What is Equine Assisted Therapy?
Equine Assisted Psychotherapy integrates several psychological approaches with the use of one or more horses. The focus of horse or equine therapy, is not riding or horsemanship, but rather on self-exploration, insight, skills building, and learning. A specialized treatment team of a licensed Mental Health Specialist, a certified Equine Specialist and one or more Horses work with clients in an experiential manner to help them learn about themselves and others, while processing or discussing feelings, behaviors, and patterns. The goal is to help the client in social, emotional, cognitive, or behavioral ways and allows the client(s) to learn from natural successes, mistakes, and consequences.
What does a typical Equine Therapy session look like?
A typical session will consist of meeting with your Mental Health Specialist, Equine Specialist, and horse(s) for about 60-90 min. During this time, your treatment team will provide you an experience with the horse(s) and based on your interaction with the horse(s) the team may ask questions about what happened and/or help you process any insights you experienced to help you achieve your treatment goals.
Your Mental Health Specialist and Equine Specialist will always be the same, but horses may vary depending on what type of EAP sessions you and your team decide are appropriate for your goals.
What Kind of Equine Assisted Psychotherapy Sessions Do You Offer?
We have a variety of different group options running weekly and monthly, and we also offer individual or family group sessions geared to meet your specific needs. We also design larger scale programs for companies and organizations.
Will I Be Riding A Horse as Part of The PRogram?
All sessions at Hope Meadows Foundation are done with the client(s) on the ground interacting with the horse(s).
How do I prepare for my Equine Therapy session?
Keep an eye out for communication from us, with specific instructions for the session you are scheduled to attend. Everyone will receive an email with a link to their patient portal sign-in, where you will complete your basic consent and liability forms prior to the date of your appointment.
Please wear closed toe shoes that wrap around your entire foot. Boots are recommended. Please dress for the weather, as our sessions may be held in our indoor or outdoor arena and are subject to the elements. Wear clothing items you are comfortable getting dirty.
What is a Mental Health Specialist, and what is Their role?
There are several professionals present during an equine therapy session, one of which is a Mental Health Specialist. This specialist is always a licensed practitioner, certified by the Counselor, Social Worker and Marriage and Family Therapist Board for Ohio. The licensed counselor is there to help the particpant(s) in the session notice and address different emotions as they come up.
What is an Equine Specialist, and what is their role?
The primary job of the Equine Specialist is to protect the physical safety and carefully balance the needs of both clients and animals. This person will be monitoring the horses during the session and their behaviors, and may offer feedback on this during the session. The Equine Specialist is certified and is trained to work with horses in mental health practice.
Are the horses trained?
The horses are not trained to react or respond in any certain way for horse therapy sessions. We do work with them to build their confidence around different objects that may be used in sessions (i.e.; swim noodles, tarps, cones, balls, barrels, etc.), they do have at least basic training in ground skills and riding skills, and each horse is worked with daily so that the treatment team knows each of their personalities and can monitor their needs.
We want our horses to respond or react to clients naturally, as this is the gift they bring to clients in sessions. They naturally respond to each other in the herd and desire to be in relationship. When a client enters the space with the horse(s), the horse(s) will react in relationship to the client providing amazing opportunities for transformation.
What are the costs and Does Insurance Cover Equine Assisted Psychotherapy?
Cost of sessions vary depending on length of time, programming need and whether it is an individual or group session. Please call for pricing. We do offer a sliding fee scale based on income through our Compassionate Care Fund. Please feel free to check with us to see if financial assistance is available at this time. Most insurance companies in Ohio do not cover equine assisted psychotherapy therefore we do not bill insurers. Payment is due at the time of service in the form of cash, check or credit card. Patients can then contact their insurance company directly for reimbursement, if applicable. Treatment is a covered benefit under Health Savings Accounts (HSA) and Flexible Spending Accounts (FSA).