YASMIN TUCKER
Artist Statement
As a painter and art therapist, my dual professional identities were cultivated over many years of lived, educational and professional experiences. I have identified as an artist since I was in grade school when I was given crayons and a coloring book. I knew this was a whole world that was mine to invent. I paint because the act of brushing across a canvas is healing and revealing. Painting illuminates my blind spots and allows for an internal reset that otherwise is challenging to do. As an art therapist my hope is that at least most of my clients experience this phenomenon while in treatment and that their art making opens and creates internal doors they did not know existed.
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ABOUT THE ARTIST
Yasmin is a registered art therapist, licensed independent mental health practitioner, licensed professional counselor and provisionally licensed alcohol and drug counselor in the state of Nebraska. Yasmin is a child, teen and adult therapist who specializes in art therapy, EMDR, CPP, DBT, TF-CBT, trauma-informed and multiculturally sensitive care. Yasmin has worked with individual children, adults, persons in recovery from substances, those with severe and persistent mental illnesses, parent-child dyads, families and couples. Yasmin has over 15 years of experience in social services and 5 years as a practicing therapist.
Yasmin earned her Master of Science in Art Therapy Counseling from Mount Mary University in 2015. She practices as one of 21 art therapists in Nebraska. Yasmin is the Owner of Creative Counseling and Studio, LLC and an active member of the Nebraska Art Therapy Licensure Coalition advocating for art therapy licensure in Nebraska. Yasmin is also a former undergraduate art therapy professor at Concordia University in Seward, NE. She is a classically trained painter and specializes in art making as a tool for self-expression, innovation, renewal and growth.
- What drew you to the field of art therapy?
- What drives your current work?
- Where do you see the field going?
I was drawn to the field of art therapy during my freshman year of high school. I was participating in a TRiO college prep program that included a summer on campus component for first generation and low-income students. I began experimenting in engaging in art with peers as we fellowshipped and hung out with one another. A program counselor mentioned art therapy and the rest has been history. I have been naturally creative and inquisitive since I was a young child. Art is my first language as much as English or Ebonics is. Creating will always be a part of me.
My current work as an art therapist is driven to provide meaningful, trauma informed culturally sensitive care for my outpatient clients. At present, I treat 90% African American children, teens, adults, couples and families in the Omaha, Nebraska area. At present, I am the only registered art therapist of Color in the state of Nebraska. It is my mission within my private practice to facilitate a safe space for clients whom benefit from having a provider that looks like them, speaks their same language and can witness their recovery process from a lens of equity and justice. My personal art making is driven by my need to decompress, share creativity with my children and have fun once in a while.
I see the field of art therapy going online! The COVID-19 global pandemic has allowed us to flex our creative muscles in finding ways to stay connected and productive while keeping one another safe at home. The mobile app I created ArtXMeets makes it easy for creative therapists to connect with other providers, create online courses and content so that they can collaborate with industry experts and expose their brand to the world in an affordable way! Innovation such as ArtXMeets provides students, professionals and the general community their own platform for learning about our field. There will always be a place for traditional learning in brick and mortar institutions but finding alternative ways to connect and illuminate the often-elitist ivory tower route can and will usher our profession into modern times; from and with diverse voices. I am excited to see it happen.