Meet & Greet Your Peers: February Art Therapist Spotlight!

Getting to know CASSIE HAMRICK, our art therapist in the spotlight for February 2017!

When and where did you receive your degree?
I received my MA in Art Therapy from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago in 2016.

What drew you to the field?
I became interested in socially engaged art in my early twenties. After several years of exploring and building a community based arts practice, I began seeking ways of furthering accountability and implementing ethical measures for inclusion and collaboration within community art endeavors. I saw that art therapy provided frameworks that could help guide ventures in social justice art praxis. I have not turned back since, and am so grateful to friends, colleagues, and family members who have supported me along the way.

What kind of work are you doing currently? (location, type of client, etc)
What a great question! It just so happens that I am opening a private practice in Durham, NC next month. I will be based at Radical Healing, “an intentional, radically inclusive, LGBTQ+, multiracial and multicultural home for healing and wellness” (check us out at www.radicalhealing.us). I will be accepting child, teen, and adult clients, with a focus on assisting folks with anxiety, life transitions, past or present trauma, gender and/or sexuality exploration, self-esteem, grief, and other needs. More information will be available on my website: www.cassiehamrickarttherapy.com

Are you creating your own art? Favorite media? Inspiration?
Always!!  I maintain a professional art practice alongside my practice in art therapy. I keep my art career separate from my art therapy praxis, but each constantly informs the other. I have enjoyed working with altered books, mixed media collage, textiles, photography, and experimental film and performance.

What do you like to do in your free time?
I love being outside, preferably near water, spending time with family, friends, and pets!

What are your hopes for art therapy in North Carolina?
I would love to see multiple graduate art therapy programs emerge within North Carolina. I also personally look forward to getting to know more art therapists in our state!

Connect with Cassie at www.cassiehamrickarttherapy.com