As often happens in client-facing services, personal connection to a specific cause can unlock doors to new forms of highly effective care. When one’s business is centered around substance abuse treatment, that personal connection can open up a whole new world of personalized, mindfulness-centered treatment possibilities.
This was the hope for Nick Padlo when he opened Sophros Recovery Center in Jacksonville, FL. His personal story of recovery and renewal weaves its way throughout the Sophros story, inspiring his clients and keeping Padlo motivated to succeed — both for them and himself.
A rocky road to recovery
Padlo is a combat veteran who served 27 months in Afghanistan and Iraq. Though he successfully started a business after his service, struggles with anxiety and depression quickly caught up with him.
Padlo’s personal recovery story is similar to those of many of his clients in that there was not a smooth, straightforward road between addiction and complete recovery success. “If I learned anything, it’s that nothing changes if nothing changes,” he says.
Like many people who later grapple with substance abuse, Padlo’s addiction started with self-medicating through alcohol. “I wasn’t able to identify where my anxiety and depression were coming from, but I knew I needed help,” he says.
After recovery and a relapse, Padlo took the “nothing changes if nothing changes” adage to heart and entered recovery again — but this time, something clicked. Following his initial recovery period, he traveled to Southeast Asia to study the holistic teachings of yoga and mindfulness, which he has since utilized in the approach to care that has become foundational to Sophros Recovery’s treatment platform.
Client-centered treatment
To treat addiction holistically, everything about the Sophros Recovery approach needed to be client-centered. “Knowing what it’s like to be in a dark place with seemingly no way out, I knew I wanted our treatment to give people hope for success,” Padlo recalls.
Sophros combines medical treatment, group and individual therapy, aftercare treatment, and alumni support into a comprehensive recovery plan. This comprehensive approach applies the best practices in addiction treatment and integrates what Padlo himself has learned about the value of mindfulness and holistic, person-centered treatment that focuses on the body, mind, and soul.
“If I learned anything myself, it is how to put recovery first,” Padlo explains. “I still attend 12-step meetings and work with my sponsor because I know that I will always be in recovery.”
This first-hand knowledge of what works is what has colored each client-centered program that Sophros has created, from its Intensive Outpatient Program to Art Therapy. Padlo and the team at Sophros consider their approach truly bespoke, taking the most effective aspects of partial-hospitalization programs (PHPs), intensive outpatient treatment, and alumni aftercare support and combining them into one wholly effective treatment.
Sophros also works to meet the needs of the family and friends of clients undergoing treatment, as these people have often weathered the worst of what addiction brings upon a family. Sophros offers comprehensive support programs for family, friends, and loved ones to help them heal their traumas and learn how to best support the one they love throughout the recovery process.
As a military veteran, Padlo takes a particular interest in the recovery needs of veterans and military personnel. “Veterans are struggling with PTSD and substance abuse, and it is clear that they are not getting the help that they need,” he notes.
Sophros Recovery’s trauma-centered treatment program focuses on the physical and emotional toll that both trauma and substance abuse can take on a person, at times specifically zeroing in on the unique experiences of veterans. Their goals are all about exceeding expectations, especially those of clients who may feel hopeless in the face of a daunting road to recovery.
Branching out
Following Sophros Recovery’s remarkable success in Jacksonville, they have recently expanded to open a new recovery center in Tampa. Padlo is excited about the possibility of helping even more people find lasting recovery.
Sophros Recovery has proven that a holistic, comprehensive approach is required to bring exceptional client care to those seeking recovery from substance abuse. “Treatment and lasting recovery cannot be a solitary effort on the part of the one mired in addiction,” Padlo explains. “They have to learn how to introduce meaningful change into their lives and be aware of those who are there to help guide them.”
Padlo and the rest of his team at Sophros Recovery have helped hundreds of people live their lives free of substance abuse since the center’s inception. With their recent expansion into the Tampa area and the word out about Sophros’s client-centered approach, Padlo and his team remain hopeful that they can help even more people find a better path toward genuine healing and lasting recovery that encompasses the mind, the body, and the soul.
