Meet the Founder

Khiarah Craig, MSW, LISW

I’m Khiarah Craig, LISW, a mental health advocate, community builder, and founder of The Stand — a healing-centered consulting firm rooted in radical love, collective transformation, and the belief that stronger communities begin with meaningful connection.

I was born and raised in Cincinnati, earned my undergraduate degree in Sociology from Bellarmine University, and received my Master’s in Social Work, Social Policy, and Social Administration from the University of Chicago’s Crown Family School of Social Work, Policy, and Practice, where I focused on trauma-informed clinical care and systems-level change. My academic background gave me tools — but my lived experience gave me vision.

I built The Stand because I know what it feels like to need healing spaces that don’t feel clinical, cold, or out of reach. I’ve seen too many people feel disconnected from traditional approaches to mental health support, and I believe healing should feel accessible, culturally responsive, and rooted in the realities of people’s lives.

Through The Stand, I create spaces where people feel seen, supported, and connected. Whether through therapy, community events, organizational partnerships, workshops, or healing-centered programming, every offering is designed to honor lived experiences and create opportunities for reflection, growth, and transformation.

From creative experiences like paint & sips with purpose and narrative therapy-inspired conversations to trainings, community collaborations, and organizational programming, my work blends clinical insight with cultural awareness to make healing feel familiar, expressive, and deeply human.

The Stand is about more than sessions or services — it is about helping individuals, organizations, and communities build stronger relationships with themselves and one another. I believe healing happens not only in therapy rooms, but also in the spaces where people gather, create, learn, and connect.

Through The Stand, I partner with communities and organizations to design experiences that foster belonging, strengthen connection, and help people move from surviving to thriving — one conversation, one collaboration, and one story at a time.