Equine Assisted Learning (EAL)
Why Equine Assisted Learning?
Experiential learning occurs when facilitated experiences are supported by reflection, critical analysis and synthesis. Experiences are structured to require the learner to take initiative, make decisions and be accountable for results.
What is Involved?
Equine Assisted Learning (EAL) is an experiential model that has gained wide recognition for its unique approach and powerful outcomes. There is no riding involved. EAL takes people and horses, and puts them together in activities that are led by trained facilitators including an equine specialist. This team approach assures the highest level of safety during the EAL session.
Typical Experience
Participants initiate tasks that involve interacting with the horses while the facilitation team observes. Afterward, the participants process the activity, noticing their behaviors and responses to the experience. Often, participants are able to make connections between their experience with the horse, and their experience with people, and with issues and circumstances in their work environment.
Benefits
EAL provides endless opportunities for participants to address the dynamics critical to team performance. The equine activities also promote personal growth and relationships: learner to self, learner to others and learner to the world at large.
Equine Assisted Psychotherapy (EAP)
Why Equine Assisted Psychotherapy?
By using the metaphor of the horse, Horses and Heroes focuses on wellness and solution-based psychotherapy. The model of equine growth and learning activities and equine assisted psychotherapy used by Horses and Heroes are grounded in and sanctioned by the Equine Assisted Growth and Learning Association (EAGALA).
What is Involved?
Equine Assisted Psychotherapy (EAP) is a new and emerging field in mental health. It is a therapeutic team approach that pairs a licensed mental health professional and an equine specialist trained and certified to provide a model of psychotherapy that promotes growth and change in people through interactions with horses.
EAP is not a riding or horsemanship program; all activities take place on the ground. It is a short term solution-based approach that involves the use of metaphor as a way to address current life challenges that may be limiting a healthier emotional and psychological state of being.
EAP can be helpful in treating a variety of clinical problems including but not limited to depression, anxiety, PTSD, eating disorders, behavioral and impulse control problems, relationship issues, chemical dependency issues and other addictive behaviors.
Typical Experience
Equine Assisted Psychotherapy utilizes ground activities that invite participants to look at current styles of relating, communication (including verbal and nonverbal), problem solving and emotional regulation. It also affords opportunities for increased awareness and assessment of current beliefs and attitudes as well as the possibility to explore new patterns of thoughts and behaviors.
EAP elicits metaphors consistent with identified treatment issues and goals and fosters working towards improvement or resolution of these. Through the course of treatment, specific goals, objectives and interventions are identified and documented. EAP allows a participant to respond to difficult and challenging situations in the here and now through the activities with the horses. It helps with a variety of behavioral and psychological challenges and issues. Participants learn about themselves and others by processing the horse&s response and their own feelings, thoughts and behaviors during the session.
Horses as Therapeutic Metaphores
Therapeutic metaphors allow participants to search the psyche to locate the area of meaning most relevant to their current psychological challenges and state of functioning. The activities and the horses all become potential metaphors used to address treatment goals and psychological difficulties that brought the participant into therapy.
Metaphores for Emotional Life or Significant People
Horses can become the metaphor for aspects of an individual&s emotional life or for significant people in an individual&s life. While engaging in structured activities the individual has the opportunity to learn about how they approach their life problems as well as how they establish relationships. Participants benefit from processing the session to assess the interpersonal impact and by having the opportunity to look at what works, what does not work and then being able to try again.
Metaphores for Relationships
Horses represent metaphors for relationships in a variety of ways including: how physical and emotional needs are met within a relationship; problem ownership (whose problem is it); taking responsibility for recognizing how personal actions affect others and looking at beliefs regarding relationships. The insights gained and skills learned in this area can then be related to other aspects of the individual&s life.
Benefits
Potential benefits of EAP include building self confidence, self efficacy and empowerment, communication, trust, anxiety reduction and impulse modulation, addressing boundaries, assertiveness and practicing social skills. EAP is a problem solving model of change that utilizes metaphor to look at expanding perceived limitations, allows behavioral practice and cognitive restructuring.
