Therapeutic care farm gives man with brain injury 'new lease of life'

A man who suffered brain damage after a serious assault three years ago has been given a "new lease of life" and a "new sense of purpose" through regular visits to a therapeutic care farm.

SweetTree Fields Farm is a 15-acre therapeutic care farm based in Mill Hill, 20 minutes from Central London. The farm was created by SweetTree Home Care Services 12 years ago and provides a varied programme of activities ranging from animal husbandry to horticulture, cooking to crafts.

Since his brain injury, John who was jobless became withdrawn and was at a real risk of becoming isolated. Now he visits the farm for four hours every Thursday as part of his therapy sessions with either a group-based support package or with 1-2-1 support.

John’s brother, Graham, said: “The farm has really changed John’s life for the better. Following the assault, he lost his job and his independence and had nothing to look forward to, but his visits to the SweetTree Fields Farm have changed all of that.”

As a former gardener and lover of animals, John has always enjoyed working outdoors and, as a result, his SweetTree care manager who provides his home care, felt his wellbeing, independence and personal development would benefit from having a bespoke care programme, which includes visits to the farm.

“John was welcomed to the farm on his first visit by lots of friendly and happy faces,” says Graham.

“The farm manager was fantastic and immediately made him feel at ease. On his first day he was sowing broccoli seeds which he loved, it really triggered his interest in gardening and the outdoors again which is fantastic as before he had nothing to look forward to.”

'I do not know of any other care provider with its own farm'

With each visit to the farm, a programme is created for John which supports the achievement of his developmental goals. To improve John’s level of socialisation, many of his activities are specifically configured to involve working in a group setting which also helps to enhance his ability to communicate with others, something that has been a challenge since his brain injury.

John’s love of animals is used to help develop his planning and executive function skills by ensuring he spends time with his support worker planning any animal husbandry tasks he will do on that day.

Where possible, John’s support worker will work with him the day before a visit to the farm to think through what is going to happen the next day so he has the opportunity to repeat the planning process numerous times before carrying out an activity.

Gemma Johnson, SweetTree Fields Farm service manager, said: “All of the projects we do on the farm and the activities are created as a vehicle to deliver therapeutic health and social care outcomes.

“The farm service offers an incredible environment to place these outcomes in a meaningful, engaging and fun context.

“I do not know of any other care provider with its own farm that is specifically and solely designed to enhance the lives of those that we support. We are blessed to share these opportunities and successes with our clients on our beautiful farm.”

His brother Graham adds: “It is really nice to see him happy again and that is all down to his visits to the SweetTree Fields Farm. It has given him a new lease of life and a new sense of purpose. As well as the gardening activities, he enjoys seeing the animals on the farm and meeting the other clients.

“Whilst John’s injuries have left him almost non-verbal, you can tell by the few words he utters and his facial expressions the impact that attending the farm has had on his life and how happy it makes him. We couldn’t ask for anything more.”

click here for more details or to contact SweetTree Home Care Services