FARGO — Soul Solutions says it is “changing the narrative” when it comes to treating addiction, and people in the program say the new approach saved them.
“I’m an alcoholic, yes,” said Kim Lauf, who is in recovery.
Lauf admits people need to be ready for treatment and recovery.
“(A)ctually, recovery starts the minute you decide that you want to live more than you want to die,” Lauf said.
After trying other treatment centers for alcoholism, Lauf found Soul Solutions in Fargo, which offers intensive outpatient treatment for addiction.
“(I was a) high-functioning alcoholic for awhile, which most of us are, until you aren’t. That’s when you get to the bottom,” Lauf said.
“This (addiction crisis) is not an individual problem. This is a societal problem. This is a community problem,” said Patti Senn, Soul Solutions’ clinical director.
It’s not just the person seeking recovery who gets help, but their family as well. That is the center’s standalone therapy piece, something that has been missing in many treatment programs.
“We believe strongly that giving people the best chance to be successful in recovery means including their family system,” Senn said.
“I had a long-term addiction to drugs,” said Jay Schmuhl, who is in recovery. “I knew I needed help at that point. So coming here to Soul Solutions really gave me hope.”
Schmuhl says he was in a bad place before coming to the center. Like Lauf, Schmuhl is coming to Soul Solutions weekly — often meeting with others in the center’s coffee shop — sharing stories of progress.
“It’s an automatic group of new friends that are all here for the same reasons and all in recovery together,” Schmuhl said.
The opening of Soul Solutions indicates the need for treatment centers, which help people not just get sober, but get their families in a better place as well, has never been greater.
“We really all want to get better. We did make that decision that we want to live,” Lauf said.
Soul Solutions says even if families don’t have a loved one in the program, they are welcome to stop and ask about options for family members struggling.
For more information, visit: https://soulsolutions.org
