NO HUMAN STRUGGLING TO RECOVER SHOULD EVER
FALL BETWEEN THE CRACKS…

The non profit Soulful Living for Recovery~501(c)(3) was established in 2016 to focus on sustainable change in the area of addiction, recovery, mental health and integrative medicine. We have built a team of professionals that stand by the belief that true long lasting change can only happen when one understands the entire human operating system. We are seeking to create a global movement of holistic healing to address addictions of all kinds. We are also seeking to fill a gaping hole in the healthcare system and gather the many individual support services that address a piece of the systemic problem and come together as a force for growth and movement into this new age

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Human beings have a pharmacy within that when discovered, understood and cultivated long-lasting change proves to occur; at the root. Sustainable recovery
requires much more than working with just the mind as we believe that the issues live in the tissues. Science has begun to prove what alternative practitioners have been saying for decades, that the body works together as an integrative system and only when aligned with our mental and emotional self can we experience full and vibrant health. This well-researched & documented school of thought is most overlooked in the public mainstream health care system and we dream of a day when this will change.

WE BELIEVE THE TIME IS NOW.

In our local community of Long Island, over a 3 year span we have witnessed a growth in amount of grieving parents whose young adult children died of overdoses by 300%. This staggering number is according to The Beading Hearts, an overdose loss support group for families in New York. In this past year alone there has been a 15% increase in deaths due to overdose. It is our hypothesis that there is a lack of understanding the root cause of addiction and its complexities as well as an effective system set up to help bridge the worlds of mental, physical as well as spiritual health.

OUR ON-GOING MISSION AND SUMMARY

Over the past several years the non profit known as Soulful Living for Addiction & Long Term Recovery~501(c)(3) has been established to work on meeting a vital need on Long Island for quality & effective services for those seeking help and recovery With our program in place, we sought out to fill a gap where the current healthcare system seems to fail so many of those that struggle with addiction & long term sobriety. As we began to see this crisis amplify we started to tune more into the current structure put in place by the public hospital and rehabilitation systems. What we uncovered was an extremely ill-equipped model of care to address the multilayered needs of a person and families in recovery. What was also revealed was inadequate health insurance coverage allotted for proper treatment of all aspects of the human being from all walks of life.

With the current healthcare model, once a person chooses to get help, they are bombarded by many bureaucratic systems at play that often do not always agree on best practices. Individuals seeking help are often brought into a hospital for detox and then sent to an inpatient rehab center for anywhere from 6 days to a max of 28 days depending on insurance plan. Then from rehab they are often sent to an intensive outpatient program (most often not properly tailored to the individuals own needs) and then it is usually recommended that they follow up with a therapist if they desire. It is important to note that one of the biggest deficits seen in these programs is the inability to address the key social determinants of health including, biopsychology, economic stability, education and ones home environment. Also, with the current structure of care, there is usually a quick turn around where most are deemed ready to face life without adequate quality supports in place. The dysfunction with this current model in place is proven with the extremely high percentage of relapse, as much as 80% during
the first year according to Hazleton Betty Ford foundation. Soulful Recovery – 501(c)(3) is a multifaceted program with a mission to help
individuals, their loved ones and family systems work to get to the root of the struggle, assist in helping them discover coping strategies for life and work closely with them not only to envision but to practically work towards finding purpose for their lives and helping them forge a path forward. When we start to teach individuals to build awareness, strength, immunity, vitality, balance & health in the body we hand millions of individuals tools to freedom from the bonds of addiction as well as a deeper sense of connection and fulfillment to all of life. Soulful Living for Recovery ~ 501(c)(3) has been successful over the last few years
building a team of seasoned professional clinicians & practitioners who align with our philosophy of an individualized, integrated holistic approach to recovery of all kinds. We are so humbled and proud to share that in most of the cases we have witnessed profound transformation nothing short of miraculous. We share so gratefully that many graduates of our program have told us that there are not many programs like Soulful Recovery ~ 501(c)(3) out there and that it was a “game changer” for them.

Our Vision

Each and every individual and family that crosses our threshold will reconnect to their most authentic selves. All individuals served have the opportunity and support to transform, move toward optimum wellness, create meaningful lives and establish a renewed level of inner-peace, serenity, improved self-esteem based on their own inner strengths. We seek to empower individuals to not only see, but to reach towards their dreams in a way they could not imagine prior to finding their sobriety. We have a vested interest in assisting as many individuals as we are able to find a sense of FREEDOM from the bondage of addiction

Needs Assessment

There has been a disconnect within our culture regarding individuals who struggle with addiction. Substance provides the perfect vehicle for escape.

The dis-ease of addiction comes from trauma in one’s life whether it be prenatal trauma or childhood trauma, picking up the stress of a parental figure or the environment in which one has been raised. Somewhere along the way an individual may develop a sense of anxiety or insecurity that their world is not OK and then at some moment an addictive substance or behavior is introduced into their life and it slowly or quickly takes over. It has become an epidemic with people who are younger and younger losing their lives and dreams to the belief that there is no other way. We are seekers of pleasure and in reality looking to escape pain on some level. This is fundamental to our human existence. Pain is the gauge that usually indicates that there is an area of our life that needs some attention. Pain is also the signal for when to move forward, when to take risks in other aspects of our lives and when certain behaviors no longer serve us. When we use a high to escape the pain of these challenges, seeking out answers and significance through drugs, alcohol, shopping, love, television, sports, modern technology and anything else that serves as a distraction, we are no longer fully present in our lives or connected with our innate life force. There are not many healing modalities that offer the next phase of recovery to help an individual that has moved through the short-term recovery and twelve step process. Many find their sobriety in the twelve step program but end up making this type of recovery their lives. Our goal is to create a holistic model that is both inclusive but not exclusive of the 12 step philosophy affording individuals the opportunity to explore, create and embrace what works best for them so that they have the opportunity to reconnect to their most authentic selves.

Executive Board

Mary Gnieser

Mary is the founder of Turtle & Butterfly Internal Arts, a unique holistic wellness practice where Mary offers not only her holistic psychotherapy expertise but also her knowledge and experience in training in the Internal Art of Qi Gong, Nei Gong and Meditation. Mary is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker with fifteen plus years experience in the mental health field working with children, adolescents and adults. She is also a certified Integrative Hypnotherapist. Mary has worked in various mental health settings on Long Island and is excited to be once again collaborating with the founders of this non-profit who she had partnered with in The Center for Soulful Living. Mary has been a student of the Daoist internal arts for a over a decade and has traveled extensively in pursuit of authentic teachers of Qi Gong and Nei Gong. She is a student within the Lotus Nei Gong International School and the Xian Tian College of Chinese Medicine located in Manchester, UK.

Mary earned her Masters of Social Work from Adelphi University and her undergraduate degree from the University of Maryland.

Mary is honored to have a role on the Executive Board of the Soulful Living for Addiction and Long Term Recovery. This position allows her to fulfill a promise made to herself years ago to help others affected by addiction. Mary’s catalyst in becoming a clinical social worker was born from the experience of having a family member’s bright life ended by an overdose. The impact of this tragedy on her family had Mary making career and life changes that have brought her to where she is today. Mary is excited to collaborate with the founders of this organization and the other board members to bring services to those in need and believes in the power of holistic therapies for the recovery process.

Mark S. Katz, Esq.

Mark S. Katz, Esq. recently joined international insurance broker RT Specialty as an Executive Vice President with responsibility for developing and enhancing first-party property insurance products and programs.  Before joining RTS, Mark compiled 25 years of boutique law firm experience with Mound Cotton Wollan & Greengrass LLP — seventeen as a partner and three as the firm’s managing partner — analyzing and litigating complex insurance coverage disputes, with a special emphasis on commercial property coverage litigation.

His resume includes involvement in matters concerning large-loss property damage claims, builders’ risk claims, lost business income, extra expense, and delay in completion/ start-up losses.  He has analyzed claims and litigated actions involving properties under construction, railroads and transportation authorities, manufacturing facilities, municipalities, fossil fuel and renewable energy/power facilities, marine structures, hotels/resorts, casinos, residential condominium/co-op buildings, warehouses, big box retail stores and various other commercial properties.

Mark is a frequent lecturer on first-party property insurance issues, is admitted to the New York and New Jersey bars and has mediated, arbitrated and litigated throughout the United States.

He is also a graduate of Syracuse University, Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs, and of Hofstra Law School (J.D. 1993), where he was an editor of the Hofstra Law Review.

Advisory Board