Equine Assisted Therapy - COMING SOON!
Equine Assisted Psychotherapy (EAP) is a unique type of therapeutic experience led by a Licensed Professional Counselor (Dave) and assisted by the intuitive and healing energy of horses.
Dave participating in his first EAP training in Erie.
Because horses are so very sensitive and responsive to a person’s energy, they lend themselves naturally to the healing process. EAP is a revolutionary way of tapping into your own habits, communication skills, energy and emotions.
Equine Assisted Therapy does not actually involve horseback riding. So no horse experience is necessary! During a session, you may engage in guided activities such as grooming, feeding, touching or leading a horse. The horse is an active participant, offering immediate feedback for us to consider and discuss together. Each session is dynamic and customized for your therapeutic goals.
Why combine horses + therapy?
“Equine-assisted work honors the natural behavior of horses and herds. Horses are skilled at keeping themselves safe and adept at survival; their natural behaviors are optimal for mental and physical health. In many respects, humans have lost the instinct to keep themselves safe and healthy. We entrust horses to show us the way back to health. Work and observation in the horse world lends itself to extremely powerful metaphors into our own patterns, strengths, and the nonverbal messages we send out. EAP implements the power of equine-assisted principles and exercises to introduce therapy clients to themselves in a modality that has been found to be more efficient and less threatening than traditional talk therapy.” - OK Corral
In the early 1990s, Greg Kersten created the term "Equine Assisted Psychotherapy" to describe the specific work he was doing with horses and at-risk youth who were incarcerated or in treatment. At the time, no one had ever used the phrase "equine-assisted" to describe the powerful healing and informative powers of horses on the lives of humans.