Five Components of
Farm-Based
Therapy
What is Farm-Based Therapy?
Below we dive into 5 Components of Farm-Based Therapy with what each looks like in a session at Cultivate Care Farms in Bolton, MA, and the mental health benefits gained from this work.
Hands-On Experience
What it looks like in a session:
trimming a goat’s hooves
building a climbing structure for the animals
painting a mural in the chicken coop
constructing a maze from hay bales
The mental health benefits:
increase resourcefulness and a self-confidence
gain a sense of empowerment and impact
create opportunities for self-regulation for clients who are sensory-seeking
build mastery over skills
Sustainability
What it looks like in a session:
growing and harvesting food to feed the animals
cleaning animal poop from the pens to add to the compost pile to create new gardens
selling chicken eggs to pay for chicken feed
using sheared animal wool and fiber to create yarn or wool roving for therapeutic projects
The mental health benefits:
observing processes over time, witnessing change and growth
participating in consistent work in order to achieve goals
developing a sense of resourcefulness
being able to see “the bigger picture”
The Life Cycle
What it looks like in a session:
assisting with bandaging and treating animals when they are injured
witnessing the live birth of animals
feeding and caring for new/rejected animals
spending time at the memorial space and participating in life/death ceremonies
The mental health benefits:
experiencing and working through a grief process in a supportive environment
being able to relate these experiences to the anticipation or the experience of observing birth or death in their own lives
practicing working through “big emotions”
Mindfulness
What it looks like in a session:
sensory input and integration: practicing balance while pushing a wheelbarrow filled with hay
experiencing temperature changes (the stream vs the firepit)
walking into a pen and tuning into the moods and behaviors of the animals before beginning work
swinging on a web-rider or laying in a hammock
catching the animals for health checks
laying down with a small animal on your chest and taking deep breaths
The mental health benefits:
learning and practicing grounding techniques
focusing on the present and taking space from past and future worries
getting out of one’s head and into one’s body
practicing self-regulation techniques
Community
What it looks like in a session:
making popcorn in the firepit and handing out snacks to other clients and clinicians
a snowball fight around the campus among clients and clinicians
working with other clients and clinicians to catch and care for animals
creating a “good mood guide” bookmark from our clients’ suggestions to pass out to trick-or-treaters at Halloween
participating in a quarterly community initiative projects to help other non-profit organizations that support children and families
The mental health benefits:
sense of being seen and understood
experiencing belonging and a sense of finding one’s herd
helping others as a step towards helping oneself
experiencing gratitude
witnessing and participating in the power of a strong community to effect change