The sensitive and intuitive spirit of the horse makes them a perfect partner for a wide range of modalities in therapeutic, mental health, self awareness, learning and trauma recovery settings. BCTRA supports these growing fields and encourages practitioners to seek accreditation and practice safety and professionalism in their endeavours. Potential clients should ask questions of their practitioners to ensue a safe, trusting and respectful experience.
Although partnering with horses for learning, wellness or mental health programs supporting personal development of humans goes by many names it has two main scopes of practice personal development or psychotherapy:
- Equine Assisted Learning/Wellness (EAL/EFW)
- Equine Assisted Psychotherapy (EAP)
Equine Assisted Learning (EAL)
Learning to think in a different way by exploring how horses and humans communicate is at the core of Equine Assisted Learning. EAL’s goal is to open up a natural way to explore areas of trust, respect, honesty and communication. Clients uncover how non-verbal cues may be developing barriers to understanding. Working with horses results in a heightened sense of self awareness revealing patterns of behaviour that might need to change. EAL/EFW services incorporate a range educational and personal development approaches, strategies and techniques designed to work towards self-exploration and personal growth. Practitioners develop planned interactions with horses selected to match the needs of the population they are working with.
Equine Assisted Psychotherapy (EAP)
Equine Assisted Psychotherapy is a type of animal assisted therapy that partners licensed mental health professionals with an experienced equine practitioner. Together they work with horses and structure sessions around the clinical needs of their clients. The powerful presence of the horse mirrors what the client’s body is telling them providing lessons and metaphors on how to facilitate change. EAP is therapy lead by a mental health professional in partnership with the horse. Mental Health professions are clinical counsellers or social workers in good standing with their governing professional body.