Individual- Collective- and Global Healing through Arts and Wellness
Kindred is a small business that recognizes and responds to the global need for healing. We acknowledge and honor this call by providing accessible arts and wellness resources to communities in Chicago. Our mission is centered on individual and collective healing, and we believe that through the integration of the arts, community, and intention, we can create a space for liberation and healing. Our team is united by a shared love and passion for the arts, behavioral and mental wellness, emotional intelligence, and healing practices. We aim to support the global call for healing by providing transformative and radical community healing along with mental health and wellness support through the arts.
Kindred offers a variety of healing and wellness resources, including:
Kindred Liberatory Arts Open Studio Pop-Ups, where individuals can explore and create art in a supportive environment.
The Kindred Social Emotional Arts and Radical Community Healing (SEARCH) youth Art Studio Program in partnership with The Praxis Institute, which provides art-based healing and wellness support for young people.
Kindred Collective Healing sessions, which incorporate natural mandala art using flowers and other natural materials.
Kindred Healing Spirits, a mental health and wellness program offered in collaboration with F.L.Y Radical Therapy.
Kindred Coaching, Support Groups, and Skill Shares, which include affinity and integration support groups, trainings, workshops, and circles.
(Kind)red: Intentional Sports and Wellness Coaching, which offers coaching and support for individuals looking to incorporate sports and wellness into their lives in an intentional and meaningful way.
Kindred Team:
Jessica Juarez is a licensed professional counselor, visual artist, and the founder of Kindred, LLC and co-founder of The Praxis Institute. With over 20 years of experience in working with youth, schools, and communities, Jessica has dedicated her career to fostering connection, learning and supporting the community in their journey towards healing and overall well-being.
She holds an M.A. in Clinical Mental Health Counseling from Adler University and an M.Ed. in Educational Psychology- Youth Development from UIC. Additionally, she is certified in Community Justice for Youth and Balanced and Restorative Justice peace circles and holds a Mediation Skills Certificate from the Center for Conflict Resolution.
Jessica draws from a variety of modalities in her approach to counseling, including holistic practices, arts, identity and culture, social-emotional learning, transformative rituals, and liberation psychology. She believes in the power of multicultural collaborations and is dedicated to providing culturally responsive support, honoring and celebrating multiple identities, cultural values, and beliefs through the integration of arts and healing.
As an artist, Jessica graduated from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago with a BFA and believes that the process of creating art is just as important as the final product. She also believes that art can be a catalyst for healing, both for the individual and for the collective.
Fausto Lopez is a multifaceted individual who has dedicated his life to the world of youth development and culture in Chicago and beyond. As the co-founder of The Praxis Institute and a partner with Kindred, LLC, López brings a unique combination of skills and talents to his work. He is a DJ, visual artist, expert trainer, creative youth development specialist, soccer player and soccer coach.
As an artist and creative, López brings his skills to everything he does. He works in public spaces and his art is visible to the general public, rather than being confined to galleries. He is also a graphic designer, and his street art, graffiti, music, and graphic design can be a form of self-expression and can also be used to convey political or social messages.
López holds a Master’s degree in Education Psychology-Youth and Community Development from UIC. With his passion for art, music, soccer, and youth development, López is committed to making a difference in the lives of young people and communities. He's committed to individual and collective healing by creating liberatory spaces where people can tell their own stories and express themselves through art, music, and other forms of self-expression. He is dedicated to empowering young people to reach their full potential and create positive change in their communities.
Kindred Healing Spirits: Artists/Therapists in Residence
Monimia "Mimi" Macbeth, LCPC, R-DMT
Monimia "Mimi" Macbeth is a Licensed Clinical Professional Counselor and Dance/Movement Therapist in Chicago. Mimi is a lifelong learner of African dance and African diasporic dance styles, with a variety of training in traditional dance technique and performing arts. She believes that illuminating the body/mind connection is essential to healing. Mimi blends her love for the arts, culture, and mental wellness to provide empowering and healing movement experiences.
Dorian A. Ortega, LCPC
Dorian A. Ortega is a licensed clinical professional counselor and founder of F.L.Y. Radical Therapy, LLC. First Love Yourself (F.L.Y.) Dorian is the co-founder of Healing Jodonxs a poetry healing circle created as a processing space. These free peotry healing circles and other events seek to use art as a culturally relevant, accessible, inclusive tool of expression, education, resistance and community healing.
Crystle Dino, Chi-Pinayist, Tender Warrior, Folk Art Therapist
Crystle Dino, a Pinay Chicago native, is guided by her passions in the visual, performance, and healing arts, rooted in her community and cultural upbringing.
She embodies her freedom by training in Filipino Martial Arts and dance, and uses Chicago House culture concepts of freedom, love and empowerment, as well as Babaylan consciousness as both the foundation and impetus for her cultural and movement work and their folk-art therapist identity.