Director of Behavioral Health
Natasha Frey serves as the Lead Behavioral Health Specialist at Community Pillars Health and Recovery Centers, where she brings compassion, leadership, and clinical integrity to the forefront of the recovery journey. With a strong foundation in behavioral health and lived experience that informs her trauma-informed approach, Natasha plays a pivotal role in shaping the daily therapeutic environment for clients and staff alike.
In her position, Natasha oversees the delivery of group therapy and peer support services, ensuring that each client receives care that is empathetic, personalized, and aligned with their treatment goals. She collaborates closely with the Program Director and psychiatric providers to support individualized care plans while mentoring Peer Support Specialists and Behavioral Health Technicians in documentation, de-escalation, and therapeutic engagement.
Natasha’s approach is rooted in authenticity and accountability. She believes in the power of consistent care, clear communication, and client empowerment as essential tools for long term recovery. Her ability to lead both with structure and heart has made her an indispensable part of the Community Pillars team.
Natasha is credentialed as a Behavioral Health Technician (BHT) and is actively pursuing ongoing education to enhance her clinical knowledge and supervisory skills. Her dedication to recovery services is not only professional, it is personal, and her presence reflects the mission of Community Pillars to restore dignity, build resilience, and promote lasting change in the lives of those we serve.
Background and Journey
Natasha Frey’s path into behavioral health care is rooted by a profound lived experience, with over 27 years of personal experience navigating addiction and justice involvement. Natasha brings a depth of understanding and empathy that cannot be taught in a classroom, only earned through survival, reflection, and transformation.
For many years, Natasha cycled through substance use and incarceration, serving multiple sentences within the Arizona Department of Corrections. It was during her third time in prison, under 24 hour lockdown and completely isolated, that a moment of clarity broke through: How am I here at this point again? That question became the turning point. In that silence, something shifted, and she made a promise to herself to change.
When she was transferred to her assigned unit, Natasha wasted no time. She enrolled in an electrician course, passed, and successfully dropped her classification points, enabling her to move to a less restrictive environment within the prison. That decision marked the beginning of her commitment to rebuilding her life and helping others do the same.
Since her release, Natasha has worked as a Behavioral Health Technician for over two years, using her story and insight to guide others through their own recovery journeys. Today, as Lead Behavioral Health Specialist, she channels her experience into leadership, mentorship, and client care, proof that recovery is not only possible, but powerful when it is purpose driven.
She lives by the motto, “You are not what you’ve done, but what you’ve overcome.”
