Gould Farm. A Model of Compassionate and Holistic Healing
Today on the podcast, I bring on two senior members of the Gould Farm team. This episode truly inspired me because it really validated the fact that there are incredible people, and in this case--teams of people--doing amazing work to help those who've been impacted by mental health issues and trauma.I turned off the mic and walked away from my desk after the interview and I was like, "These two women are amazing and their team must be incredible to do the work they do."Gould Farm. A Model of Compassionate and Holistic Healing. Gould Farm is a unique and pioneering refuge for people with mental disorders…a place where respect and relationship, work and friends, are central to the healing process. We need many more such places in the world.” — Dr. Oliver Sacks
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Gould Farm is the first residential therapeutic community in the nation dedicated to helping adults with mental health and related challenges move toward recovery, health and greater independence through community living, meaningful work, and clinical care.
In a supportive community environment made up of residents, staff and their families, we help adults begin to rebuild and regain their lives. Gould Farm offers a full continuum of care, with programs in both Boston and Western Massachusetts for those ready for new challenges and structured transition.
To learn more visit: https://www.gouldfarm.org
Founded in 1913, Gould Farm is the first residential community in the nation dedicated to helping adults with mental health challenges move toward recovery, health, and greater independence through community living, meaningful work, and clinical support. Within this safe, family-like community made up of guests, staff, families and volunteers, all members are accepted, respected and celebrated as individuals.
We work with adults who are living with mental health conditions such as depression, bipolar and schizoaffective disorder and schizophrenia. Gould Farm provides a safe environment in which everyone feels accepted and trusted while also being held to high expectations as a productive, working member of the community. Guests are empowered to share their many talents with the community and are also given the opportunity to learn and practice new skills in a supported environment.
Guests work with the clinical team to optimize their medications, build compensatory strategies to manage the symptoms of their illness, and create resiliency in work and social contexts. Through a stepped progression, symptoms improve, real-life skills are learned, and a sense of worth and hope is recovered that allows the individual to build the strength and confidence to move towards greater independence and recovery.
Gould Farm offers a continuum of services including supported transition out of residential treatment and an extended community in both the Berkshires and the Boston area.
Lisanne Finston, Executive Director
Lisanne came to Gould Farm after 20 years serving as Executive Director of an innovative anti-hunger organization serving people with mental health and addiction challenges in N.J. She received her MSW from Rutgers University and her Masters of Divinity from Princeton Theological Seminary.
Lisanne values the pioneering model practiced at Gould Farm that blends old fashioned, life-enhancing work, with the best in clinical practices to support healing and recovery. From the Farm to Fellside, she loves being a part of this community and seeing people regain a sense of purpose and widen their circle of support for the journey.
Jane Linsley, Clinical Director
Jane has been working in the field of mental health and addictions for over 30 years, and on the Gould Farm Clinical Team since 2004. She has been Clinical Director of the team since 2006.
A graduate of Smith School for Social Work, Jane is licensed in social work and addictions, with additional certifications in both Trauma and Women’s Relational Theory of Mental Health.
Jane has as an on-going passion for beneficial new therapies and work in the area of mental health care, as well as an on-going, and long-standing, passion for how people relate to issues of inclusion and the shame resulting from stigma – both for the individual and as a culture.
Being part of a multifaceted team is for her both a privilege and a boon, especially the opportunities it allows to explore and introduce the exciting principles of therapies like Open Dialogue, which enhance the Gould Farm network of support around Guests.
She especially values the opportunity working at Gould Farm gives her to work with Guests as they recover from whatever crisis brought them to the Farm and for the way in which the use of her skills, expertise and experience in Gould Farm’s residential setting allows her to accompany people as they grow and change in their individual recovery. She is privileged too in the way her work with both staff and Guests challenges her to personally grow and change.
In This Episode