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 She started out creating music and watching her families lineage of artists create realistic images that were intimidating. She loved art, but knew nothing growing up of abstract, expressionistic, or process art, except that when she sat down at the piano, she loved just playing random arpeggiated melodies intuitively. It was her survival guide, creating music and later in life she would end up taking her teaching degree and teaching art in the classroom. She spent over 20 years doing that and exploring both fine art education and expressive, interdisciplinary art creating her paradigms that had not been created yet and falling in love with expressive arts therapy and the transpersonal creative expression process. 50 years after first singing to Diana Ross in her bedroom to her doll collection, she continues to create luscious vocals inspired by the stylings of Lisa Gerrard, Enya and Lorreana McKennett along with utilizing electronics, samples (and creating her own), and acoustic instruments such as the Sruiti box, harmonium, electric slide guitar, various percussions and world instruments such as an Eru.  Her habit is to purposefully play the instruments in a way that is not traditional often bowing Tibetan bowls or using kitchen utensils to make random sounds in her experimental work.   Of note, she sang with UMKC's Jazz Choir Connect Too!, the Park Avenue UMC church's gospel choice (Prince's church in Minneapolis) where she met and was directed by the Steele Family Singers and producers JD and Frank Steele, whose voices and music are an essential part of the Minnesota sound.   It was in pursuing her MFA that she evolved into working with acapella voice and multiple layers of reverberation to create haunting yet beautiful vocal harmonies and  later would release her inaugural album, Believe after the tragic death of her brother and loss soon after, of her beloved aunt.   The title track from Believe was chosen for several different honors including to be the theme song for different nonprofit organizations fundraising and missions.   

Between 2009 and 2014 Jessica would release 23 digital and 8 print albums on various labels and through her own label Divine Alchemy and Magnetic 5280.  Other labels she has released from are Rain, Endless Ascent and Free Floating.   She is noted for being in the top 30 for various flavors of ambient and drone musical styles on SomaFM.  Select songs from her album Voices of My Ancestors, detailing the ancestral trek of her family lineage were licensed for the film short, The Cabin.  

In the interim, Jessica engulfed herself in art focusing on contemplative photography, mixed media painting, sculpting and within the last couple of years fibers.  She was a public school art teacher for 22 years before moving fulltime into mental healthcare.   Her art and music making have always come from a stream of consciousness, flow state.  During the pandemic, Jessica noticed figures showing up in her work that were unconscious and that carried messages.  Within these images, both abstract, minimal and somewhat realistic, and through spiritual evolution working with psychic mentors, Native elders and Shaman she came into the understanding of her gifts and her work as message.  

She also specializes in Therapeutic, Shamanic, Contemplative and Intuitive Art. She is also an Expressive Art Facilitator, Therapist and Coach and is in study in the native medicine of Curanderismo (Espiritu), White Bison Wellbriety, animism with Dr. Daniel For, Grandmother Flor De Mayo and Erica Beaunaflor.  She is dedicated to the study of the work of Joseph Rael currently and the transcendentalist  components and spiritual practices of artists, noting their therapeutic expression and content.  She is available for commissions, including channeled and spirit guide paintings for individuals. Her complete credentials can be found here. She is an active, avid believer in walking your talk and making providing healing services to the global community with the intention of creating a better world, one person at a time and just being a good human.

"Art as expression and spiritual practice is what I engage in. Since 2000 I have taught art, music, poetry and movement to children and adults through the use of expressive arts education. I have also used it as therapy for process oriented healing of my own traumatic experiences and have worked with individuals for spiritual and personal growth, therapeutic arts coaching, and creative exploration for the past 20 years incorporating mindfulness practices with expressive and therapeutic arts practice.

I am heavily influenced by the work of the Abstract Expressionists, The Transcendentalist Painting Group, contemporary artists, mindful art processes, intuitive art making in a flow state as well as stream of consciousness creation with contemplative and spiritual practice. Being an explorer on a great, vast, exciting adventure through as many materials I could find. I'm still an art supply explorer with everything from high end to found objects in the yard. Though all this my belief that expressing yourself should be accessible to all, experience or not and your art is never "wrong"."

Jessica holds a Phd in Transpersonal Counseling/Psychology, multiple credentials and certifications in mental health, wellness and coaching in addition to her musical and artistic studies.  She is an E-RYT200/500 and is the Executive Director of The Center for Therapeutic Expressive Arts, a 501c3 nonprofit offering homeless warm kits and low cost mental wellness services as well as Sacred Pathways Therapeutic Arts, LLC, her integrated mental wellness practice.

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Jessica 12Crow Waters, PhD, CRADC, MARS, ADDC, RMAT, CCTP, CGCS, CMHIMP,E-RYT200/500, AYT, Therapeutic and Shamanic Expressive Arts Specialist

Dr. Waters, Jessica or Jess has spent her entire life, over 50 years, in study with the arts, psychology, education and healing. She has numerous degrees, specializations, certifications and credentials in grief, trauma, addictions, anxiety, integrated therapies, Curanderismo, wellness and coaching as well a yoga. Her full bio is here.  Clinically, she is a credentialed and registered psychotherapist, substance abuse counseling, expressive arts therapist and Registered Mindful and Meditative Arts Therapist. She has worked in education and human services for over 35 years and in substance recovery both as a peer specialist and substance use counselor for 8. Her Ph.D. is in Psychology and Transpersonal Counseling, with a Doctor of Ministry in Holistic Counseling Ministry and Spiritual Healing. She is an ordained minister and New Thought Practitioner, and Metaphysical Interfaith Reverend. She has also been an elder in the United Church of Christ, and has practiced, celebrated and studied multiple faith traditions and spiritual practices throughout the world. She is a certified clinical trauma professional, a certified mental health integrated medicine provider and possesses a lifetime of clinical, leadership, holistic health and arts certifications, degrees and post graduate certificate awards. She was honored by President George W Bush in 2006 with the President's Volunteer Service Award for work with women and children.

Her training, certifications, and academic work includes:

• NAADAC (National Association of Addiction Professionals) specializations in Recovery to Practice; Women in Recovery, Advanced in Technology to Addiction Treatment; Wellness in Recovery, co-occurring disorders training in FIT from Hazelden Betty Ford and Breining Institute (CCDS), study in the neurobiology of addictions, complimentary medicine for addiction treatment, (MARS) Medication Assisted Recovery, CPS (prevention specialist), court ordered treatment and is a former intensive outpatient court ordered treatment clinician who worked with serious repeat offenders.

• Her clinical certifications are in: clinical anxiety treatment, complicated grief (Columbia NY), grief and advanced grief counseling, trauma informed expressive arts therapy, Youth Mental Health, co-occurring disorders, mood disorders, and she completed Somatic Practitioner Level 3 training with Linda Thai. She was also awarded a full year scholarship studying with Dr. Bessel van der Kolk, Stephen Porges, Linda Thai and Dr. Cathy Malchiodi specifically studying trauma treatment. She's trained with Dr. Bruce Perry, Dr. Robert Rhoton and Dr. Eric Gentry as well as Dr.Janina Fischer ad Dr. Jamie Marich focusing on neurobiology of trauma, expressive arts for addictions and complicated trauma. Jessica has lived experience with multiple traumas including rape and school violence. Her Master's in Applied Psychology from Regis University was awarded post Columbine where she researched the impact of school violence on middle school and elementary school students-post Columbine. She lived and worked in the Littleton area when Columbine occurred and was part of UC Denver prevention research focusing on PreK prevention methods. She is a trained Bullyproofing Our Schools facilitator.

• Her academic certificates and post grad work include: educational leadership (Capella), transpersonal studies in creative expression (ITP/Sofia), transpersonal counseling (ITP), positive psychology (UPenn), Curanderismo (UNM), Healing through The Arts (UCF), Healing with the Arts in Palliative Care (Cal State San Marco's), her MFA in Interdisciplinary Arts (Goddard), certificate of Fine Arts - Mixed Media (KCAI), post grad certificates in Foundations of Trauma Informed Foundation for Organizations: Educational Organizations and Trauma Informed Clinical Foundations and an AA in Music. She began her undergraduate journey in the 80's studying vocal music performance and music therapy at UMKC's Conservatory of Music before obtaining her B.S.ED in Education and minor in Music. During her Transpersonal Creative Expression studies at ITP (Sofia) she began to work with acapella voice and chant and was further inspired by Lisa Gerrard of Dead Can Dance and indigenous singing. She began recording with electronic ambient music and spoken word in 2004 and released her first album in 2009 entitled Believe after the death of her brother from opioid addiction and subsequent death of 4 additional family members in 2 years. She has since released more than 23 albums that stream on all services under the name Magnetic Wind, Wend'eya, Jess12Crows (given to her by the elder after surviving COVID) and Mesawzee (her grandmother's, father's, great, great grandmother's name recorded on the Dawes Rolls).

• She holds holistic and integrative health certifications in: Shamanic and Therapeutic Art Specialist and Coach, Professional Life Coach, Wellness Coach, Mindfulness and Yoga Coach, certified in 3 different institutions sound healing practitioner programs (multi-instrument, voice, bowls, drumming), advanced angelic healing practitioner, Reiki Master in multiple traditions, a HeartMath Clinical Provider in multiple professional certification areas, underwent the year long MMFT (Mindfulness Based Mind Fitness Program), graduated 3 MBSR programs and is a MBSR Practitioner, is a Yoga Alliance E-RYT200/500, and is certified in Accessible Yoga, Y12SR, Yoga Nidra, Restorative, Yin, Chair, Trauma Informed, Children's, Hatha, Vinyasa, Ashtanga, Yoga for All and Aqua. She is trained in Primordial Sound Meditation from the Chopra Institute and is an Ayurveda Specialist. Additionally, she has studied integrated medicine and psychiatry at The Andrew Weil Institute for Integrated Medicine and with Dr. James Greenblatt. Jessica holds her Bach Lower Essences Practitioner Certification, is a certified hand and foot reflexologist and guided imagery certified practitioner. She embraces a Health At Any Size philosophy.

• She is certified in the following treatment modalities: DBT, CBT, MI, MRT, MCBT, ACT, AF-CBT, RO-DBT, the Dalian Method, Mindfulness Based Addiction Treatment, Trauma Informed Expressive Arts Therapy, Mindful & Meditative Art Therapy, Therapeutic Expressive Arts, TF-CBT and numerous others.

• She has studied different spiritual paths from tribal elders in the United States and Canada, with Grandmother Flordemayo one of the 13 Grandmothers, Erika Beaunaflor, Sandra Ingerman, energy work with Cyndi Dale, Christian Mystics with Fr Richard Rohr and his teaching faculty at the Center for Action and Contemplation in New Mexico, Temple School in the Community of Christ tradition, spent a brief time at Phillips Seminary studying progressive Christianity prior to turning her studies to CAC. She has also studied Sufism, Buddhism, Hinduism and the Quaker perspective, engaged in learning at Centers for Spiritual Living in Golden, Colorado and with Unity Village in Lee's Summit, MO, studied Matthew Fox's Creation Spirituality and is on a continuous journey with the mystics channeling, spirits and spirit messages to deliver from the other side. She has been a Bhakti yoga (the yoga of devotion) practitioner for more than 20 years and maintains a "spiritual but not religious", interfaith perspective with a philosophy that all paths lead to the God energy of the Divine Creator.... called energy.

Jessica has recently completed her Deathwalker, End of Life and Mourning Doula Certification so she can work more effectively with individuals and families experienceing the palliative care process as well as processing, creating ceremony and utilizing expressive arts for the grieving and end of life process.

Jessica is the Founder and Executive Director of the Center for Therapeutic Expressive Arts, an active artist and composer and integrative psychotherapist and coach and the owner of Sacred Pathways Therapeutic Arts, LLC.

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