Spring Lake is really no different that most of the holistic healing farm communities that are out there. Some of them sprang from a common seed called Gould Farm. They all tend to be lefty, new age and do as you wish. (Cooper-Riis, Farm and Wilderness, the list goes on. The woods are full of them.)
Overall the lack of supervision at the ranch has alot to do with what they call "ranch culture". It works well for some and not at all for others. The sad fact is that it reflects the general lack of oversight on the part of the State of Vermont. The rules and regulations up there leave alot to chance. A google search of Spring Lake will give you a history lesson on the down side but there are good sides.
There are loving and caring staff there but there is only so much anyone can do within the format they foster and administer. The jobs don't pay well which is no excuse for doing a bad job but it sometimes limits getting good professional help. The mental health field in general burns people out pretty quick. In some cases employees have been there too long and block productive change in the name of saving "ranch culture".
As a parent I know you feel as if you paid for your son to "have better" than he got but in general all the holistic farm formats employee the same kind of people and the clinical efforts differ. The prices are astronomical but compaired to hospital stay it is cost effective. We need better formats and more accountabilty from the providers. The clients, while not in complete control of themselves, bear some responsibility for their actions. If not they perhaps need to be in a much higher degree of care than can be provided at the farms.
Folks with mental health issues who can afford it tend to shuttle from one place like this to another which should give you a clue that the format needs work. Most professionals will tell you "we don't talk in terms of a cure". It makes for a great case for the constant billing cycle but how to we hold their feet to the fire for results that last?
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