By Bettina Shultz-Jobe and Kate Naylor
As a therapist or other healing practitioner interested in expanding their repertoire to include Equine Assisted Services, there are a handful of things to consider. Depending on prior training or experience, the transition into equine work may feel quite easy, or drastically different!
At Natural Lifemanship we hope to support those seeking this change in having a clearer vision of what is required for offering quality and ethical equine assisted services. In this blog we will address the move to experiential work – a shift that is often challenging.
This is an excerpt from a chapter called Considerations for the therapist wanting to incorporate equines that Kate Naylor and I contributed to Shannon Knapp’s most recent edition of Horse Sense Business Sense.
Moving from Talk Therapy to Experiential Work
The process of equine assisted services can feel fairly different for conventional therapists or coaches moving out of an office setting. Much of what is practiced in office is “talk” therapy, or a more cognitive approach to healing. This approach, centered around the discussion of life events, being curious about thoughts and assumptions, and planning for making changes outside of session can be very helpful for some clients, however it is an approach that focuses on a single way of functioning (cognitive, or primarily thought-focused), which can be limiting.
Expanding Our Understanding of Healing
In the last 50 years or more, research focused on mental health continues to deepen its understanding on what is effective and best supports long lasting change. One significant shift in thinking that has occurred due to this research is the understanding that cognitive processes are only one way of approaching mental health, and often operate at a more surface level of functioning.
In order for us, as therapists, to facilitate deep change we have to also go below the level of verbal processing. Typically, experiential therapies do just that.
Why Experiential Work in Equine Assisted Services is Different
In Equine Assisted Services there are a multitude of opportunities to engage with a client on the level of sensation, emotion, movement, and relational connection that do not require verbal processing, and when paired with the addition of verbal processing of thoughts and beliefs, we impact the brain and body in a more holistic manner.
For example, a client in an EAS session will not only be affected by what he and the therapist say, but also by the natural world that influences their senses, the movements their body is able to make while moving around the natural space, and the connections that are offered from the horse as well as the therapy team. If a practitioner also offers mounted work as a part of the therapy, then even more sensorimotor impact is available to the client.
New Demands for the Practitioner
What this all means, though, is that there are often new demands on the conventional therapist or helping professional.
To transition to EAS, but to continue doing straightforward “talk” or cognitive therapies disregards the unique benefits of an experiential approach, especially one including animals such as horses.
Generally speaking, a therapist wanting to include equines in their work would benefit from at least a working understanding of the way somatics, human development, and attachment issues arise in a therapy session – as well as how to impact these areas to cultivate health.
Unique Challenges and Benefits of EAS
An EAS session can be a dramatically different experience than a talk therapy session held in an office because of the necessary inclusion of the environment, the sensorimotor, and the ongoing relationships that surround the client. The environment is significantly less controlled, everyone in the system has freedom of movement, there are typically more beings present than in an office session, and equines present a level of the unexpected that requires flexibility and creativity.
How Uncontrollable Factors Facilitate Change
The uncontrollable factors can bring a small (or sometimes large) increase in stress for clients, pushing them out of their comfort zone. This push is often very effective at bringing client issues to the surface – many EAS practitioners feel their clients uncover and address their difficulties more quickly in this experiential format than in talk therapy alone. Manageable amounts of stress (called eustress) create an environment ripe for change.
The Importance of Spontaneity in Therapy and Learning
In these sorts of sessions, the best material for therapeutic processing is what arises in the moment, between client and horse, client and therapy team, horse and therapy team, or even client and the environment – this is something that cannot be strategically planned or prepared for. What arises in the moment may be the result of current events or past traumas, or both – and can be explored through the body, the emotions, the relationships, or through thoughts and words…or ideally, all of the above.
There are some approaches to EAS that are more prescriptive (i.e. they offer prescribed activities for different situations) – however, even when doing planned activities, the richest material for therapy is what spontaneously arises in the felt experiences of each participant, including the relational dynamics that are present.
The Practitioner’s Role in Experiential Work
All of this flexibility, creativity, and spontaneity does place more burden on the therapist or practitioner to be well developed in their own way – not just in having a sufficient toolbox of interventions, but also in a personal practice of mental, physical, and emotional health.
Our Upcoming Conference: Rooted 2025
We have planned our 2025 Conference, Rooted, with all of this in mind. I’m super excited about a workshop with Reccia Jobe in which she will specifically teach the skills needed to facilitate experiential work. Reccia has spent the majority of her career honing this skill and talent.
There are also a variety of presentations on Somatic and Attachment Work, from experts on these topics. These presentations will allow our community to continue to hone the skills needed to do the life-changing experiential work that so many of us have committed our lives to.
To name a few:
- Embodying and Incorporating Somatic Work: Concret Toold for Your Practice and Your Live with Laura Hutler and Beth Burgmeyer.
- Processing Trauma Through the Somatic Lense with Ateeka Contee and Mary Sue McCarthy
- Bringing a Somatic/Yoga Blend of Grounding and Regulating Practice into Practical Application with Jessica BentonMind-Body Skills for Healing and Transformation with Meghan Bass-Petti
- Understanding Attachment Protest Behavior in Clinical Work with Gina Staves
- Navigating Distance: Parental Self-Regulation During Detachment from Birth to Adulthood with Danielle Cotter
- Attachment: Going Beyond the Interpersonal with Kate Naylor and Sara Sherman
Don’t miss the opportunity to deepen your understanding of experiential work and enhance your therapeutic practice by joining us at Rooted 2025. With workshops and presentations led by leading experts in somatics, attachment, and equine-assisted services, you’ll gain invaluable tools and insights to elevate your practice and support lasting change for your clients. Secure your spot today and be a part of this transformative event that will inspire and equip you for the life-changing work you’re passionate about. Get your tickets now!
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