Brittany Schank Fuses Guard Grit into Mental Health Care, Building Solace Counseling in the FM Metro

When military precision meets heartfelt empathy, transformation follows. On this episode of The Fargo Five, host Conrad Fargo sits down with Brittany Schank, owner of Solace Counseling in Fargo and a 19-year veteran of the Air National Guard. Brittany shares her journey from catching shoplifters at Sears to creating a 12-therapist mental health practice behind the old Chuck E. Cheese on 13th Avenue. She describes growing up in poverty and chaos, finding structure through military service, and discovering her calling to help others heal emotionally through therapy. Her path led from criminal justice to social work and ultimately to launching Solace Counseling with nothing but grit, a $300 office, and a vision for work-life balance. Now with locations in Fargo and Bismarck, her team provides counseling for kids, families, couples, and veterans alike. Brittany and Conrad explore how ethics, law, and human compassion intersect in therapy—like when a therapist must report potential harm versus protecting client privacy—and how faith and resilience shape leadership. From balancing four children to supervising a team of clinicians, Brittany’s story embodies the North-Dakota spirit of service, discipline, and heart. Her song choice, “Another in the Fire” by Hillsong United, captures that faithful message: we are never alone in the struggle.