Available Equine Assisted Services
Equine Escape offers Equine Assisted Learning Programs (EAL) to “at risk” youth, veterans and their families and to police officers, first responders and their families. Equine Assisted Psychotherapy (EAP) is also offered to those key groups and requires coordination with a mental health professional. Please contact us if you are interested in EAP or EAL.
Youth
Giving youth a “leg up”
We use the term a “leg up” when we are helping another person up into the saddle on a horse. This program is designed to give youth that “leg up” in life. The youth program attempts to provide young people with some of the resilience and protective factors necessary to avoid possible negative life outcomes. Our youth of today face many challenges that were not even considered 20 years ago. As a result, many youth need extra support in developing a set of skills or toolbox to face the challenges in their lives. Oftentimes youth are labeled “at risk” as a consequence of psychosocial disadvantages. In addition early exposure to traumatic events can lead youth to develop behaviors that will have negative life outcomes either now or later in life. We work with youth who are demonstrating many different types of behaviors: hypervigilance, hyperactivity, extreme sensitivity, abrupt/extreme mood changes, lack of self worth, depression, avoidance, addictive behaviors, self harming and many more. We also work with youth facing the challenges of Autism Spectrum Disorder, ADHD, attachment disorders, drug/alcohol misuse or recovery, eating disorders and self harming, like cutting. In some cases where we need more EAP directed sessions, we will need the youth’s mental health professional to partner with us as we deliver the program.
Veterans
Welcome Home
There are many challenges for our veterans as they transition from military life to civilian life. One such challenge is forming relationships. Veterans may feel as if they are being judged based on their military actions or suffer from PTSD due to event(s) they had to participate in. The military recognizes that EAL may be a good choice for our veterans. EAL is a popular choice as it addresses many psychosocial factors that office-based therapy cannot. Some of the key domain the military recognizes as benefiting from EAL are physical, emotional, family relationships, social, spiritual and career (U.S. Army 2014) EAL allows a safe place to feel and address emotions through the human-animal bond. The herd mentality, prey animal instincts and unconditional acceptance of horses is why they work so well with our veterans. We look forward to giving back to our service men and women and first responders. For more information on EAL and veterans check out the link below.
Groups
Promote teamwork, problem solving and overall wellness with group sessions. Group sessions can benefit corporations, small businesses, substance abuse rehabilitation centers, Veterans welfare organizations and any other organization which wants to fill their peoples’ toolboxes with what they need to conquer any obstacle they may face. Please contact us for information about how we can assist you.