Desert Solace

Dammeron Valley, Utah | See other Utah rehab reviews

451 N. Meadow Dr.
Dammeron Valley, Utah 84783

Desert Solace is a residential (in-patient) rehab facility located in St. George, Utah. They specialize in pornography and sexual addiction.

The program is based on the Gentle Path curriculum created by Dr. Patrick Carnes. Residents participate in weekly equine activities where they work with horses. They also take care of the horses by feeding and watering them in the morning and evening.

Residents attend yoga classes twice per week, do workouts twice per week and frequently go hiking in the area. Part of the program is doing a 90-in-90, meaning 90 12-step meetings within 90-days. To do this you will attend a 12-step meeting every night. These are usually Sexaholics Anonymous (SA), Narcotics Anonymous (NA), Alcoholics Anonymous (AA) or Addiction Recovery Program (ARP).

Interview from R
Why did you choose this facility?
Rob: My wife found it. She found out I have a sex addiction and drug addiction and needed help. She called several different facilities and they all pretty much told her the same thing - for residential sex addiction treatment there are only a few options in the whole country. Since Desert Solace was the most cost-effective and nearby we decided I would do that one.

Tell us about the experience - was it positive or negative?
Rob: I hated it at first. But that was mainly because I wasn't convinced I had a real addiction (or that sex addiction was a thing). I was in a 90-day program. My perspective started to change about 30-days in. I realized that even though I thought I had "friends," really they were just buddies. I was completed isolated. Even with my wife I never told her when I needed help and I knew there was something wrong with me for years. This was done in a safe environment with other people who understood the same challenges I was facing and we really pulled together like a band of brothers. This is an all- male facility. The founder is LDS (mormon) and quite a few people who come here seem to be, but half of the guys who were there when I was weren't and the program isn't any more focused on religion than any other 12-step program (like SA, NA, AA, etc.). You will go to 12-step meetings every night. I had never been to one before so this seemed weird to me, but I came to start liking them, especially the NA (narcotics anonymous) meetings.

Do you feel the program was successful?
Rob: Yes - it was life-changing for me. Not only did Desert Solace help me get my shit together, they offered resources to my wife to help her understand what I was going through. For instance, they do calls with the spouses/girlfriends/significant others twice a week. They study material that is similar to what we're studying. They also have family weekends once a month where your family can come visit you. You have the chance to do an equine activity with your family, and then they can check you out for a big chunk of time Saturday and Sunday. Since I have young kids this was really nice. They could also see how I was growing since going 90-days without seeing them at all would have been really hard.

What advice would you give somebody considering going to this facility?
Rob: If you think you have a sex addiction you should at least talk to Mark, the founder. He's approachable and honest. Another cool thing about Desert Solace is that pretty much all of the staff have been through recovery of one sort or another, so they all understand your challenges and what it takes to be successful. Three months at Desert Solace helped me conquer my addictions and gave me the tools that I need to live in recovery. I could never have done it on my own; now I have hope in the future. Don't get me wrong, I still have a lot of problems (a lot of which are consequences of choosing my addictions over my family, job, etc. for several years), but I'm on a good path and find myself genuinely excited about the future. I can't say enough good things about Desert Solace.