Spring Lake Ranch Therapeutic Community

A Holistic Approach to Mental Health Care in a Community Setting

Spring Lake Ranch is a therapeutic community located on 700-acres in the heart of Vermont’s Green Mountains. Spring Lake Ranch has supported adults struggling with mental health disorders and dual-diagnosis since 1932, helping residents realize their potential through work and a supportive community. Spring Lake Ranch is licensed by the State of Vermont and focuses on long-term, residential treatment for schizophrenia, schizoaffective disorder, bipolar disorder, depression, anxiety, obsessive-compulsive disorder, failure to launch, and many other psychiatric disorders.

Spring Lake Ranch Therapeutic Community has four Work Crews – Gardens, Farm, Woods, and Shop – and residents contribute to the daily life on our working farm. Many residents who come to Spring Lake Ranch have lost the spirit and stamina for work. We believe that through work, residents can become active participants in their lives once again in ways that are both enjoyable and transformative.

The Work Program is complemented by the Ranch’s Clinical Program, which includes regular meetings with our psychiatrist, weekly individual therapy sessions with dedicated, compassionate clinicians, and daily opportunities for group therapy, including SMART Recovery, Coping Skills, Dual Diagnosis, and Hearing Voices groups. Residents are also assigned a Case Manager who meets with them regularly and serves as their logistical point person, providing guidance for resume-building, job searching, and continuing education options.

At Spring Lake Ranch, we seek to meet residents where they are and treat every individual like a person with strengths and weaknesses, not a case or client.

The Role of Work in Recovery

Work plays a critical role in the healing environment at Spring Lake Ranch. Each resident works on average five hours a day, five days each week in collaboration with other residents and crew leaders. Residents have the opportunity to select which Work Crew they would like to join. Examples of tasks completed on Work Crews include:

• Growing flowers and vegetables

• Building and repairing furniture

• Repairing vehicles and small engines

• Building larger structures such as cabins and barns

• Splitting firewood

• Caring for cows, sheep, chickens, goats, pigs, and more

• Baking and cooking

• Bee-keeping

• Weaving

• Landscaping

• Maple syrup production

• Selling our products at the Farmers Market

We believe that daily work provides adults with mental issues opportunities to re-establish a daily rhythm, gain self-confidence, and experience the satisfaction of a job well done.

Community-Based Wellness and Leisure-Time Activities

Residents of Spring Lake Ranch participate in a variety of community-based wellness and leisure time activities, including:

• AA/NA/MA, SMART Recovery, and Refuge Recovery meetings both on the Hill and in the greater community

• Tennis/basketball

• Pottery, painting, and other art projects

• Downhill and cross-country skiing

• Trail hiking on our 700 acres

• Swimming/canoeing/kayaking

• Music, including access to our various instruments

• Yoga

• Board and card games

• Book club

• Exercising in gym (cardio equipment, weights, punching bag)

• Recreation trips 4 times each week, including trips to the local library, movies, bowling, concerts, poetry readings, and more

A Transition to Independence through the Aftercare Program

Spring Lake Ranch Therapeutic Community offers a multifaceted aftercare program. This includes the Cuttingsville-based Elliot House and the Independent Apartment Living Program.

Our Elliot House aftercare program offers a supported, gradual introduction to greater independence through our transitional living program. We recognize that individuals grow and progress at different rates. Our program allows clients to move at their own pace through a continuum of care that offers a spectrum of options. Residents who transition can flex their wings in an open but supported environment.

Another option for residents looking to transition from Cuttingsville is the Rutland Aftercare Program’s Independent Apartment Living Program. 

Spring Lake Ranch owns a Townhouse located in the center of Downtown Rutland, which includes seven private apartments. The Rutland Aftercare Program provides case management services for individuals in these apartments, as well as for clients residing in individual apartments throughout Rutland. Case Managers have weekly check-ins with clients in independent apartments and provide support for everything from medication compliance to grocery shopping.