Educating Others About Your Challenging Child
Animal-Assisted Therapy
Learn more about Animal-Assisted Therapy and how it helps troubled teens, disabled children, and kids with Autism and Asperger's Syndrome.
Equine assisted psychotherapy is the use of horses to facilitate the counseling and treatment of people with emotional, mental and behavioral disorders. Many people who enter into therapy, including adolescents and younger children, have trouble connecting with others. The reasons vary, but the results are the same - disconnection, lack of emotion, and a lack of intimacy with others. Because horses and other animals offer unconditional acceptance, they can help someone who might otherwise be unwilling to express emotion or to connect with people. Animal assisted therapy offers a safe environment, allowing the person to explore thoughts and feelings without fear of rejection or other repercussions which may have been experienced at home.
The use of animals as therapeutic aides is not new. As far back as the 1800's, counselors and therapists began discovering that animals can be a vital part of the therapy process. Therapists have observed that a child who is given a pet develops a stronger sense of responsibility and of self. He or she also has a greater capacity for empathy and is less likely to become socially isolated.
Proponents of animal assisted therapy favor using horses because of the many activities involved in keeping and riding a horse. Learning to brush, feed, and tackle a horse can help build self-esteem and confidence. In addition, therapeutic horseback riding allows both client and counselor to slow down, and it gets them out of the structured clinical setting into a more relaxed, natural one. Seeing the counselor treat the animal with kindness may show the client that the counselor is "safe" and can be trusted.
Some of the tasks that are involved in equine assisted psychotherapy include haltering the horse, grooming, walking/exercising the horse, using carts and wagons, and observing and discussing how the horse interacts with other animals. These tasks allow for natural, easy conversation and can help people open up and talk more freely. Some adolescents and younger children may even project feelings, issues, and personal stories onto the horse as a way of dealing with difficult, confusing, or traumatic situations.
Most equine assisted psychotherapy programs include an assessment period that's used to determine the client's overall status emotionally, mentally, and physically. The counselor then uses this assessment to determine the best type of program for the client. Equine assisted therapy farms are staffed with horse professionals who know the horses well and have a general understanding of each animal's temperament. The horse professional will work with the therapist and client to choose a horse that's appropriate for the client's condition and goals. To honor counselor/client confidentiality, the horse professional will be close by in case he's needed, but will not stay with the therapist and client.
Equine assisted therapy also works well in family counseling sessions. By giving the family a task to complete, the counselor can make important and revealing observations about how different family members relate and respond to one another.