Horses are excellent co-therapists. Their sensitive, intelligent and social nature make them uniquely effective in animal-assisted therapy. Horses provide rich metaphors relating to issues in clients’ lives, allowing clients to relate the horse’s experiences to their own, and share their feelings and issues in a way that is both dynamic and less threatening than traditional talk therapy.
When you talk about something so much, eventually it doesn't have an impact anymore, but when you touch and interact with a horse, the issue will present itself in another way. The insights are often felt immediately in the body, kinesthetically, as an 'aha' experience. This "kinesthetic metaphor" is the linchpin of Equine Assisted therapy.
Equine assisted psychotherapy dramatically speeds bonding with resistant clients, particularly adolescents. Often kids are reluctant to sit down and do a lot of talking about their feelings. Many kids are unwilling to take part in traditional talk therapy and prove resistant to traditional interventions. Incorporating horses into a session gives the client and the therapist a bonding point. In our experience, a few moments of 'patting noses' has quieted and totally changed the demeanor of youth arriving at the farm initially tense or angry.
Limitless metaphors emerge, relating to issues of safety and protection, nurturance, boundaries, communication, and relationship dynamics. Clients indirectly but openly disclose their feelings, behaviors, and needs. The horses become a safe place to talk about their feelings and create new coping skills.
Equine facilitated sessions are rich in projective material. The horses are a key part of the treatment team, and with the therapists and facilitators, they bring to the session their own personalities and history. Their quirks and behaviors are interpreted by the client through the lens of their own emotions and behaviors, providing insight into feelings they might not otherwise disclose. In this way, equine therapy rapidly breaks down defense barriers.
Unlike traditional office sessions, which rely almost entirely on self-report, equine facilitated sessions allow for direct observation of behaviors, emotional responses and patterns, in real-time situations with real results. The experiential nature of EAP allows a therapist and client to practice new behaviors in a dynamic situation with a living creature. Equine therapy is similar to role-play, but with the added benefit of authentic reaction from a living animal who exercises choice. Rather than discuss a new behavior, go out and try it in their lives and report back in the next week’s session, clients can try a new behavior with the present support of their therapist and process the results of taking a new action.
Equine Assisted Psychotherapy draws on many paradigms, particularly cognitive, gestalt, person centered, family systems, and transactional analysis. It draws heavily from reality therapy, as well. Its versatility makes it an effective tool for a broad spectrum of theoretical approaches.
Providing therapy with Horizon Farm EAGL Center:
The EAGL Center works with a licensed, insured mental health professional, Linda Pucci, PhD, in providing psychotherapy services. We also partner with therapists in making equine assisted therapy available to the therapist’s own clientele. Referrals are accepted if that is deemed beneficial by Dr. Pucci and the referring therapist.
Experience with horses is helpful but not required. Rather, what is needed is the ability to understand and observe the bonding between a horse and a client, and relate to the therapeutic metaphors of this approach.
Horizon Farm EAGL Center provides:
- All-weather facilities in a beautiful setting
- Innovative Workshops
- Highly Qualified Professionals
- Creative Problem Solving and Effective Communication
- Individual, family, or group counseling
- The magic of horses providing new insights
- Responsibility, self-esteem, impulse control, social skills
- 40 years of horse experience
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