Farm-Based Therapy with Megan Moran, Cultivate Farms

March 18, 2026·20 min·2 clips

A study shows 10 minutes with pygmy goats elevates mood and decreases negative states in kids aged 7 to 17.

Host Doug Stephan interviews Megan Moran, executive director of Cultivate Care Farms in Bolton, Massachusetts. The farm offers outpatient, farm-based therapy that combines licensed mental health clinicians with animal and land care. Megan explains that farm-based therapy originated in Europe as an approach for reintegrating people with serious mental health conditions or criminal backgrounds. The model at Cultivate Care Farms emphasizes partnership between clinician and client, contrasting with traditional therapy's expert-patient dynamic. Clinicians learn farm work alongside their clients, which establishes a more egalitarian therapeutic relationship. The farm has experimented with multiple animal types — including horses, pigs, Dexter calves, and goats — and selected animals based on temperament, hardiness, and suitability for the client population. Pigs were tried and eliminated after they began trapping clients in pens; Dexter calves were moved after proving territorial with younger children. The farm currently works primarily with pygmy goats and chickens. An IRB-approved study documents measurable mood elevation after 10 minutes with goats; a second study tracks symptom reduction in anxiety and depression for children ages 7 to 17 over one year of treatment. The farm serves approximately 180 clients per week in hour-long sessions. Clients range from age 5 upward and include individuals on the autism spectrum, those with ADHD, depression, anxiety, trauma, adoption-related challenges, and grief. During the COVID-19 pandemic, the farm served as one of the few outdoor therapy options available. When animals pass, memorial ceremonies are held — providing grief processing opportunities for children who could not attend funerals for relatives lost during the pandemic. The farm treats its animals as therapeutic partners and will rehome animals that show signs of stress or incompatibility, keeping family units together when relocating. The farmhouse itself includes spaces for baking, knitting with animal wool, and art, reinforcing the community dimension of the model. Megan describes a care farming network with annual conferences and expresses openness to advising farmers seeking to start similar programs. The farm accepts insurance, offers scholarship-funded free or reduced-cost treatment, and has grants enabling schools to bring students for therapeutic activities. The website cultivatefarms.org provides information on programs and how to get involved.

As heard by us

A grounded look at farm-based outpatient therapy, with access, animals, and real limits in view.

Doug Stephan's conversation with Megan Moran of Cultivate Care Farms treats the farm as both a place and a working part of outpatient therapy.

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Why you'd press play

You want to hear how a farmhouse therapy practice folds animals and land into outpatient care.

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