Counseling, Business Development & Wellness Options
Mental Health with horses (equine assisted psychotherapy / EAP) is a best practice model of therapy. It is a collaborative relationship between clients, horses, a mental health professional, and an equine specialist. The client’s mental health treatment plan, objectives, and interventions are the focus. Sessions are structured around the client’s needs and intentions. During the 50 minute session, clients will work with the horses to explore their situations.
Individuals, ages 15 and up are given the opportunity to experience and learn from the horses. You do not have to be familiar with horses OR even like horses to have powerful sessions. Most clients have no horse experience! There is no riding or horsemanship taught. We are building relationships with the horses to increase personal awareness.
Clients attest to the fact that one session with the horses access the same content as years of traditional talk therapy. Lessons have a deeper meaning when you can see, touch, and smell what is happening! A physician referral is not necessary and sessions can be paid for through insurance or private pay.
EMDR with a Horse offers the opportunity to access and process through trauma.
Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR) encourages a client to focus on their traumatic memory while simultaneously experiencing bilateral stimulation. Bilateral stimulation is associated with a reduction in the vividness of the experience. This enables people to heal from the symptoms and emotional distress that are the result of disturbing life experiences. During EMDR, the client identifies a specific situation and calls to mind what was seen, felt, heard, and thought during that experience. They also identify what thoughts and beliefs are currently held around it.
Horses provide a unique support while processing these difficult experiences, providing an even deeper level of healing and grounding. The human mind, similar to the horses mind, can rest, do, react, respond, then return to a place of rest. However, once the brain has experienced trauma, energy becomes locked in the body and the central nervous system can not return to rest. People often remain on alert with a fight, flight or freeze response, causing anxiety. Humans are taught to repress hard emotions or experiences, yet our body wants to heal and release.
Horses understand, see, and stand with traumatized clients as they revisit the memories, remaining grounded and calm. EMDR with a Horse reconnects the client with their core, or “true self”, allowing the natural healing powers of the brain to move through the traumatic experience.
Maria Russell or Jen Roach are your therapists trained in EMDR.
“Horse-Powered” Team Building sessions (equine assisted learning / EAL) incorporates horses experientially for personal/professional growth and team-building.
It is a collaborative effort between the horses, a mental health professional, an equine specialist, and a certified leadership coach. We work with the clients to achieve specific goals, personal transformation, and business development.
This non-traditional approach, growing rapidly in popularity, increases personal awareness, thus improving team dynamics. The opportunity for employees to step out of the office, interact with horses THEN interpret their own experiences is enlightening. “Horse-Powered” Team Building is a powerful and “out of the office” experience for staff, management, Boards, and other groups wishing to optimize their communication and performance.
The purpose of team building is to transform individuals into a cohesive team. A team of people organized to work together interdependently and for a common goal. The time spent with the horses motivates your team to work together, identify strengths, improve productivity, and expand exponentially! Let us add a 2500 pound of performance kick to your team!
Reiki is a gentle, non-invasive form of energy healing to reduce stress, promote relaxation, and improve physical/emotional wellness.
It decreases the symptoms of anxiety, depression, mood disorders, sleep disorders and hypertension. This is now utilized worldwide in the healing of humans and animals, including in every-day life, hospitals, hospices, and even in the VA for PTSD! Reiki does not replace the care of a physician or a psychotherapist, however it does complement other treatment options as it increases the efficacy of healing.
Sessions are 60 minutes and can be experiences in the Healing Space at the farm. Clients lie on a massage table fully clothed, as Katie gently places her hands, palms down, on or just above your body in different locations. Katie is simply a conduit between the Source and the client. Reiki always works for your highest good, never causing harm.
Distant Reiki sessions are available for those who are not physically present in the office and can be schedule via phone or Zoom. Animal sessions can also be scheduled for in-office, in-person or distant appointments.
“Solefully” Guided Herd Meditation is a must for those needing to unplug and recharge!
If our cell phones are at less then 10%, we immediately find a charger, yet we allow ourselves to drop far below that! Make the time to pause, breathe and recharge on a deeper level. This is a time to feel safe, find peace, and connect. We come together to focus on love, to heal, and to be mindful.
Meditation lowers stress, anxiety, depression, insomnia, and blood pressure. It also improves memory, concentration, happiness, and overall wellbeing. Horses naturally live in the present moment, balancing awareness, and resting. The 90 minutes meditation with the herd allows you to deepen your energetic flow, rebalance, ground in silence, and embrace oneness.
This experience can be done individually, in an open group, in a private group OR over the phone! Makes a great gift too!
Looking for a gift item OR want to offer someone a healing experience? Willow Equine offers gift certificates for services, such as mental health with horses, guided meditation and Reiki (in-person, distant or animal). You can even make a donation to Soul to Soles Connection in honor of someone and we will send a special card! Gift certificates can be email, mail or schedule a pick up!
