The Ranch Program
Average stay: 7-9 months or longer depending on need
Immersion in Vermont’s renowned outdoor beauty and recreation
Therapy, psychiatry, nutritional counseling, and recovery support
High staff-to-resident ratio
Farming, gardening, carpentry, and forestry incorporated into treatment
Private rooms with shared common spaces
The Ranch Program is the core therapeutic program at Spring Lake Ranch. Residents are immersed in a friendly and active community, have their own individualized treatment plans, and choose work specialties that provide purpose, self-esteem, and physical activity.
Team Approach
After admission, a resident is matched with their clinician, program coordinator, work crew manager, and mentor. This team, along with our prescriber and nutritionist, collaborate with the resident to set and achieve goals, establish support systems, and plan for a successful discharge. Team members are integrated into all aspects of a resident’s experience at the Ranch and are available to address needs as they arise.
Therapeutic Work
The defining distinction between Spring Lake Ranch and other programs is our incorporation of meaningful work into therapeutic treatment. Residents choose one of four crews and spend five hours each day maintaining routine, building healthy habits, being physically active, and contributing to something larger than themselves.
Crew involvement and phased treatment planning are meant to provide a sense of responsibility and accomplishment for residents. Early on, they may only have the capacity to show up and observe. Over time, they gain skills and achieve goals. They see their tomatoes go from seed to salad, or their handcrafted tables go from the shop to the living room, and they feel empowered.
Farm Crew cares for our animals including cows, chickens, pigs, and sheep. They collect more than 40,000 eggs each year, assist in delivering piglets and calves, and keep our pastures healthy. They also manage seasonal tasks such as haying, mushroom cultivation, and spinning or felting wool.
Gardens Crew tends our food and flower gardens, oversees our teaching kitchen, and manages a year-round farmers market booth in Rutland. They contribute food to daily meals and provide flower arrangements for Ranch décor and events. In the winter, they spend time in our sewing room making mittens, scarves, and other goods.
Woods Crew maintains our forest, hiking trails, and ornamental landscapes. They fell and split wood for heat and run our substantial maple sugaring operation. Each year, maple season brings the whole Ranch together, with Woods Crew in the lead. We tap over 1,000 trees and process 400-500 gallons of high-grade syrup.
Shop Crew learns carpentry and small motor repair. They build and repair furniture, small infrastructure, and signage while maintaining Ranch equipment. They make wood products for the farmers market and take on larger projects such as boats and small buildings. For example, Shop Crew built a beautiful two-story cabin that’s now used as a retreat.
Advanced Crew Experiences
When they’re ready, residents can take on an Advanced Crew Experience (ACE), planning and executing a project that will leave a lasting impact on the Ranch. Previous ACE projects include painted murals, digitized historical archives, and a shiitake stand that is still in production today.
Clinical Treatment
Successful mental health support includes medication management and evidence-based therapy. Residents meet regularly with our consulting psychiatrist and psychiatric nurse practitioner to assess the effectiveness of medications. They have daily access to our nursing staff who administer meds and monitor health.
Our clinicians provide weekly individual and group sessions using Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, Dialectical Behavior Therapy, Acceptance and Commitment Therapy, Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing, Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction, Psychodynamic Therapy, and other models.
Every day, clinical staff interact with residents beyond the office—they work on crew, share meals, celebrate holidays, and join recreational activities. This kind of connection allows staff to have a deeper understanding of who residents are. They see the “whole person,” not just their diagnoses.
Sober Living
While we are a mental-health-primary program and generally not equipped for the first stage of substance use treatment, many of our residents struggle with co-occurring substance use disorders. Our campus is a safe space to practice sobriety with built-in recovery supports. Residents attend and even lead weekly recovery meetings including SMART Recovery, Narcotics Anonymous, Alcoholics Anonymous, Marijuana Anonymous, Writers for Recovery, 10th Step, Confluence, Refuge Recovery, Big Book, and Spirituality in Recovery.
Housing
Each resident has their own private room within a house that sleeps two-to-eight. Bedrooms and shared living spaces are furnished; however, residents are encouraged to bring comforts from home. A program coordinator lives in each house, offering round-the-clock support.
Community
Residents frequently say they feel “part of something” and that they can “be themselves” at the Ranch. Acceptance, connection, and community contribution are built into our therapeutic model.
At Spring Lake Ranch, we join each other in both work and play, share three meals a day, and celebrate special occasions throughout the year. Residents help plan and implement group activities from open mic nights to 5k fundraisers for local nonprofits. They lead book clubs, game tournaments, and art shows. Residents are encouraged to rediscover old passions or find new ones and use them as a means of connection within the community.
The community also frequently enjoys outdoor recreation. Group outings include snowshoeing, downhill skiing, and camping, and there is plenty to do within our own 700+ acres of wilderness. We have hiking trails, tennis courts, disc golf, cross-country skiing, a fitness center, and a beautiful spring-fed lake.
Purposeful work, shared talents, community engagement, time outdoors, and a sense of play significantly affect mental health. Our integrative approach combines these holistic factors with clinical treatment and leads to impressive outcomes for SLR residents.
For more information, contact our admissions team:
Program Cost
Spring Lake Ranch is a private-pay facility. Thanks to our donors, we’re able to offer financial aid to those who qualify. We encourage residents and their families to apply.
Our day rate for the Ranch Program is $545.
This rate includes therapeutic work on crews, housing, meals, clinical counseling, psychiatry, and most recreation.