White Horse Ranch

Horses

Equine Assisted Psychotherapy

Equine Assisted Psychotherapy is an Experiential Model of Therapy, which rarely involves horseback riding. Client and horse arena or round pen activities, based on the client’s individualized Treatment Plan, are designed to teach delayed gratification. Equine Assisted Psychotherapy requires the client or group to apply certain skills in reaching specific goals, such as non-verbal communication, assertiveness, creative thinking, and problem solving.

Clients obtain leadership skills, a good work ethic in feeding their horse twice daily, along with frequent grooming, responsibility and confidence. A positive attitude is often developed, along with teamwork skills, a renewed sense of family member appreciation, and relationship building or re-building.

Horses are large and powerful, which creates a natural opportunity for some to overcome fears, while developing a positive sense of self-esteem, self-concept, and self-worth, resulting in a decreased desire for destructive behavior patterns in young women.

Working with therapeutic horses provides individuals, families, or groups with honest, non-judgmental insight. Therapeutic horses quickly become non-verbal, metaphorical mirrors, revealing a “root” issues within people more quickly in the arena than on a therapist’s couch using the psychoanalytic model of treatment.

Equine Assisted Psychotherapy addresses a variety of symptomatic behavioral issues, such as:

• Substance Abuse
• Anger Management
• ADD/ADHD
• Communication Needs
• Depression
• Anxiety Problems
• Eating Disorders
• Relationship Problems
• Abusive Behaviors
• Personality Disorders
• Fear of Rejection
• Conflict Management
• Somatic Complaints
• School Problems

• Equine Assisted Growth & Learning Association

• The Humane Society of the United States