Equine-Assisted Psychotherapy
Horses as Heart Healers
Throughout the years of my life that I have spent in relationship with horses, there is one thing that resonates the most about my experience with them, and it is that they are heart healers.
Horses don’t use verbal language to communicate with us, and yet they have the power to be our greatest teachers and healers in this life. Horses have a heart energy field that is powerful, and it is five times larger than a human’s. Through the process of co-regulation, our heart, our breath, and our nervous system can synchronize with theirs, leading to increased feelings of calm and a sense of feeling grounded.
Just as our bodies sync with theirs, theirs syncs with ours. They have an incredible ability to sense our internal world, even if it is not what we show on the outside. Because of their highly intuitive senses, they help us develop awareness of self and others, regulate our emotions, and teach us how to build safety and trust in real time. Through showing up congruently with how we feel and how we are portraying ourselves, horses teach us the important role that authenticity plays in our relationships. By being true to ourselves, this allows the horse to feel safe and comfortable enough to create a deeper bond with us, fostering a meaningful relationship.
To be fully yourself is the greatest gift that you can give to yourself, the world, and those that you love.
Equine-Assisted Psychotherapy Sessions
We offer Equine-Assisted Psychotherapy (EAP) sessions, and our sessions are 50 minutes in length. During an EAP session, you will be working with a licensed mental health professional (MH), an equine specialist (ES), and anywhere from 1 to 3 horses. EAP is a unique experiential process that involves building relationships with our horses. Sessions include various forms of interactions, including observing them in their paddocks, connecting with them in their environment such as their paddock or our outdoor arena, and working with them as a team by doing activities like leading and grooming. These sessions are unmounted, meaning there is no riding involved, and no prior horse experience is necessary.
Organizations that specialize in providing certification and professional training for equine-assisted therapies, like PATH International, EAGALA, and others like Natural Lifemanship, require professional certification, continuing education to maintain certification, and specific safety standards to operate from with consideration for physical and emotional safety for all participants: clients, horses and facilitators.
Within these organizations that specialize in training and standards for operation and safety, they require both a licensed mental health professional, as well as an equine specialist to facilitate EAP sessions. In these sessions it is important for both professionals to work together to ensure safety and to provide quality care. The licensed mental health professional is there for clients’ emotional safety, psychological support and processing. The equine specialist is there to focus on overall physical safety for all participants, and animal welfare.
Being that I am certified through both PATH International and EAGALA, my approach to my program and session structure is a combination of both.
We are also a PATH International Center Member.
Considerations When Choosing an EAP Program
Please note we do not currently have immediate openings for EAP. Feel free to contact us to join our waitlist.
Our EAP sessions run seasonally from spring into fall, and sessions are weather dependent. In the case of inclement weather on the day of your appointment (high winds, rain, thunder and lightning), the session will be rescheduled to another day and time.