Residential Treatment Farm Blends Care in Massachusetts

One residential addiction recovery program in Gardner, Massachusetts, is drawing attention for its integrated treatment approach, blending traditional counseling with animal-assisted therapy.

The program stands out among many Massachusetts treatment centers that typically focus on individual and group counseling or experiential therapies like art therapy, yoga, or meditation.

Routine and Responsibility Shape Change

Run by Shawn Hayden, the program at Gardner Athold Area Mental Health Association (GAAMHA) is based on the therapeutic community model of addiction treatment. Unlike many traditional inpatient programs, the setting for this program is a farm.

Life at the farm centers on daily responsibility. Each of the 16 men who live here cares for one animal. They’re expected to feed, clean and monitor its well-being.

So far, the resident animals include goats, pigs, chickens, horses and ponies. The goats are a favorite of resident Walter Cobb who has never been on a farm until coming to the program after a recent relapse. Cobb enjoys the routine of caring for them.

Work with the animals is not treated as separate from traditional therapy.

Residents balance their farm responsibilities with scheduled counseling and psychiatric care, reflecting a comprehensive behavioral health treatment model.

The goal is to create a structured environment designed to replace the instability of addiction with predictable expectations. 

Emphasis on Structure and Duration

Hayden built his program around daily responsibility, which may help residents who struggle on their own or have limited supervision in outpatient care.

A consistent routine leaves less room for impulsive decisions, providing guardrails during a time when the ability to make good judgments is fragile.

Caring for animals requires reliability and consistency, which are skills that often fall apart during active addiction.

Addiction experts have long believed that recovery requires more than the 28-day stay offered by most U.S. treatment programs. Longer residential programs like GAAMHA allow time for new routines and habits to replace old patterns to substance use and co-occurring challenges.

Longer stays also mean work done in therapy extends beyond crisis stabilization.

Therapeutic Communities Vary

Other than animal care wrapped into medical care and mental health treatment, the community treatment model followed at GAAMHA is not new.

Therapeutic communities have been around for centuries and experienced much success, including models that focus on outdoor activities and holistic care.

Hayden’s farm offers a different approach to residential treatment. Farm work and counseling take place over several months.

Longer stays enable residents to build habits and skills that shorter programs might not provide. While not all therapeutic communities operate this way, GAAMHA is a solid example of how combining routine with professional treatment can support addiction recovery. 

Find Treatment Today

If you or someone you care about is seeking help for substance use, mental health concerns, or both, support is available. Call 800-908-4823 (Sponsored) today to find a treatment center in your area that fits your unique needs.