Appalachian Children’s Home now offers Equine-Assisted Psychotherapy/Learning as a treatment option. Our EAP/EAL therapy teams are certified in equine-assisted learning (EAL) and equine-assisted psychotherapy (EAP) treatment modalities, along with being licensed mental health therapists in Kentucky. We feel that this will have a substantial positive impact on the residential and foster kids we serve at ACH.
Why Use Horses? Horses mirror and reflect human emotions, look at the similarities in our brain structures (See Picture)
This allows participants to examine emotions and experience a sense of empowerment and assertiveness. The horse-human interaction allows the participant to question him or herself and find his or her answers, take initiative, make decisions, and take responsibility for his or her choices. Horses facilitate spontaneous learning opportunities, allowing the participant to experience failure, success, adventure, risk-taking, and uncertainty.
What We Do! Our equine therapy teams will use frameworks from The O.K. Corral and EAGALA experiential models. These models incorporate groundwork and mounted activities that focus on complex communication, teamwork, and problem-solving skills and may require risk-taking and competition. These therapeutic approaches are based on the belief that participants can overcome struggles and find innovative solutions to address underlying or root issues. Allowing participants to move beyond coping to resolution of issues. Participants can discover, learn, and grow from the horse-human interaction.
Who leads the individual and group sessions? Our equine therapy teams comprise a licensed mental health professional, an equine specialist, and live horses. This is a unique client-centered counseling experience, which means we strive to provide personalized service to every individual. There is almost nothing better than a hands-on approach with horses to promote processing and healing in various mental health issues and self-care.
How can I help? This is an exciting adventure for ACH; we are seeing such positive results. First, we covet your prayers because we want our EAL/EAP program to help as many individuals as possible. Second, we are also preparing for a building project. Due to environmental challenges, we need an indoor arena to serve individuals year-round. This is best practice for both horses and humans. Third, you can ‘adopt a horse!’ All donations will go toward horse care necessities and/or equipment. We believe that any investment you make in the equine program at ACH will not return void! The best is yet to come!!