Equine Facilitated Psychotherapy (EFP)
Equine Facilitated Psychotherapy (EFP), which involves a licensed clinical professional and certified horse trainer working together, has been shown to be effective in treating a variety of mental health and human development needs. Some examples of these are behavioral issues, attention deficit disorder, eating disorders, abuse issues, communication skills, depression, anxiety, anger management, conflict resolution, and relationship problems. EFP may be used for individual, family or couple therapy and is used as a treatment tool in conjunction with office-based therapy.
In EFP, participants use feelings, behaviors and patterns which emerge during sessions with horses to better understand both the horses and themselves. Horses communicate non-verbally through body language and often mirror and respond to the emotions and behaviors of the people around them. By observing this and processing it in therapy, participants can build self-confidence, improve their communication skills and gain personal insight into how their own behavior influences the events in their lives.
Equine facilitated sessions provide much therapeutic material. The horses are a key part of the treatment team and bring to the session their own history and personality. (Click here to learn about our horses) Using horses dramatically speeds bonding with resistant clients, especially adolescents. A teen who is unwilling to sit down and talk about their feelings often becomes an engaged participant when a horse is present. And rather than send a client home to practice a new behavior between sessions, the new behavior can be accomplished and processed in the session. The versatility of EFP allows it to be used for many people and for a variety of life challenges.
Most sessions are covered by the mental health benefits included in health insurance programs.
In order to maintain the confidentiality of our EFP clients, these sessions are run at times other than HillCroft’s regular lesson program.
All EFP sessions at HillCroft are run jointly by Susan Ross, Ph.D., a licensed Psychologist and Karol McCarty and/or Sally Bauder, both certified Centered Riding Instructors
HillCroft Stables
(518) 864-5878
OR
Dr. Susan Ross at Pine Bush Mental Health
(518) 862-1665
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