We offer an integrated farm therapy program for those seeking recovery and healing around trauma, substance abuse, stress and other emotional or mental health challenges.
Farm Therapy
Gardening, permaculture lessons, cooking, animal care, farm project work and more.
EcoTherapy
The Gunnison National Forest is minutes away for nature walks & other outdoor healing.
Arts, Yoga & More...
Arts, music & movement are a part of the daily routine and therpy program.
Our therepy horses are happy to meet you!
Horses are very sensitive to people's energy. Our clients learn to interact with and care for these amazing animals. Horse therapy sessions are primarily on the ground.
*Some clients may transition to therepeutic horse-back riding if their personal sessions and ground-work therapy is progressing well.
Dig into farm life with a therepeutic focus
Hands-on gardening, farm work & animal care is accompanied by daily therapy sessions and many other activites and opportunities that are customized to your needs.
Transitional Living in a Supportive Environment
We are located on a 40-acre working horse ranch and farm retreat center in Delta County on the western slope of Colorado. The farm itself continues to transform as we incorporate permaculture design principles and expand our gardens and forest orchards. Permanent residents include horses, mini-horses, alpaca, goats, ducks, rabbits and Nimbus the cat.
Participants live on site in our large and well-appointed farm house with private or semi-private rooms. Although staff are on the property 24 hours a day, participants are not continually monitored.
Program Details: Is Farm Therapy Right for You?
Our accepted participants in our Residential Farm Therapy Program are adults 18 and over, who are currently impacted by one or more mental health issues listed below, that compromise their ability to interact in a healthy way in the outside world but are not at a level of residential care that has to monitor them 24 hours a day.
Our program is a combination of transitional living onsite along with our extended community farm therapy program.
Participants live onsite and engage in both regular therapy and farm therapy sessions six days a week with early mornings farm therapy on Sundays and the rest of the day free. Staff are available onsite 24 hours a day, but participants are not monitored when not in sessions & during their free time.
We have a psychiatrist available to renew prescriptions or speak to a participant about changing medications but will not be on hand to do standard sessions.
Clients participate in all aspects of the farm’s daily work, from caring for animals, gardening, and permaculture to baking and cooking in our campus bakery for clients daily. Participants will both learn new skills, and often re-discover their strengths, building confidence and self-esteem. Together we sustain a healthy community in which everyone can thrive.
Participants engage with teams and activities at their own pace of readiness, learning and participating more as they begin to feel that they can lead as well as independently engage in different jobs onsite on campus.
Mental Health Issues we work with in this program.
- Childhood trauma
- Post-traumatic stress disorder
- Anxiety disorders
- Depression
- Major Depression without psychotic features
- Social Anxiety
- Borderline Personality Disorder
- Dissociative Identity Disorder
- Bipolar disorder I and II
- Alcohol or Substance abuse
- Disordered Eating or under control eating disorders
- Extended grief
- Panic disorders
- Failure to launch issues
- Autism related issues
- ADHD
Clinical Support
Participants work closely with their therapists, transition counselor, and our psychiatric staff if needed. The foundation of our clinical work is relational, and mindfulness based, and we utilize various modalities depending on a guest's preferences and needs, including CBT, Neuroscience, Ecotherapy, Somatic, Music, Art, DBT, and other psychodynamic interventions.
Sessions and therapy focus can include:
- Clinical and wellness groups
- Skills groups
- Individual therapy sessions
- Group therapy sessions
- Ecotherapy groups
- Specialty groups
- Vocational sessions
- Meaningful Work
Gateways to Transformations Farm Therapy program is a voluntary program.
Our participants must be willing and able to engage in farm life and the group and individual activities within this program. For the success and safety of participants we do not accept:
Applicants with:
- Significant cognitive impairment.
- Anyone with active substance use disorder or eating disorders.
- (We are not a substance detox facility.)
- Anyone with active psychosis issues.
- Anyone with recent or ongoing violent behavior.
- Anyone with history of arson or sexual offenses
Therapeutic Farming & Ranching Community
Gateways to Transformations participants are welcomed into a multigenerational community. Staff and outside expert volunteers work on the campus alongside participants. Meals, holiday celebrations, and special events are planned and executed with participants and shared as everyone is encouraged to participate in activities that strengthen interpersonal relationships and self-confidence.
Participants live in one of three houses with both individual rooms and semiprivate (two bed) rooms, a semiprivate (two bed) Condo, or an individual apartment.
Each person has either a private room or shared semiprivate bedroom and shares a bathroom and common living areas.
Service and Therapy Dogs
Service dogs are allowed in the program if the owner is able to completely take care of them. People with service dog have first call on individual rooms and will sign the rules page around having a dog campus.
If someone has a dog who is well socialized and who they wish to go through a therapy dog program, they are allowed to bring that dog into the program and sign up for the Companion /Service dog program as well. They need to contact Gateways to discuss this and ask for the rules around having a dog on campus as well as the Companion/Service dog program contract. This is an additional charge.
Transition Support and Extended Community
Transition Residences
Participants move at their own pace through a continuum of services. Transition services are available for people wanting additional support while re-engaging with independence, both at our campus and via tele-health sessions.
Our campus is structured to also do transitional living onsite while engaging in independent living to maintain 30 hours of structure each week, which may include work, academic pursuits, and volunteering.
Non-Residential Services
Participants who are well established in their recovery and would like to maintain an on-going relationship to Gateways to Transformation can do so with the non-residential extended community services.
This program is available on a long-term basis and guests who have contracted for non-residential services are given priority readmission to residential treatment if the need arises.
Financial Information:
Gateways to Transformations Farm Therapy Program is a private pay facility. The daily fee is $400.00 or $12,000 for the month, which is billed monthly on a 30-day cycle. Incoming participants are charged for the first month at intake and are billed 10 days before their next month begins.
(We can not take insurance, Medicare and Medicaid.)
- Continuum of Services includes:
- Life in a caring therapeutic community of peers & staff
- Clinical services (Licensed Therapists by the State of Colorado)
- Support Staff (certified as life coaches or expert volunteers)
- A structured work program with varied activities both on and off campus.
- Transitional services in the Delta County Colorado area.
Please contact us with questions or to join this program
Call: 303-859-7385
Download the Admission Application
