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Support that honours your whole humanity

Aishu, a brown skinned woman is smiling at the camera. She has shoulder length black hair and is wearing black glasses and a silver nose ring. She is also wearing red lipstick and a blue shirt.

I’m Aishu Madduri-Yorston (she/her), a UK registered Art Therapist and community co-creator. My practice is actively anti-supremacist and decolonial.

My passion for Art Therapy stems from my own experiences with art making and personal well-being. For me, creating and expressing through art making is a form of deep self care. I find great satisfaction in being an empathetic partner for young adults, offering supportive perspectives and guidance in their healing. I am trauma informed and committed to creating kind, safe/brave, non judgemental and anti-oppressive environments which encourage openness and foster trust with clients.

“Supremacism is the belief that a certain group of people is superior to all others. All our current systems of governance, education and care are based on this model (yes, ALL of them).

What we know so far about Art Therapy is that it originated in the 1940s and 1950s in the West and Global North – mainly America and England. Both these countries have a long history of colonialism and perpetuating supremacism – this would have definitely informed the way Art Therapy was formed.

Anti-Supremacist Art Therapy critically examines the theory and practice and ensures it is culturally relevant for the client, therapist and their relationship. It also involves dismantling and reconstructing practices to make certain that they are devoid of any kind of supremacism, colonialism or oppression.“

Hello! Got some new faces here, so I thought I would introduce myself and tell you all a bit about how I work. There are multiple things I am passionate about in my work. I love supporting humans, nurturing relationships and using every person's unique creative process to do so! Doing all this with the use of art and the creative process is such an incredible pleasure. 🌊🌊 Deep Waters: 🌊 🌊 🌊 Shallow waters 🌊 💫BEGINNING IN AUGUST 2022!💫 We all require different kinds of support and care depending on where we are in life, our experiences, capacities and needs. I offer a range of therapeutic support that aims to honour your whole humanity. Art Therapy courses in the UK mostly have Euro-centric and White resources, lecturers and information. Furthermore, most of the therapists recommended for personal therapy to students are also Euro-centric and White. There are VERY few White therapists who are able to truly support non-white clients. Most White therapists are NOT doing active anti-racist work - this is why they are not able to support intentionally exploited clients (term created by @yoloakili ) in a truly deep way. It is not news that systemic racism impacts our well being immensely. Racism is a system where White or White passing people are believed to be superior to all other races. This is not based on ANY scientific logic, but arbitrary and dehumanising beliefs. These beliefs are so strong that they have become systemic and shape systems of governance, care, education, immigration, incarceration etc etc etc…. It is that PERVASIVE. This one is incredibly close to my heart and one that I am most passionate about. Our inner children deserve to be held, listened to, heal and play. For most of us, our inner children are the ones running our adult lives because that was the blueprint we received when we were younger. A lot of us were expected to manage our adult parents’ and caregivers’ emotional states and be responsible for them, instead of the other way around. This was my main focus during my training and practice and I see HOW MUCH it impacts every aspect of our adult lives. I have also been exploring this in my personal life for almost a decade and I have gained such valuable insights from my experiences. Capitalism has existed since the 16th century - that’s approximately 500 years ago! It originated mainly in countries in North Western Europe. These countries then went on to colonise other countries in search of new markets, commit genocides, enslaved people and engaged in constant war …. This continues in varying degrees even TODAY.

Contact me

Email me at arttherapywithaishu@gmail.com or send me a message using the contact form below!