Equine Therapy

Alternative to Meds Editorial Team
Medically Reviewed by Libby Smith PhD

Gestalt Equine Psychotherapy and Equine-Assisted Therapy in Recovery

As a therapeutic approach, gestalt therapy focuses on the here and now. Living and experiencing the present moment, people investing in gestalt therapy may expose feelings that were previously hidden by other feelings, and they learn to better trust in their own emotions.

In Gestalt Equine Psychotherapy, these same principles are applied with the presence of equine animals. Equine therapy is a therapeutic practice where equine animals (most often horses) provide tools to strengthen an individual both mentally and physically.² Equine-assisted psychotherapy, or EAP, is an evidence-based approach to treating mental health.

While the horses do not provide direct emotional support, they can help individuals process challenging emotions to reach a higher level of self-awareness. Through different horse-related activities or participating in an environment with horses nearby, many people find they can gain a new level of confidence and better emotional regulation skills. Incorporating nature creatively into therapeutic treatment, participants experience a creative and more in-the-moment approach to healing.

Although the presence of a large animal may intimidate people at first, there is a great deal of evidence of equine therapy’s efficacy.³ EAP has been shown to be beneficial for conditions ranging from anxiety, trauma, and PTSD to addiction treatment and drug dependency.

Benefits You May Experience with Equine Therapy

In our experience, Equine Therapy has the following benefits:

Positive emotional growth. Being able to build a strong relationship with a horse helps people experiencing drug dependency to develop emotionally.⁴ Because all the emotions shared and felt during an equine interaction are candid, you can focus on the here and now and your emotional recovery. Positive emotional growth is key to long-term recovery.
Understanding boundaries. Animals, much like people, establish their own boundaries regarding the activities and interactions they will consent to. By spending time with horses, you can practice learning what those boundaries are and ensure that they respect them to receive a positive outcome. In this way, you can also learn how to create and maintain your own boundaries. By building a give and take relationship with these horses, you build on your own understanding of boundaries, how they work, and why they are so necessary.
Building connections. By growing a relationship with these majestic creatures, you can grow in your own ability to build connections with others. Even more importantly, you can experience what it’s like to feel needed in a relationship. By building connections, you learn to avoid internalizing and can better express your own needs.
Nonverbal communication skills. While horses themselves cannot speak, they do give various non-verbal cues regarding their wants and needs. Watching for and learning about these cues helps you gain a better understanding of others’ nonverbal communication. In turn, this can help you navigate uncomfortable or difficult situations with more finesse. Horses don’t have the ability to lie; therefore, all communications with them are open and honest.
Focus and resilience. While beautiful and magnificent, it is important to remember that horses are exceptionally large animals, sometimes up to 1,200 pounds. Because the margin of error is so significant when it comes to careful handling and proper care, focusing on the task at hand becomes important to keep oneself safe and connected. You must gain a horse’s trust, learning resilience in the process through careful handling and care.

While these aren’t all the benefits of equine therapy, they are some of the most significant. Healing from drug dependency isn’t just about quitting the drug. It’s also important to target your triggers and use better tools to cope with the mental blocks that can endanger long-term healing.

15 Years Experience by Professionals Who Understand Your Journey.

Up to 87 ½% Long-Term Success Rate.

Click to Call7 Days a Week

Join Our Information ARMY AND STAY INFORMED

How Gestalt Equine Therapy Benefits Our Patients

Incorporating horses into gestalt therapy shifts the primary focus away from talk therapy. Instead, gestalt equine therapy focuses more on behavioral therapy and observation of your interactions with the horses you encounter.⁶

This becomes extremely useful in helping to target behavioral patterns. Because horses exist in the here and now, they compel you to shape candid relationships. This creates the opportunity for our patients to meditate on their relationships, get in touch with their emotions, and form better self-awareness.

Equine-Assisted Therapy with Dr. Libby

My name is Dr. Libby Smith, and I am a part of the clinical staff at Alternative to Meds Center (ATMC), working as a therapist to the clients at our center.

ATMC offers a variety of alternative modalities, and Equine-Assisted Therapy is just one of these programs. Clients have the beautiful opportunity to partner and play with horses one or more times throughout their stay.

I have been working in the Equine-Assisted Wellness field for over ten years. I am CEO and Owner of Wind Horse Wellness LLC and have served as Co-Chair of the Certification Board for Equine Interaction Professionals, as well as held certifications as an Equine Interaction Professional. I also hold a “Safety Award” for diligence and attention to the safety of horses and humans alike.

Many are seeing the importance of horses in fields other than rodeos, ranches, and equestrian competitions. Today, horses are being engaged as coaches, teachers, and even therapists in a variety of situations. Horses have an ability to behave as mirrors, showing us our most basic beliefs, ideas, and thoughts regarding ourselves and the world we all live in. I truly believe that horses create an atmosphere where we can regard ourselves more deeply, as well as our environments and relationships.

Gestalt Equine Psychotherapy has evidence-based treatment modalities and is the therapy of choice offered at ATMC.

The Neuroscience Around Equine-Assisted Therapy

Oxytocin is linked with stress relief, attachment, and socialization. The introduction of oxytocin into the body causes several changes, including a reduced heart rate, blocking stress hormones, and producing feelings of focus and tranquility.⁷

The interaction between humans and animals has been shown to increase oxytocin in the brain, and higher levels of oxytocin have been found when humans interact with horses. Because of these greater levels of oxytocin, feelings of trust and empathy can become the focus. This is especially important for those with substance use disorder, as social skills, self-confidence, and support networks have often been negatively affected by the addiction.⁸

By reducing fears and anxieties, our patients are better able to understand their behavioral triggers. They can then open up and connect with the world around them more effectively. When you are experiencing substance use disorder, this state helps you recognize the effect such a disorder has really had on your life and take steps to improve.

Gestalt therapy understands that personal context is linked to understanding, so no one can be truly impartial. Like the equine therapy mentioned above, Gestalt Therapy focuses on the here and now and being present in the moment. While the full practice goes far deeper than this basic overview, incorporating horses into a Gestalt Therapy system is a seamless fit. Using equines incorporates nature directly into the care provided and encourages thoughtfulness and awareness in each encounter.

Equine-Assisted Therapy FAQs

For help understanding how equine therapy can help with recovery, consider the following questions we often hear.

Who Can Benefit From Equine Therapy?

Equine therapy has long been used to help people experiencing reduced mobility or motor control issues due to physiological conditions like cerebral palsy, muscular dystrophy, and muscular sclerosis. Patients experiencing psychological conditions like PTSD, ADHD, anxiety, depression, eating disorders, speech problems, and substance use disorder have recently found value in the treatment.²

Is Equine-Assisted Therapy Covered by Insurance?

Equine therapy is a covered option under some major insurance plans, especially those that offer coverage for behavioral health services. However, we recommend that you contact your insurance company to discuss your coverage options.

Does ATMC Offer Equine-Assisted Therapy?

At Alternative to Meds Center, we have been utilizing equine-assisted therapy for years. By developing a close relationship with an animal, and more specifically horses, our clients develop more self-awareness and gain confidence in themselves to heal without the additional use of medication.

What Is Equine-Assisted Therapy?

Developed initially as an alternative to traditional psychoanalysis, gestalt therapy is a humanist-centered form of therapy. The method is based on the universal idea that all humans are interconnected to their environment and are thus affected by it. Gestalt also holds that all humans are striving for progress and equilibrium.

Sources:

1. White-Lewis S. (2019). Equine-assisted therapies using horses as healers: A concept analysis. Nursing open, 7(1), 58–67. https://doi.org/10.1002/nop2.377<

2. Romaniuk, M., Evans, J., & Kidd, C. (2018). Evaluation of an equine-assisted therapy program for veterans who identify as ‘wounded, injured or ill’ and their partners. PloS one, 13(9), e0203943. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0203943

3. B. Rhett Rigby and Peter W. Grandjean.The Journal of Alternative and Complementary Medicine.Jan 2016.9-24. https://doi.org/10.1089/acm.2015.0171

4. Kern-Godal, A., Brenna, I. H., Arnevik, E. A., & Ravndal, E. (2016). More Than Just a Break from Treatment: How Substance Use Disorder Patients Experience the Stable Environment in Horse-Assisted Therapy. Substance abuse : research and treatment, 10, 99–108. https://doi.org/10.4137/SART.S40475

5. Churchill, R., Davies, P., Caldwell, D., Moore, T. H., Jones, H., Lewis, G., & Hunot, V. (2010). Humanistic therapies versus other psychological therapies for depression. The Cochrane database of systematic reviews, 2010(9), CD008700. https://doi.org/10.1002/14651858.CD007800

6. Raffagnino, R. (2019) Gestalt Therapy Effectiveness: A Systematic Review of Empirical Evidence. Open Journal of Social Sciences, 7, 66-83. doi: 10.4236/jss.2019.76005.

7. Uvnas-Moberg, K., & Petersson, M. (2005). Oxytocin, ein Vermittler von Antistress, Wohlbefinden, sozialer Interaktion, Wachstum und Heilung [Oxytocin, a mediator of anti-stress, well-being, social interaction, growth and healing]. Zeitschrift fur Psychosomatische Medizin und Psychotherapie, 51(1), 57–80. https://doi.org/10.13109/zptm.2005.51.1.57

8. Lansade, L., Nowak, R., Lainé, A. L., Leterrier, C., Bonneau, C., Parias, C., & Bertin, A. (2018). Facial expression and oxytocin as possible markers of positive emotions in horses. Scientific reports, 8(1), 14680. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-018-32993-z

Originally Published Sep 13, 2018 by Libby Smith PhD

This content was written or reviewed by a certified therapist.

Libby Smith Ed.D., Ph.D

Libby Smith or “Dr. Libby” as many of her friends and clients affectionately call her, is an educator, counselor, author, and an Equine-Assisted Therapeutic Practitioner. Libby as two bachelor’s degrees, two master’s degrees, and is currently working on a third Master’s in Addiction Counseling at Grand Canyon University. She holds two doctoral degrees: One in Holistic Theology, and the other in Educational Leadership, with an emphasis on health and sociology, from Northern Arizona University.

She has been teaching at colleges and universities for over twenty-five years including Northern Arizona University and Wichita State University and has written and published several books including her most recent, “What’s the Matter?” She has been an international speaker at the International Conference for Science and Consciousness. Dr. Libby is certified in Regression Therapy, Life Coaching, Hypnosis, Reiki, and as a Heartmath Practitioner. Her Equine Therapy Business is called Wind Horse Wellness LLC.

Over the past ten years, she has worked as a counselor in both Behavioral Health and Substance Use arenas and currently works as a Therapist at Alternatives to Meds Center. She is the owner and CEO of Wind Horse Wellness LLC located in Flagstaff, Arizona. She has a heart for service and is honored to be working with the administration, staff, and clients at Alternatives to Meds Center.

Other books she has authored include: Sex Talks Book About More and Doc Talks Pathways Toward Self-Discovery

Social Profile: LinkedIn

View Bio

Medical Disclaimer:
Nothing on this Website is intended to be taken as medical advice. The information provided on the website is intended to encourage, not replace, direct patient-health professional relationships. Always consult with your doctor before altering your medications. Adding nutritional supplements may alter the effect of medication. Any medication changes should be done only after proper evaluation and under medical supervision.