• EFAT Individual Membership Annual paid membership subscription for qualified visual art therapists who have completed formal art therapy training, providing access to EFAT publications, ethics support, CPD, networking, and reduced conference fees. Tiered by country income level (Tier 1: €7/year up to Tier 3: €28/year).
• EFAT Organisational Membership Annual paid membership for national art therapy professional associations (legally registered for at least one year with published statutes), priced per member (€1–€4 per member) with minimum and maximum bands by country tier.
• EFAT Student Membership Annual paid membership for students enrolled in formal art therapy training programs, priced at €7–€28 per year depending on country tier, ending at calendar year end when training completes.
• EFAT Pioneer and Affiliate Memberships Annual paid memberships for Pioneer members (€14–€56/year) and Affiliate members (Individual €7–€28; Organisation €50–€200) for those interested in supporting EFAT's causes or not yet meeting full membership requirements.
• EFAT Bi-annual Conference Recurring paid international art therapy conference held in different European host cities every two years, featuring presentations, workshops, and networking for art therapy professionals (reduced fees for members).
• Day of Art Therapy in Europe (D.A.T.E.) Annual pan-European event held on September 24th celebrating art therapy, with free promotional materials provided by EFAT to members for local participation.
• EFAT Webinars and Masterclasses Live and recorded webinars and masterclasses offered free to members, providing professional development content from experienced art therapists. Commercial and non-commercial event advertising is accepted in the DeVisu magazine.
• Expressive Media Film Library Discount Member benefit offering 20% off Expressive Media's Film Library of arts therapies educational documentaries.

Named customers3 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

One partnership is on record.

• Expressive MediaminorGTM or Marketing Partner · 24 September 2022EFAT has a partnership with Expressive Media providing 20% discount off their Film Library (specialized in arts therapies educational documentaries) for EFAT members.

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves8 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Broad incumbents

• World Federation of Music Therapy (WFMT): WFMT is a global umbrella organization for music therapy associations and professionals worldwide. It is comparable to EFAT as a federated professional body for a creative therapy discipline, but operates at a broader global rather than European scope.
• European Federation of Psychologists' Associations (EFPA): EFPA is a large pan-European federation of national psychology associations, with ethics standards, conferences, and EU advocacy. It is broadly comparable to EFAT in governance and federated structure but operates at much greater scale and resources.
• European Association for Psychotherapy (EAP): EAP is a pan-European umbrella organisation for psychotherapy associations, providing accreditation, ethical standards, and conferences. It is broadly comparable to EFAT as a federated European professional body setting standards for a therapeutic discipline.

Emerging players

• International Expressive Arts Therapy Association (IEATA): IEATA is an international professional organization for expressive arts therapists spanning multiple modalities (art, music, movement, poetry). It overlaps with EFAT on visual art therapy membership while broadening to adjacent modalities, representing an emerging cross-modality alternative.

Regional players

• Australian, New Zealand and Asian Creative Arts Therapies Association (ANZACATA): ANZACATA is a regional professional association for creative arts therapists across Australia, New Zealand, and Asia. It mirrors EFAT's federated, multi-country membership model for art and creative arts therapy professionals but serves a different geography.

Direct peers

• American Art Therapy Association (AATA): AATA is the largest national professional membership association for art therapists in the United States, offering credentialing, ethics standards, publications, and an annual conference. It is directly comparable to EFAT in mandate (visual art therapy professionals), governance structure (membership association), and core services (Code of Ethics, conferences, publications).
• British Association of Art Therapists (BAAT): BAAT is the UK national professional association for art therapists, providing membership, an ethics framework, conferences, and a register. It is one of EFAT's Full Organisational Members and the closest national counterpart in Europe, sharing the same professional standards, conference, and advocacy model.
• European Music Therapy Confederation (EMTC): EMTC is a pan-European federation uniting national music therapy associations and individuals across Europe, with a comparable governance model (member associations, conferences, ethical guidelines). It is structurally analogous to EFAT but serves an adjacent creative therapy discipline.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/EFAT_europe
• Facebookfacebook.com/EFATeurope
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/efat

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles11 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about EFAT - European Federation of Art Therapy