At Rio de Esperanza, equine assisted therapy involves clinical professionals that have been specially trained and experienced in guiding others to expose, understand, and address emotional and behavioral issues through interaction with horses. Equine assisted therapy has been shown to be effective in treating a variety of mental health and behavioral problems such as attention deficit disorder, substance abuse, eating disorders, abuse issues, depression, anxiety, anger management, conflict resolution, relationship problems and communications.
This is truly a hands-on, experiential process in which one learns about emotions, behaviors, and life choices by participating in activities with horses and then discussing those feelings, behaviors and patterns.
Horses are particularly well suited to assist in your treatment. The sheer size of these animals immediately requires us to assess how we might overcome fear and develop confidence in this situation. As we process that both on site and in counseling, the positive and profound metaphors for the rest of our lives become not only apparent, but overwhelmingly obvious and transforming. It is about developing the confidence to face and manage effectively life’s other intimidating and challenging situations.
Most importantly, horses strongly tend to mirror exactly what human body language is telling them. Struggling with a stubborn, antagonistic horse is the perfect training ground to foster change in oneself. By doing so we learn that changing our interaction with our world results – just like the change we see in the horse’s response – in a positive alteration of how our world responds to us. Equine assisted therapy is a powerful tool to help us create a new Life Circle.
