Gould Farm has been dedicated to fostering mental health recovery for over a century. However, the concept of recovery and its boundaries warrant closer examination. Does recovery have a distinct beginning and end? Is it an ongoing journey or does it culminate in a definitive conclusion?
Recovery manifests uniquely in each individual life. While common threads may be discerned, no two people traverse the same path or perceive themselves in identical ways. Though recovery defies rigid definitions, we offer the next best alternative: personal accounts of former guests alongside empirical data from our ongoing outcomes study. By providing this information, our intention is to instill a sense of hope that recovery, though elusive to define, is undeniably tangible.
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Outcomes Study Presentation & Key Takeaways
In early July 2023, Gould Farm board member and retired Williams College professor, Laurie Heatherington, Ph.D., presented at a conference on the topic of the Gould Farm 20-year outcomes study. Below is a recording of that 40-minute presentation as well as some salient graphs further below that illustrate the measured impact that a therapeutic community can have on symptoms of mental illness and quality of life.
On average, guests reported statistically significantly less severe symptoms following treatment. This was true regardless of their DSM diagnosis.
Based on guest interviews and surveys, there were statistically significant gains in self-reported quality of life, in each of these domains, at the time of discharge.
The issue of access
After reviewing the content in this post, you might find yourself experiencing a mixture of hope and despair, particularly if you are facing financial barriers to accessing the care you need. The reality is that residential treatment can be prohibitively expensive, and many health insurance plans do not consider it medically essential. However, Gould Farm has consistently pursued the goal of assisting as many individuals as possible by implementing a fee reduction policy from the very beginning, taking into account the financial circumstances of each family. We are committed to making our services more accessible and ensuring that financial constraints do not hinder individuals from receiving the care they require.
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