Equine Assisted Psychotherapy
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Equine assisted psychotherapy pairs a qualified team which consists of a client, the licensed mental health professional and an equine specialist. This type of psychotherapy incorporates the use of an equine into the sessions. The clients do not ride on the horses for the sessions, but instead work the animal around on the ground by putting them through different obstacles. Equine Assisted Psychotherapy is experiential, meaning that the clients are given the opportunity to learn about themselves through the sessions. The group then has the ability to discuss the session, observe behaviors of themselves and the horses and then realize different patterns that they may be making and how to better cope with specific situations in their every day lives.
Individuals who can benefit from EAP are people with PTSD, behavior issues, ADD, substance abuse, eating disorders, depression and anxiety.
Equine Assisted Learning
Horses mirror individual and team energy. They can be used in many different activities to help a person or group of people work through many different scenarios and can improve productivity, communication and employee satisfaction. EAL has been compared to a type of ropes course, only using the power of the horse.
The true magic of an equine assisted learning session can be seen well after the team goes back to work and has left the herd. EAL focuses more on specific goals for the individual or group of people. Goals may be better employee performance, learning how to better work in a team setting or learning patience and leadership skills. An EAL group still consists of the mental health professional, the equine practitioner, the horses and the client or group of clients.