Equine Assisted Therapy

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Animals offer an extraordinary amount of emotional support to help clients navigate challenging emotional experiences. Equine-assisted psychotherapy incorporates horses into the therapeutic process where people engage in activities such as grooming, feeding, and leading a horse while being supervised by a mental health professional. Often, people with anxiety related problems find themselves stuck in worry about their past and fear about their future. Goals of this form of therapy is to help people develop skills as emotional regulation, self-confidence, and responsibility and to offer a much different experience than traditional talk therapy. It brings people outdoors and gives an opportunity to use all senses while learning and processing through emotional challenges. However, equine therapy is combined with some traditional talk sessions as well. For Children, Teens and Adults: Equine therapy is as effective with children and teens as it is with adults experiencing challenges such as: Trauma Anxiety, stress Depression or mood problems Emotional detress Self-awareness problems Equine therapy offers a therapeutic environment that feels less threatening and more inviting than a traditional talk therapy office. The majority of children participating in EAP are between the ages of 6 to 18 years old. As clients might find themselves vulnerable when trying to open up about emotional challenges, past experiences, or life transitions, the horse can offer a safe reference point to use for processing. Equine-assisted psychotherapy allows youth, and people of all ages, to work on issues such as: Assertiveness Confidence Developing and maintaining relationships Emotional awareness Empathy Impulse control Problem-solving skills Social skills Trust in others Trust in self Having the horse present may offer a sense of peace, as they only will react to the client's behavior and emotions with no threat of bias or any judgment of their emotional experience. Horses are keen observers and are vigilant and sensitive to movement and emotion. This also allows for clients to maintain a sense of self-awareness, using the horse's behavior and interactions for feedback and opportunities to check in and process what is happening in the moment. For individual equestrian therapy, the recommended time frame for children is 50 minutes and 90 minutes for adults.