Spirit of Gheel is a private, non-profit residential therapeutic community founded in 1984 in the Pennsylvania countryside. Two licensed residential houses — Gheel House and Buttonwood Farm — connected by a covered bridge built in 1856. Serves adults 21+ with primary diagnoses including schizophrenia, schizoaffective disorder, bipolar disorder, major depression, OCD, anxiety, and panic disorder. Licensed psychiatrist as Medical Director with Psychiatric Nurse Practitioner on-site. Transitional Living Program supports residents capable of independent living.
Best for
Adults with serious persistent mental illness who are medication-compliant and would thrive in a small, non-institutional community setting rooted in humanitarian values.
Modalities
Depth elements
Founded in 1984 by followers of Rudolf Steiner's anthroposophic philosophy, consciously models itself on the 700-year tradition of community-based psychiatric care in Geel, Belgium — where people with mental illness lived among families rather than in institutions. Non-institutional, humanitarian ethos emphasizing residents as community members, not patients. Music groups focus on both personal and socially shared dimensions of musical expression.