Spring Lake Ranch is a nonprofit, residential program that serves adults 18 and older experiencing a variety of mental health and addiction challenges. The Ranch was founded in 1932 on 700+ pristine acres in Vermont’s Green Mountains. Central to our focus is the idea of healing through meaningful work, community support, and a relationship with the natural world.
Residents and staff work together five hours a day, five days a week, on one of four crews which keep our community of 80+ people going. Our Farm Crew tends to the animals, including cows, chickens, and pigs, manages a mushroom field that produces hundreds of pounds for the kitchen each year, and runs the summer haying operation. Gardens Crew grows food and flowers, lends a hand in the kitchen, oversees our year-round farmers market booth, and spends the winter making woven goods like mittens and hats. Woods Crew maintains the health of our forests and hiking trails, provides the Ranch with firewood, and runs our substantial maple sugaring operation. On Shop Crew, residents build and repair furniture, fix tools, and keep our engines running. There are additional projects throughout the year, and residents can also develop their own as part of our Advanced Crew Experiences.
Our Therapeutic Work Program model combines work crews with robust clinical care. Residents meet with masters’ level and/or licensed clinicians on a weekly basis for individual therapy, attend group sessions, receive nutritional counseling from a licensed dietician, and medication management from our nursing staff and psychiatrist.
While we are mental health primary, we are a sober-living community and offer a wide range of recovery supports, including AA/NA/MA, SMART Recovery, Refuge Recovery, and individual recovery coaching.
Our program has a robust continuum of care which was recently expanded to offer even more options for step-down support and transitional care. Visit our website or speak to Admissions for more information.