Spring Lake Ranch

Spring Lake Ranch supports and empowers people with mental health and any co-occurring substance use disorders with work-centered therapy. Springs Lake Ranch opened in 1932 by its founders Wayne Sarcka, an immigrant from Finland, and his wife, Elizabeth Man, from Long Island. The ranch sits on over 700 acres in Vermont's Green Mountains.

Work Crew Activities

At the core of day-to-day life at the ranch is meaningful work. Residents choose between 4 crews - Farm, Gardens, Shop, and Woods - and spend their days working side-by-side with their peers and staff members. Daily tasks of feeding and caring for animals, planting seeds and harvesting vegetables, building barns and constructing furniture, or tapping trees and splitting firewood all provide structure and routine through meaningful work. Participation in the work program also allows the resident to build and foster confidence and self-efficacy by seeing projects through from start to finish while having therapeutic conversations with staff and other residents during the entire process. residents also develop skills for their own interests through their advanced crew experiences.

Licensed Clinical Care

In addition to healing through work, residents also participate in clinical support to process and progress through the complex struggles that accompany mental health and substance use concerns. Each resident receives individual therapy with licensed clinicians, group therapy, psychiatry, nutritional counseling with a licensed dietitian, medication management, case-management, and mentorship from non-clinical staff as part of their team model.

Their recovery support group options include AA/NA/MA, SMART Recovery, Refuge Recovery, and individual recovery coaching. They have step-down support and transitional care.