About

Thomas Tucker, MSW, PhD, LICSW

My Approach

My approach is to provide a space where exploring difficult and vulnerable issues is safe and confidential, and where you can feel heard and understood by a compassionate listener. By working together collaboratively, we gain insights into sources of difficulty and find ways to resolve them. A primary focus is identifying and building on your inner strengths. Evidence-based methods are incorporated as appropriate to help you become happier, healthier, and more in control of your life.

Experience

I am an experienced Clinical Social Worker in private practice providing individual psychotherapy for adults at Oak Arbor Therapy in Minneapolis, MN. I completed my Master’s degree in Social Work in 2013 at the University of Minnesota – Twin Cities with a concentration in Adult Clinical Mental Health. After graduation, I served as a therapist for six years at a non-profit community mental health agency in Golden Valley, MN, where I developed expertise in trauma therapy. I gained more experience in treating trauma at a psychiatric hospital in Ontario, working in a specialized Post Traumatic Stress Unit. Subsequently, I began my own private practice clinic. In summer 2022, I moved with my family to Minneapolis, where I recently opened my new clinic, Oak Arbor Therapy.

Prior to becoming a social worker, I studied Neuroscience at the University of Wisconsin-Madison (PhD, 1996). I continued to explore my interest in the brain through Research Fellowships in the Neurobiology Department at Duke University Medical Center in Durham, North Carolina. I served as a faculty member at three colleges and universities, where I enjoyed teaching psychology and neuroscience and creating advanced courses on the nature of cognition, emotion, and perception. My experience in neuroscience has informed my work as a therapist, as I am able to help clients recognize and understand connections between the mind, brain, and body by integrating neuroscience education with psychotherapy.

In the past, I have worked as a volunteer for social services agencies. As a hospice volunteer, I provided support to patients during their final days of life, and also to their grieving loved ones. At a homeless shelter, I provided support to people struggling to overcome hardships.

My areas of expertise include Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy (CBT), Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy (MBCT), Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT), Cognitive Processing Therapy (CPT), Eye-movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR), and Sensorimotor Psychotherapy (SP). I am committed to continuing to improve my therapeutic skills through ongoing training, study, and consultation with other practicing clinicians and experts in the field. To read more about my experience, click on the following links: CBT, DBT, EMDR, CPT. Click here to learn more about my therapeutic perspective.

Registration and Licensing

⚬     Minnesota Board of Social Work (MN BOSW)
       Licensed Independent Clinical Social Worker (LICSW #22465)
       (Minnesota BOSW License Lookup)

⚬     Connecticut Department of Public Health (CT DPH)
       Licensed Clinical Social Worker (LCSW #12827)
       (Connecticut DPH License Lookup)

⚬     Prince Edward Island Social Work Registration Board (PEISWRB)
       Registered Social Worker (RSW #723)
       (PEISWRB Social Work Registry)

⚬     Nova Scotia College of Social Work (NSCSW)
       Registered Social Worker (RSW #9408)
       (NSCSW Social Work Registry)

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Education

Masters in Social Work (MSW), Clinical Mental Health, 2013
University of Minnesota School of Social Work, St. Paul, MN

PhD, Neuroscience, 1996
University of Wisconsin, Madison, WI

Bachelor of Arts, 1987
Oberlin College, Oberlin, Ohio

Professional Experience