The Fantasy of Healing Farms: A Dangerous Retreat from Reality

Hard Work Won’t Heal Trauma

Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s vision for “healing farms” as a solution to the addiction crisis is more than just a misguided policy — it’s a dangerous fantasy, an expensive nostalgia trip disguised as innovation. As the founder of Family WELLth Management, I’ve spent decades working with families in crisis, helping them navigate the complexities of addiction, mental health, and relational breakdowns. If there’s one thing I know, it’s this: addiction is not a character defect solved by hard labor and fresh air.

Romanticizing the Past Won’t Solve the Present

Kennedy’s proposal reads like a sepia-toned American fantasy, evoking a time when “good, honest work” and “reconnecting with the land” were seen as universal cures for moral failings. But addiction isn’t a moral failing, and neither is mental illness. The idea that addiction stems from a lack of discipline and self-esteem is dangerously outdated. It ignores decades of research on trauma, attachment wounds, and the psycho-neuro-hormonal-immune system’s role in substance dependence.

There is a reason we don’t send people with cancer to chop wood until they’re cured. The same should apply to addiction.