Meet Phoenix Rising, LSW | Founder, Training Director, Consultant, & Therapist

We had the good fortune of connecting with Phoenix Rising, LSW and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Phoenix, can you talk to us a bit about the social impact of your business?
Since I was a teenager, I’ve wanted to make a big impact on the world. I knew what it was like to suffer from a young age, saw how many systemic problems our society has, and felt frustrated that I wasn’t able to get the help I needed from therapists. What was missing in my personal therapy journey was finding professionals who understood neurodivergence, could help me to identify that I was actually ADHD and Autistic, and help me cope with the challenges I faced daily. Years later, I’m so happy to be working on a business project that is about creating systemic change and improving mental health for all neurodivergent people, so they don’t have to struggle like I did.

My business, Neurodiversity-Affirming Psychotherapy Training Institute (NAPTI), is on a mission to retrain mental health professionals to work effectively with ADHD, Autistic, and other forms of neurodivergence, and reduce harm to these populations. Right now, most of the mental health profession believes that ADHD and Autism are disorders that need to be cured when they are not. These folks are born with a different brain structure that is naturally occurring and embodies traits that would have been advantageous to us in hunter/gatherer times. These groups have unique sensory sensitivities that would have allowed us to be amazing hunters, adventurous scouts looking for new territory for our tribe, and be better nourished thanks to our drive towards novel sensations. Unfortunately, in our modern-day times which are filled with intense stimulation, technology, and high work/mental demand, these sensory sensitivities cause nervous system dysregulation, sensory overload, meltdowns, executive dysfunction, social struggles, and a whole host of mental health challenges. My work aims to retrain professionals to support their neurodivergent clients in adapting to our modern-day circumstances, instead of trying to cure ADHD or Autism.

My long-term goal is to create an evidence-based therapy model for neurodivergent people and train professionals worldwide. There is a global movement happening right now from the ADHD and Autistic communities to have our identities acknowledged/accepted and not twisted into a disorder. My work is deeply needed at this time, and I feel daily gratitude for this crazy life journey and that I have the opportunity to create widespread change for people like me.

Alright, so for those in our community who might not be familiar with your business, can you tell us more?
Wow! So many great questions here.

What is unique about my business is that I am one of the few people offering this service in Colorado, and even nationally speaking. Most therapists who give neurodiversity trainings for mental health professionals do so very part-time; they’re usually consumed with their private practice work, are not into public speaking to larger audiences, or don’t have the time/energy to dedicate to such a project. This definitely gives my business an edge. I have had a few folks tell me recently that I’m becoming a nationally recognized name in mental health, which is very exciting.

How did I get here? That’s a very compelling story I would love to share (for the first time publicly). As I have already mentioned, I spent years in therapy not getting the support I needed, which definitely motivated my work. But starting a business is never simple or easy. I had seen my ex-partner (of 10 years) create a successful tech start-up and sold it for millions of dollars while we were living in New York City. When we broke up in 2015, I got a financial settlement and moved out to Colorado to start my life over. At the time, I knew I wanted to be a successful business owner too, and I figured, how hard could it be?

Well, I spent the next five years working on various mental health-related business pursuits, none of which made much money. But I learned so much about business, marketing, and how I work best as a neurodivergent person.

By 2020, I was running out of my settlement money. I had given birth to my first child in January and knew I had to either get a real job or drastically change my spending habits and hope for the best. All the while, COVID was occurring, and Denver had become incredibly unsafe feeling for my family and me. We decided to use what money we had left to buy a camper and get out of town. We had lived nomadically several times before this, so this seemed manageable. I felt like getting a “real job” was the last thing I wanted to do. As a neurodivergent person, work life is so much more difficult and taxing. I knew if I got a full-time job, my mental health would plummet, I wouldn’t be able to take care of my son in the ways I wanted to, and would likely endure more trauma through this process. So I took a HUGE leap of faith, and despite having no steady income, we moved into the camper and I kept working on my latest life coaching business. I called it life coaching, because so much of what I was doing was teaching what I had learned on my own healing journey. But what I was actually doing was building a healing program that embodied everything I thought was missing from traditional talk therapy.

By the middle of 2021, I was very concerned by how long it was taking to get my business off the ground, so I started working for Instacart. And I swear Instacart saved my career, LOL. It was a job that I could emotionally handle, had no bosses/employees to navigate, I could work when I wanted to, and get paid in 24 hours. I was also making about $25/hour on average, which was the same amount I had been making in a non-profit in NYC prior to leaving (ouch!). This allowed me some financial stability, but not enough to get my family out of our very small camper and into an apartment.

That’s when I prayed to the Universe for help and guidance. Shortly after, I had a vivid dream, I saw myself working with teenagers again, really vibing with them, helping to address things like self-harm and suicidal thoughts, and feeling so deeply rewarded by this. That’s when I decided to go into private practice (again), and I started seeing therapy teen clients through the IMatter Colorado program. By this time, I had figured out I was ADHD and Autistic and was serving primarily clients who matched my own personal identities. I had enormous success working with these populations and using the healing model I had created in the therapy room.

By the end of 2022, I felt a strong drive towards teaching my model to other mental health professionals and getting them on the bandwagon of the neurodiversity movement. I started with a few continuing education public speaking events at hospitals and colleges, and in 2023 began hosting my own trainings.

At this point, my business has trained over 300 mental health professionals (and we are just getting started!). I recently hired my first independent contractor to support the marketing and training aspects of my business, who has already helped my business in magical ways. I can’t wait to see what is to come over the next few years and how much progress we can make in retraining professionals on this important work.

Like I said, I feel joy and gratitude every day for everything I’ve been through and how much of an impact I’m making in the mental health world and for neurodivergent people.

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
Great question! I would definitely meet them at DIA and bring them to my favorite sushi restaurant in town, Sushi Den. They fly their fish in from Japan daily and their service is amazing. The next day, I would take them out to breakfast at Rosenberg’s for NY-style bagels and lox. Then we would explore the city and visit places like Capitol Hill, South Broadway, and the cool parts of Federal. We would catch a yoga class at Rino Yoga Social and eat at City O City. The next day, I would take them into the mountains and explore some of my favorite trails, like Panorama Point in Golden Gate State Park. Then we would head over to Estes Park to spend the night. If I had unlimited funds, we would obviously stay at the Stanley Hotel (which inspired one of my favorite movies of all time, The Shining). The next day we would pack some lunch and spend the day in Rocky Mountain National Park. Then we would drive all the way down the Western Slope, enjoying the sites as we make our way to Durango, my current Colorado home. The last few days of the trip, I would bring them around to my favorite spots, such as Durango Coffee Company, Eolus, Akami Poke, and Pop Sushi. I would also bring them to some of my favorite local events like Ecstatic Dance and open mic at Starlight Lounge. And we would of course do some local hikes along the Animas River and Junction Creek. At the end, I would give them a big hug and drop them off at the local La Plata airport for their return home.

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
Firstly, I would love to thank everyone who came before me in the neurodiversity and social disabilities movement. People like Judy Singer and Nick Walker have been instrumental in paving the way for a business like mine to be successful. I would also love to thank my friends, family, and partner who supported me through this process when I had nothing but a prayer. I couldn’t have made it this far without their love and support. SO BIG THANKS TO ALL OF YOU. You know who you are.

Website: https://www.napti.org

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ndaffirmingtraininginstitute/

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/napti/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ndaffirmingpsychotherapytraininginstitute/

Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC4sHxMvw1TgB0L7E1kc2rUA

Image Credits
I took the photos, so if you need a credit, just credit me.