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Horse Adoption Application

Equine Assisted Psychotherapy (EAP) is an extremely powerful therapeutic process that utilizes horses experientially for emotional learning and growth. EAP uses a treatment team of a licensed mental health professional and an equine specialist in order to produce the most effective outcome. The treatment team, including the horses, works with the client in order to achieve the client's treatment goals. So, what does it mean to use horses experientially? Clients who come to experience EAP are not pulled directly into talk therapy. They are given a task to complete with the horses and, in the process, learn about themselves and create metaphors to their daily life. EAP is largely based on the "aha!" moments we sometimes overlook in life.

So, why are horses used for therapy purposes? Why not dogs, or cats, or rabbits? Well, horses are large and powerful creatures and their sheer size can be intimidating to some. This fear factor offers excellent opportunities for individuals to overcome fear and build confidence, as well as yielding some pretty powerful metaphors and messages for overcoming fear and obstacles in life. Horses are actually very much like humans. Horses, like humans, are social animals and have distinct roles within their herds and they would rather be with peers. Each horse possesses a different attitude and will display varying moods if pressed. A method that perhaps worked with one horse may not work with another. With all this said, Horses are powerful therapeutic tools that offer expansive opportunities for metaphoric learning. Metaphors utilized in therapy, whether in discussion or in an activity, is a technique that has been proven effective even for the most challenging clients. The most powerful aspect of using horses in therapy settings is that they have the ability to mirror precisely what human body language is relaying to them. A client may confess, "The horse doesn't like me; the horse is stubborn; the horse is mean, etc." The lesson to be learned with EAP is that if the client changes his or her behavior, the horses will respond differently. Horses are honest in their actions, in their behaviors, and this makes them particularly powerful couriers.

EAP provides a non-threatening environment for individuals to confront their life issues and to accomplish treatment goals. People gain immediate "aha's!" through work with the horses because their issue and their solution are presented immediately before them. Individuals are able to work on themselves because they realize that, in order to get the response they want from the horse, they need to change their own behaviors. Anyone can benefit from EAP. Serenity Acres specializes in at-risk youth groups and has programs specifically for this population. However, the list for who may benefit from this powerful therapy is limitless. Serenity Acres utilizes the EAGALA (Equine Assisted Growth and Learning Association) model for our EAP activities. For more information on EAP and its benefits, contact EAGALA www.eagala.org.