Equine Assisted Psychotherapy
Award winning and evidence based
A powerful experiential therapy that is more effective than counselling
(pilot study Worcestershire County Council 2010).
Horses are able to read and mirror back your behaviour revealing clearly and without agenda how you are in the moment and change when you change. They reward authentic behaviour, faith and trust.
They are effective healers and approach clients in a peaceful giving way fully accepting and holding a space for them. This in itself has been transformational. In our programme we integrate CBT, psychodynamic, humanistic transpersonal approaches. Horses naturally have the qualities that therapists strive for. They can reconnect you to your authentic self. We are able to work with all people and all issues. We have a successful history with an extensive and diverse client base.
How it began
The equine assisted psychotherapy programme started 15 years ago from very humble beginnings. Through working with a very difficult horse that I clearly didn't have the skills needed to work with, I realised that the horse was mirroring my emotions directly. As a lecturer in psychology at the time, I was amazed by this as I could see the learning and therapeutic potential, to have a direct mirror that changes as you do and can teach in the moment, honest feedback with no agenda.
I started to listen to her body language more and recognised her inability to connect with me when I was inauthentic. She revealed when I was angry, ego driven or unbalanced (often not pleasant discoveries) and opened my awareness to where these emotions had come from. I knew that facilitating horses in therapy was how I wanted to work with others and was lucky enough to get onto an EAGALA course nearby. After I qualified I gave up my very good job a very foolish and yet great decision and started to work from a stable and rented field on the edge of Kinver Staffordshire.
Years and many hundreds of clients later, I now have a herd of 15 rescued horses working daily in equine assisted therapy. We have numerous clients that thank us for what the horses have done for them and in their darkest times given them what they needed to pull themselves out.
We have worked with people that have tried everything and not made progress or do not suit conventional therapy, from people who are non verbal with severe mental health issues to top business executives suffering from stress and self doubt.
