Equine Assisted Learning

1712 Words4 Pages

Equine Assisted Learning and Psychotherapy
Equine Assisted Psychotherapy can be explained in many different ways. However, the basis of all of these definitions have been experimental approaches of working with people. What is meant by experimental approaches is that the client learns about his or her behaviors, feelings, and patterns though working with horses (Frewin, Gardiner, 2005). The clients can also learn about others in the group, if a group therapy session is held, in hopes to help the other with any behaviors they notice during the session. One thing that is worked on in Equine Assisted Psychotherapy is the setting and acknowledgement of boundary setting (Shultz, Remick-Barlow, Robbins, 2007) . Just like many humans, horses do not …show more content…

The therapists in Equine Assisted Learning are designed as learning and communications mediators and help provide a calming effect during the initial sessions of the therapy (Burgon 2011). Clients of the program can include socio-economic factors such as poverty, class and cultural expectations, and childhood exposure to stressful and traumatic events. Many times, when a child is introduced to these situations, they do not know how to care for themselves, and rely on any other adult or person, even if they are teenagers or older. Through providing Equine Assisted Learning, these individuals can learn how to care for themselves and others through the use of horse. They can understand the needs of a household as well as how to care for other people, an essential requirement if they decide to start a family. The horse can act as the child, being completely dependent on the client for food, love, and grooming. This simulates how it would be to have a child that they have to take care of. Being on the farm and doing barn chores can simulate the needs of the household, giving the client an idea as how much work it takes to keep a house tidy and orderly. With horses being sensitive to physical abuse, clients can see how a child or a spouse would react if they hit them or used a stern voice. Knowing this, the client can adapt their coping mechanisms to a way that does not hurt the horse, and would therefore not hurt a person. Individuals can also cope with alcohol or drug abuse, both from personal experience and experience from parental abuse. By being able to move such a large animal, they can learn that they actually do have control of their life. The horse can be used as a physical representation for the substance that is being abused. Moving the “substance” will allow the individual is able to see that the alcohol or drug can not control them, but in reality,

Show More
Related

  • Therapy Dog Research Paper

    518 Words  | 2 Pages

    Some medical professionals do not believe that mental health patients can benefit from therapy dogs and go as far as saying it is a risk far as to say that it is a to the patient and compromise the patients ability to take care of the dog. When people who suffer with mental health issues qualify to get a therapy dog. The mental health patient is tested to see if they are capable of taking care of the dog. Those in need of assistance should use therapy dogs frequently do to the part of the benefits to using these pets to improve mental and emotional health as and physical health. Therapy dogs are beneficial to people who suffer from mental health issues by providing companionship as well as support. Some people with mental health issues have a hard time trusting others and need someone to talk to; Service dogs are important because to make they people with mental health problems feel better and help people with these disorders deal with their emotions.

    Read More

  • Pros And Cons Of Equine Therapy

    1602 Words  | 4 Pages

    Equine therapy, as everything else, has its pros and cons. According to Meghan Vivo of Elements Behavioral Health, a drug rehab treatment center, equine therapy “can bring up unmet needs, fears, past trauma, and feelings of inadequacy or lack of control.” The use of these huge creatures can make people feel inadequate and the idea that another being has some control does not work for everyone. Therapy can be a long, extensive process and the results are not immediate. Patients do not always want to to wait for progress to be made, especially when that progress requires the patient to face his/her fears. Additionally, “trying to control or dominate will not work with a horse,” because horses are prey animals, so attempting to control a horse can worry the creature and, in response, the horse may act out. Horses are very clear about their boundaries and, for the most part, do not tolerate people crossing said boundaries. Riders must be careful around horses, wrong movements or upsetting a horse does not typically end well. To combat this, equine therapists and mental health professionals are well equipped to deal with horse-related injuries and emergencies and therapy horses must go through rigorous training to become certified. Patients and riders are also trained on barn etiquette and rules, such as no running or yelling around horses, no walking

    Read More

  • The Benefits of Therapeutic Riding

    1321 Words  | 3 Pages

    As of 2011, it has been reported that there are 650 million disabled people in the world (“Disabilities”). Though this number is high, it is greatly underestimated because disabled people are commonly isolated and stigmatized by their community (“Disabilities”). After hearing of this extremely high number of disabled people, I then ultimately decided I would write my research paper on ways to help the disabled. Therapeutic riding has been actively helping individuals with disabilities for decades, and can benefit these unfortunate people physically, mentally, and emotionally. “Therapeutic riding, which originated in Europe, has been actively helping individuals with disabilities since the 1950's” (Shepard). Through equine-orientated activities, therapeutic riding is used to contribute to the cognitive, physical, emotional, and social well being of people with emotional issues and disabilities (Shepard). I was astonished on how many ways therapeutic riding can benefit disabled people.

    Read More

  • Azlyn's Stables Of Hope: A Case Study

    167 Words  | 1 Pages

    I am presently enrolled in the Master of Science in Professional Counseling with an Emphasis in Trauma program, at GCU. While searching for possible practicum sites, I happened upon, Azlyn's Stables of Hope. This facility offers equine-assisted psychotherapy to children and adolescent victims of sexual and physical abuse. Alternatively, Tafoya Counseling is reportedly excellent, and provide various psychotherapeutic practices. Azlyn's Stables of Hope appears to be an ideal placement, equine therapy in general, and childhood trauma, in particular, is two areas which would prepare me for the road ahead, in wilderness therapy. Having volunteered with equine therapy for disabled youth, the relationship between human and horses is remarkable,

    Read More

  • Equine Veterinarian Essay

    731 Words  | 2 Pages

    Equine veterinarians are animal doctors who provide medical care for horses. They examine, test and occasionally operate on or euthanize the animals. Travel to ranches and farms is often necessary, and equine vets have to work outdoors in various types of weather conditions. Being an equine veterinarian is a pleasant career choice because of great interactions with varied types of horses and their owners , the basic information, and the pros and cons of an equine veterinarian.

    Read More

  • Outgrowing the Pain: A Book For and About Adults Abused as Children

    1851 Words  | 4 Pages

    In the book, Outgrowing the Pain: A Book For and About Adults Abused as Children, Dr. Eliana Gil discusses the causes and effects of traumatic experiences adults abused as children have undergone during their childhood. Throughout the book, Dr. Gil introduces various types of abuse within the family such as emotional, physical, and sexual abuse. Furthermore, Dr. Gil explains how to guide these once mistreated adults to understand and cope with each situation.

    Read More

  • The Effect of Dog Assisted Therapy on Elderly Patients with Dementia

    570 Words  | 2 Pages

    The US Census in 2000 has reported that, during the late 20th century and the beginning of the 21st century there has been a large increase in the number of elderly people living in the United States of America, which will likely result in an increased incidence of dementia. In recent years, dog-assisted therapy has been widely regarded as a generally accepted method of providing elderly residents with good feelings and an increase in self-maintenance behavior. The aim of this study is to examine the psychological and behavioral effects of dog-assisted therapy on elderly residents with dementia. I predict that dog-assisted therapy will help elderly people with dementia with their behavioral and emotional problems such as aggression, agitation and psychosis.

    Read More

  • Argumentative Essay On Horses

    803 Words  | 2 Pages

    Therapists such as Natalie Norrell believe that horses play a key role in the process of healing people with special disorders and

    Read More

  • Animal-Assisted Therapy in a Mental Health Perspective

    1219 Words  | 3 Pages

    Most people are familiar with service dogs and have seen them in action. Animal-assisted therapy is similar service animals in that an animal-human healing partnership is being created. However, the difference is that therapy pets are typically used to treat a mental disability whereas people with physical disabilities use service dogs to help them in many ways. Therapy animals are used in a wide variety of places, such as, hospitals, prisons, nursing homes, therapy sessions, mental healthcare facilities, and even in people’s homes. These amazing animals are used on a wide variety of different disorders, but they are utilized mostly by people suffering from depression, anxiety, and PTSD. For people with these mental health disorders, everything in live can be difficult and challenging, however with the help of animal-assisted therapy, their mood, motivation, and life can dramatically improve. Anyone who hears about these brave, loving animals soon falls in love with them. From a medical standpoint, there have been many successful studies and the support for animal-assisted therapy still continues to grow in doctors and therapists across the nation.

    Read More

  • Horse Training and Showing

    889 Words  | 2 Pages

    Riders and horses that compete prepare through a training process that aids participation skills and showmanship. Horse competitions require the people participating to have a certain level of experience and knowledge. Due to this, horse trainers put an extensive amount of time and effort into having to train their hose, prepare their horse, and participate in horse shows and events.

    Read More

  • Child Abuse Essay: Child Welfare And Family

    858 Words  | 2 Pages

    Poverty, addictions and mental health all contribute to this frightening social problem in the United States. Childhelp has a unique three step approach to helping end, as well as treat child abuse and neglect. First, programs exist to prevent the cycle of abuse. This is important because 30% of abused and neglected children will go on to be an abuser. Second, Childhelp has an intervention program that is dedicated to interceding and removing children from abusive and dangerous situations. Childhelp states that 80% or more of children who die from child abuse or neglect are younger than age five and therefore unable to remove themselves from living in danger. Lastly, Childhelp has a treatment program designed to give children a safe place to fall, with love, while equipping them with the tools needed to move forward from their hurtful pasts (Childhelp,

    Read More

  • Interpersonal Trauma

    888 Words  | 2 Pages

    The first phase is psychoeducation and parenting skills. In the first sessions we discuss the definition and nature of trauma, the effects of trauma on the brain, how it affects cognitions, behaviors, etc. This treatment approach focuses on trauma—it is in the name. It does not necessarily require a formal PTSD diagnosis, but the psychoeducation does focus on the effects of trauma, and the impact of post-traumatic stress. Essentially, it focuses on the label and “mental illness” of PTSD. Reality therapy would shy away from a focus on illness. Reality therapy would encourage the clinician to avoid the labels and focus on the choices behind the condition (pg. 15). Unfortunately, for victims of severe trauma, the neurological impact is very real. Ignoring it will not help the treatment process.

    Read More

  • Exploring Different Methods of Horse Training

    2330 Words  | 5 Pages

    The cowboy climbed aboard and gave a wild yell. The men holding the head of the horse let go and jumped back. Almost immediately the horse began bucking. The cowboy stayed with him though. The horse bucked around the pen slamming into the fence and off the post that was set in the middle of the pen. Finally the horse began to slow down and the cowboy got him under control. It would take another week of this before the horse would allow himself to be handled without blowing up.(Rashid 102)

    Read More

  • Dog or Horse?

    747 Words  | 2 Pages

    ...well as depression and they can help with many more mental diseases. Horses are also used to help people with mental problems. One major thing they are known for is they help farmers plow their farm soil. It is known

    Read More

  • Animal-Assisted Therapy (AAT)

    2692 Words  | 6 Pages

    Animal-Assisted Therapy (AAT), which can be provided in a group or individual settings, is designed to promote improvement in a human’s physical, social, emotional, or cognitive function. An article by Chitic, Rusu, and Szamoskozi (2012) provides an analysis in order to determine the value of AAT. Both dogs and horses that were trained for AAT were examined and studied to determine their effectiveness in treating patients with psychological disorders. The results showed that both therapy dogs and horses were valuable aids to the therapeutic process. The analysis suggests that proper training and repeated sessions were necessary for proper treatment of patients. In addition, certain disorders may benefit more than others in regards to AAT. For example, a child with ADHD may not benefit from a therapy dog’s presence, for it may worsen the hyperactive symptoms. On the other hand, a patient with depression may benefit greatly from the same animal (Chitic, Rusu, Szamoskozi, 2012). These findings are a perfect starting point to answering the research question: Do patients who engage in AAT display a betterment in their overall emotional well-being, as well as show improvement in their interpersonal interactions...

    Read More

More about Equine Assisted Learning

Open Document