equine assisted therapy in atlanta
Incorporating horses into mental health treatment
Thank you for your interest in Equine Assisted Psychotherapy!
I am glad you are here to learn about this modality of experiential, animal assisted therapy. The groups are run at Chastain Horse Park, located in the City of Atlanta. We welcome you here if you are exploring these groups as a client participant or if you are a therapist or other mental health professional considering making a client referral.
We offer equine assisted psychotherapy in outdoor horse arenas in metro Atlanta.
Equine Assisted Psychotherapy is both a systemic and experiential based approach that goes beyond traditional therapy. This type of equine assisted therapy is different than the more recognized Hippotherapy. Equine Assisted Psychotherapy focuses on improving mental health based on client or group specific treatment goals. It is experiential in nature and incorporates horses into mental health treatment.
Therapy goals can include reducing anxiety and depression based symptoms, treating complex grief or trauma, and building coping skills and resiliency to improve a client’s quality of life. K-equine group offerings at Chastain Horse Park are ALL mental health based therapy also referred to as psychotherapy.
Hippotherapy is also offered at Chastain Horse Park and includes physical, occupational and/or speech therapy that most often includes a client riding a horse to utilize the movement of the horse. Treatment goals can include improved neurological function or sensory processing, physical core body balance or motor functioning. To inquire about hippotherapy, please contact Chastain Horse Park directly.
“Horses provide a relationship for safe healing to occur through an innovative approach that goes beyond traditional therapy. Horses are highly intuitive and sensitive beings who have a special ability to connect in ways that help you become present-focused, to identify your feelings, and to work through emotional and behavioral barriers without shame or stigma. Horses are large and powerful, and it is hard to ignore their presence – much like a seemingly impossible life issue. As such, horses can provide a metaphor for events or situations in your life.”
Upcoming Equine Assisted Psychotherapy Groups
Mental Health Therapy in the Horse Arena…
- is experienced in the here and now.
- creates shifts in the body and heart, not just intellectually.
- forms a deeper tie to emotion.
- can truly be a new discovery of self.
“Difficult feelings and situations cannot always be put into words, and sometimes it’s better not to try. Bringing horses into the treatment process compels you to be in the present moment, so that you are not focusing on the past or worrying about the future, but instead dealing with what is going on now. This allows you to look at your life with a different clarity. Physically engaging with horses while you are also processing what is going on emotionally, you can “rewrite” your life stories gaining fresh, new perspectives.”
