Many people experience anxiety from social situations, intimating influences, and other factors. People with anxiety and other conditions tend to seek out therapy like talk therapy, art therapy, and even equine therapy. While talk therapy is the most common type of therapy, equine therapy has been increasing in popularity due to its success to treat a wide range of conditions.
Equine therapy may still be considered an experimental course of treatment; however, equine therapy has been progressively allowing patients to understand and accept their emotions towards a situation or an event. But how does equine therapy allow a patient to comprehend and acknowledge their feelings?
Here are the benefits and treatment plans of equine therapy:
What is equine therapy?
It might not be commonly known that equine therapy is also known as horse therapy, equine support therapy, or equine support psychotherapy; however, equine therapy is thought of as therapy which combines interactions between horses and patients. Patients take part in various activities which involve a horse like feeding, grooming, and leading a horse. These activities are guided by not only mental health care professional but also a horse expert. The objective of equine therapy is to help the patient acknowledge emotional or behavioral changes and address them in order to benefit the patient’s quality of life. Equine therapy can also be used to broaden a patient’s skill set and expand a person’s responsibility, problem-solving skills, and self-confidence.
Most if not all equine therapy occurs in a controlled setting where both the horse and the patient are comfortable. Unlike other therapy types that utilize animals, equine therapy employs horses for a number of reasons. For example, since horses are usually not judgmental, and have a tendency to mirror both temper and conduct of the human their working with they’re the perfect animal to use in therapy like setting. Thus, the patient working with the horse can see how the horse’s behavior changes due to how the patient feels or acts at a specific time, and moreover, can have a discussion with his or her therapist about what it means going forward. Therefore, equine therapy can be used to recognize one’s behavior and learn from it.
What are the benefits of equine therapy?
Just as in any therapy there are a number of benefits a person could experience when trying equine therapy; however, since everyone reacts to situations differently not, everyone will experience every benefit. As a matter of fact, due to a person’s reasoning for undergoing equine therapy, there might be no reason at all for every benefit to be experienced. Although, some people may need to experience the advantages of equine therapy to improve their quality of life. Some of the advantages of equine therapy include increased emotional consciousness, flexibility, problem-solving skills, and independence. Due to the activities that are performed with the horse a person may also experience benefits like empathy, greater skill at interpersonal relationships, and control over impulses.
Some people don’t necessarily experience an increase in such feelings like empathy or independence; however, they learn a great deal about who they are as a person. One of the major benefits of equine therapy is that it’s individualistic, and thus, people can learn a variety of strategies and techniques that are personal to them. Equine therapy will certainly not cure everyone that walks in the door to undergo its techniques, but if you try and put in the work you might learn some valuable lessons about how you view yourself, others, and the world. You might like these perceptions, or you might want to change them, but they’re your perceptions nonetheless. Therefore, even though there are a various amount of benefits for equine therapy, the primary benefit allows people to admit to themselves their individualist feelings or behaviors that make them feel or act as they do.
What kind of conditions does equine therapy treat?
Equine therapy is known for treating a wide range of conditions; however, the most successful has been with people who have Autism. Autism is a severe developmental disorder in which a person has a difficult time communicating and interacting. Although, equine therapy has been known to help people with Autism by providing a task that builds on communication and interaction with people and animals. Also, people who have learning conditions, behavior disorders, or mood disorders can benefit from equine therapy due to the tasks it provides.
Additionally, people who suffer from substance abuse, sex addiction, or drug abuse can benefit from equine therapy. It’s commonly known that people who are addicted to a substance are likely to be anxious, easily frightened, or even have a bad temper. Since horses can mirror human behavior, they’ll likely mirror types of feeling or behaviors that addicts express, and thus people who suffer from addiction can learn how their actions affect not only themselves but others around them too.
Moreover, people who experience grief or loss can benefit from equine therapy too. Sometimes talking about your feelings isn’t enough; however, with equine therapy, you can take care of an animal while talking about your emotions. Thus, equine therapy allows you to experience a positive experience while talking about a negative one, and therefore, it reinforces that the emotions of grief and loss may not always be present in a person’s life. Some other conditions that equine therapy can treat include trauma, Asperger’s, and ADD/ADHD. Therefore, equine therapy can treat an extensive list of conditions; however, it’s important that if you want equine therapy to work that you put in the work in order to try and acknowledge what really is affecting you.
Equine therapy is ideal if you don’t understand what is affecting you in your daily life. Due to the nature of the therapy, it’s perfect for a wide range of conditions and age types. In fact, there is a long list of benefits for equine therapy which include increase emotional consciousness, responsibility, and self-confidence. However, not everyone will react the same to equine therapy to not everyone will receive the same benefits. As a matter of fact, some people don’t learn some of the usual benefits, although they gain a greater understanding of themselves instead. Equine therapy is known to be individualistic and allows a person to understand their true emotions about themselves, others, and the world around them. Try equine therapy today!
