Equine
Assisted Learning (EAL) and Equine Assisted Psychotherapy (EAP) An
Explanation By Elizabeth A Cinney
According
to the Equine Facilitated Mental Health Association, “EAL
refers to a style of learning that occurs when a person is
interacting with the environment, including the people, animals and
situations involved. EAL promotes personal exploration of feelings
and behaviors in an educational format. It provides the client with
opportunities to enhance self-awareness and re-pattern maladaptive
behaviors, feelings, and attitudes. EAP promotes both personal
exploration of feelings and behaviors, and allows for clinical
interpretation of feelings and behaviors. EAP denotes an ongoing
therapeutic relationship with clearly established treatment goals and
objectives developed by the therapist in conjunction with the client.
The therapist must be an appropriately credentialed mental health
professional to legally practice psychotherapy and EAP.”
Why
use a horse in therapy with people?
“The
moment you begin sharing your life with a horse you embark on a
journey of self-discovery that is virtually impassable by any other
means. Your horse mirrors the essence of who you are and reveals to
you your strengths and your weaknesses, your promise and your
potential. With exquisite sensitivity, your horse not only intuits
your emotions and intentions but embodies them. If you are anxious
or afraid, your horse is fearful and tense. If you are preoccupied,
your horse is distracted. If you are uncaring, your horse is
indifferent. The more time you spend with your horse, the more
clearly you see your reflection in him and the greater your
self-awareness and understanding become.
No
human being can ever hope to see you as clearly as your horse does.
Unlike people that judge you on your appearance and all your material
trappings, clothes, car, house, your horse holds you accountable only
for what lies in your heart.
While
horses guide us through life altering self-improvement course, they
also dramatically enhance our emotional well-being.” Riding
for Life by Rallie
McAllister, M.D.
Some
of the beliefs behind EAL are that horses are sentient beings with
feelings, thoughts, emotions, memories, and empathetic abilities. As
well, horses can be active facilitators, evoking emotions in those
who work with and around them. The core values behind EAL are
compassion, integrity, divine wisdom, creativity, and consciousness.
The theories of EAL defined by Greg Kersten, the creator
of EAP and EAL and the OK Corral Series are; the 3
Rs (respond, retreat, regroup), Pressure/Pain,
and the Corral Community.
The 3 Rs
are a way to keep us emotionally and physically safe. When a threat
arises for a horse/herd it responds
immediately by acknowledging the circumstance. The horse/herd will
retreat
to a safe distance if deemed necessary in the response.
The horse/herd will regroup
before returning to the
environment. A horse/herd will move away from pressure
and into pain.
The Corral Community
is the understanding that the intention of the herd is to practice
protection and immediate utilization of the tools that exist within.
These theories exist within every horse/herd and are directly,
indirectly, or metaphorically applied to how a client functions
within their environment.
Many
different exercises are practiced and sometimes created at a moment’s
notice in response to the client or group needs. “Build your own
corral,” is an exercise used with groups. The assignment is to
build your corral in metaphor to work, office, home, or environment.
Each corral is built within the corral (pasture) and herd. As a
group decision each horse is assigned a desirable, required, or
functional trait necessary to the corrals highest function. After
all is built, the clients herd the horse/trait most needed into their
own corral. Once the exercise is complete or deemed time to stop,
ample space is taken to process the experiences within EAL theories.
Exercises are always done with the intention that the
experience/process is the only importance over completing the
exercise “correctly.” Specially designed EAL experiences may
promote psychosocial healing and growth through: improving
self-esteem/awareness, developing trust in a safe environment,
proving social skills training, encouraging sensory stimulation and
integration, combining body awareness exercises with motor planning
and verbal communication, developing choice-making/goal-setting
skills, developing sequencing/ problem-solving skills, encouraging
responsibility, and promoting pro-social attitudes through
care-giving experiences.
Linda
Kohanov, founder of Epona Equestrian Services, explains that,”
Horses have a gift for “one trial learning,” the ability to
process, recall, and elaborate on the lessons gleaned from a single
experience. In the wild, they may only have one chance to get it
right….horses mirror the truth of what’s happening from moment to
moment, thus keeping their handlers from becoming mired in
projections and illusions. These animals not only reflect
incongruities in emotion and intention, they highlight unrecognized
strengths and improvements as well. In this way, horses provide a
form of biofeedback for practicing self-awareness, emotional agility,
and relationship skills that conventional counseling, role-playing
exercises, and discussion groups barely access since these techniques
are, once again, based primarily in language.”
EAL
may be used for people with psycho-social issues and mental health
needs that result in any significant variation in cognition, mood,
judgment, insight, anxiety level, perception, social skills,
communication, behavior, or learning. Examples include but are not
limited to: anxiety disorders, psychotic disorders, mood disorders,
behavior difficulties, major life changes (environmental trauma,
divorce, grief and loss, etc.), and other mental illness such as
schizophrenia, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, autism,
receptive or expressive language disorder, personality disorders,
depression, post traumatic stress disorder, chemical dependency, and
eating disorders. An EAL session is contraindicative if a client is
actively dangerous to self or others (suicidal, homicidal,
aggressive, actively delirious, demented, dissociative, psychotic,
severely confused (including severe delusion involving horses),
medically unstable, or actively abusing drugs.
EAL
has given the opportunity to increase awareness
within myself, relationships, and within the sport of riding. I am
dedicated to continue to explore the benefits of EAL and activate the
opportunity for all to experience.
