Tired of Talking About It?

Equine Assisted Psychotherapy (EAP) can be a good alternative or a good conjunction therapy for people that may have tried traditional talk therapy and either haven't been able to reach their goals or are stuck. Don't get me wrong- I am still an advocate for traditional talk therapy and am happy to offer that as part of my practice but EAP can be a great solution for a couple of specific scenarios.

The client who doesn't want to go to counseling:

EAP is a kind of experiential therapy - meaning that it's the experience that promotes change and healing. For a lot of clients, especially adolescents, being drug to a cramped office to sit with a stranger and talk about hard things is not at the top of their to do lists. When I was a new therapist, I learned quickly that if clients have something to keep their hands busy they open up much faster. An activity as simple as brushing a horse can provide enough of a distraction to ease into talking. Much like play therapy, horses can act as metaphors in client's lives. Clients may feel less vulnerable telling a horse's story rather then their own. It is amazing to me how time after time the horses show up exactly where they need to be for the client to tell their story.

The client that is stuck and not improving with regular counseling

Because horses are prey animals, they are very attuned to what it is going on in their environments. I have heard it said that the horse can read a person's breath rate, temperature and blood pressure from a long distance enabling them to understand if they are going to need to defend themselves against a predator. The smallest movements that a horse makes (the flick of an ear, the swish of tail) mean very definitive signals to other horses. This translates to horses being extremely aware of the energy we carry. Horses are not tolerant of incongruence. Incongruence is a term often used in counseling that means what a person is saying is not lining up with what they are feeling and/or what behaviors they are displaying. Often times in a traditional counseling session it would be the counselor's job to point out incongruencies. For example, "You say you want to be sober but you have not been going to any of your AA meetings." With equine assisted psychotherapy, its the horses job to point these out- and let me say that they are far more effective then most humans are. For example, if you come into a session with the horses saying everything is good but feeling very angry inside, chances are the horses won't want to be near you because they don't trust what they don't understand. This can give a client immediate feedback in a non threatening way that they may struggle with hearing from another person. If you are happy with your therapist but feeling like you are stuck - a session or two using the horses could be just what is needed to move forward. I am happy to collaborate with other counselors (authorizations by client are required) to help a client move forward.

Send me an email at cari@simplegiftscounseling.com or give me a call at 417-396-2225 if you have any questions or want to know if EAP is right for you.