A Dream of Elijah’s Place
Lantern Lane Farm
In the early 2000s, when Ralph & Joni Cook (along with son, Brandon & his wife Rachel) founded Lantern Lane Farm, it was a result of Ralph’s personal revelation of the power of healing through therapy. The Cooks purchased the farm from owners who had also used the property for therapy and adopted its name, which symbolized the idea of a safe place along the underground railroad. Lantern Lane became a non-profit 501(c)(3) public charity in 2008. By dedicating their lives to the mission of healing through therapy, many have discovered how the Cook’s farm (along with its horses) is a place of peace, safety and tranquility.
Elijah’s Place
Elijah’s Place at Lantern Lane Farm was inspired by one family’s tragic loss of an infant son in 2010 and their recovery. The Green family experienced the farm as a place of non-judgment; a haven of rest away from a misunderstanding and accusing public.
Through powerful work with the horses and guided by Ralph’s personalized care, the Greens learned to Grieve Well. Honoring the memory of Elijah, they emerged ready to step into a new vision of family.
God had a Different Plan…
Designed to “Meet Tomorrow’s Needs Today,” Elijah’s Place was a vision ahead of its time! A safe place for spiritual, emotional, and physical healing to all in need, it featured an innovative design - with space for horses, meetings and private therapy rooms to be built on the back side of the Cook’s property. The plan laid out a grand design to serve the growing need for mental health services. It included a covered arena so that equine therapy, so transformational in the healing process, would be available year-round, through all kinds of weather. But God had a Different Plan for the Cooks and for their farm.
Their dream, though, still alive, would unfold in a different way.
Good reputation spurs growth and over the next five years, counseling service expanded to reach thousands of clients and include many more therapists! Several excellent licensed and pre-license counselors joined Lantern Lane along with an ever-growing number of counseling students from area colleges and universities. The internship program at LLF not only provides professional counseling students a unique opportunity to complete their master’s level programs, it broadens the organization’s ability to assist those in need (especially those with limited financial resources) to receive necessary mental health services. Church partnerships continued to grow, as community leaders recognized the organization’s commitment to client care. With only one room left in the Cook’s home for their personal living space, a decision was made. Counseling Services would be relocated to a large cabin nearby. While clients continued to benefit from the countryside setting, the horses were now offsite! They managed, by making trips to the farm for equine sessions, as needed. But true to trend, Lantern Lane soon outgrew the cabin in 2018.
To continue their dedication to offering affordable counseling services in a county-side setting, in the spring of 2018, the Cooks moved out of their farmhouse to their new residence in nearby Lebanon. The term a ‘house divided’ took on an exciting and different meaning at Lantern Lane. Renovation of the farmhouse in early 2018 split up large interior spaces, making 12 offices.
Lantern Lane would rent the Cook’s farmhouse and continue to provide a variety of counseling approaches to those in need. And, when the weather would cooperate, therapists and equine specialists were able to integrate the power of healing through horses by using the round-pen located behind the barn, as needed. Clients who’ve worked with the horses understand the transformational power of healing that comes from equine-assisted psychotherapy and learning.