What Makes Us Different

We pair professional and lived experience to provide an authentic mental health approach

While Sage Nestler, MSW, Founder & CEO of Releasing the Phoenix, is educated in the full scope of social work with an emphasis in mental health & policy, his approach incorporates his lived experiences.

They are neurodivergent and live with several severe mental and physical illnesses and disabilities. He is also gender diverse and panromantic.

Sage utilizes his experiences as a queer, neurodivergent person with disabilities and multiple illnesses to inform his work.

Throughout their treatment over the years, Sage found that they felt most comfortable working with professionals who have lived experience. This is why he based Releasing the Phoenix on this principle.

A colorful fantasy bird or phoenix flying in a starry night sky above mountains.

We utilize this approach to broaden the scope of mental health care

At Releasing the Phoenix, we focus on working with professionals who are part of the queer community and combine lived experience with:

  • education

  • training

  • certifications

This creates a unique and authentic approach that is effective in mental health care, especially for the queer community. All of our approaches are sensitive to queer identities and experiences, while educating others on compassionate care for queer individuals.

The phoenix is our primary symbol as it stands for rebirth and renewal - which is a lifelong process.

Mental health, like the phoenix, ebbs and flows.