For more than 20 years, September 10th has marked World Suicide Prevention Day. Suicide is a leading cause of death for Americans across all demographics and is considered a major public health concern. As a residential mental health program, suicide prevention is an integral part of what we do at Spring Lake Ranch. For more information on our treatment modalities and how they align with national prevention efforts, read on.
If you or a loved one is currently dealing with suicidal thoughts or actions, please call or text 988 immediately. Someone is available to talk to you now.
The CDC lists the following large-scale strategies for suicide prevention:
- Strengthen economic supports
- Create protective environments
- Improve access and delivery of suicide care
- Promote healthy connections
- Teach coping and problem-solving skills
- Identify and support people at risk
- Lessen harms and prevent future risk
Strengthen Economic Supports
What the CDC recommends: Improve household financial security; stabilize housing.
What we do at Spring Lake Ranch: As a work therapy program, we are not only helping our residents heal; we are also teaching them skills like woodworking, cooking and baking, farming, and forestry, among others. Residents are offered vocational guidance, including volunteer work and help with job placement, if they’re ready for that step. They are provided with safe, comfortable housing during their stay, and help moving toward independent living through our transitional programing.
Create Protective Environments
What the CDC recommends: Reduce access to lethal means among persons at risk of suicide; create healthy organizational policies and culture; reduce substance use through community-based policies and practices.
What we do at Spring Lake Ranch: For starters, Spring Lake Ranch is a sober living community. The majority of our residents experience co-occurring substance use challenges, and those who struggle with alcohol and substance use disorders are at higher risk for suicide.
In addition to providing a sober environment, we also pride ourselves on our egalitarian, fully integrated community culture. By that, we mean that staff and residents eat, work, and often live side-by-side. Each person is encouraged to give and ask for feedback, speak up about issues that are important to them, and help make decisions to guide our organization.
Since the establishment of our Quality Assurance department, we have also taken great strides in making sure that our policies and procedures keep residents as safe as possible. CARF-accredited since 2020, we meet and exceed high standards for our facilities, from how we store and use potentially dangerous equipment to how we train staff to recognize and assess risk throughout each day.
Improve Access and Delivery of Suicide Care
What the CDC recommends: Cover mental health conditions in health insurance policies; increase provider availability in underserved areas; provide rapid and remote access to help; create safer suicide care through systems change.
What we do at Spring Lake Ranch: We are always looking for ways to expand access for potential Ranchers. Through robust fundraising, we provide financial aid to nearly half of our residents. Alongside four farm-based sister programs, we have begun collecting and analyzing outcomes data in order to illustrate the effectiveness of these treatments and advocate for insurance coverage for mental health care like ours.
All SLR Clinicians are trained on CAMS, Collaborative Assessment and Management of Suicide, a patient-centered, evidence-based intervention that allows our residents to work with clinicians to identify and address the root causes of their suicidal thoughts.
Our Program Coordinators, who live with residents and work with them each day on crew, receive training on recognizing risks and signs of suicidality. They are also trained on the Columbia-Suicide Severity Rating Scale.
Because staff are available 24/7, risk can be addressed and response can be coordinated quickly, ensuring our residents are provided with the appropriate level of care based on the severity of their suicidal thoughts or actions.
Promote Healthy Connections
What the CDC recommends: Promote healthy peer norms; engage community members in shared activities.
What we do at Spring Lake Ranch: Community is at the heart of everything we do. Residents are welcomed into a dynamic, accepting community and encouraged to both open up and learn from their peers and staff. Milieu Therapy—which our consulting psychiatrist Dr. FauntLeRoy often refers to as the “neurobiology of hanging out”—provides the space for residents to coregulate and create healthy peer norms in a safe, sober environment.
Teamwork, communication, and shared outcomes help our residents make meaningful connections on work crew. Three times a day, our community sits down to meals that include produce, meat, and eggs grown and cooked by Ranchers. Residents are encouraged to participate in weekly recreational activities and share their interests and talents with the community. Even after residents discharge or staff move on, they are still considered a part of our community, allowing the ethos of the Ranch to spread far and wide.
Teach Coping and Problem-Solving Skills
What the CDC recommends: Support social-emotional learning programs; teach parenting skills to improve family relationships; support resilience through education programs
What we do at Spring Lake Ranch: We use a number of evidence-based therapeutic interventions to assist our residents as they learn coping strategies and problem-solving skills.
Throughout the year, we hold regular group therapy with themes like Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT) skills, conflict resolution, and Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT). On work crews, residents and staff regularly solve the problems that come with running a 700+ acre ranch. In shared housing, residents are encouraged to turn toward their peers and communicate their needs in a healthy way to work through issues as they arise.
Families and friends of residents are encouraged to be supportive partners in their loved ones’ mental health journeys through support groups, Friends and Family Week, and regular communication with staff.
Identify and Support People at Risk
What the CDC recommends: Train gatekeepers; respond to crises; plan for safety and follow-up after an attempt; provide therapeutic approaches.
What we do at Spring Lake Ranch: Our mission is to support and empower people with mental health and substance use challenges by providing opportunities to grow and thrive. While living and working in nature and among peers, residents are also provided with holistic, evidence-based health care. Our admissions process is thorough and personalized, as is our treatment planning and discharge process, so that every resident is provided the appropriate care. We employ a thorough plan of action when a crisis or near-crisis arrives based on risk level. All staff including non-clinical staff are prepared to respond in different ways when a resident is struggling—including the use of one-on-one, 24-hour surveillance. While we work to keep our residents moving forward in our program, transfers to higher levels of care do happen if the risk of suicide increases. Our first priority is the safety of our residents.
Lessen Harms and Prevent Future Attempts
What the CDC recommends: Intervene after a suicide (postvention; report and message about suicide safely.
What we do at Spring Lake Ranch: We are always working to improve our approach through regular training and community-wide problem-solving. Our Safety Committee includes members of staff, residents, and relevant professionals. Our CARF accreditation and ARTA membership help us maintain a standard of excellence that keeps residents safe.
While we work to address and prevent suicide at the Ranch, we also know it’s about what happens outside of the Ranch. Ultimately, we want to see our residents leave Spring Lake Ranch feeling empowered, tuned in to their own emotions and health needs, and connected to the earth and their community in a meaningful way. Research shows that even in high-risk situations, these outcomes can help protect against suicidality.
David Klonsky, a leading expert on suicide prevention, often talks about how suicide happens when “pain exceeds connectedness.” At Spring Lake Ranch, our goal is to help our residents make powerful connections that last.
For more information on Spring Lake Ranch’s approach to suicide prevention, visit these sites:
