In addition to trauma and military veterans, one of ECC’s largest populations served is at-risk children and teens. In Texas, teens with mental health concerns are one of the groups with the highest need and lowest resources. The percent of Texas high school students who attempted suicide in 2011 was higher than the national average, but the amount of public spending on mental health care has declined each year. At ECC, about 25% of our clients are adolescents. They are often dealing with concerns such as depression, self-injury, anxiety, aggression, and trauma.
 
When working with teenagers, relationship-based and trauma-informed approaches are considered to be very effective. ECC’s method of equine assisted counseling is a great fit for teens because of its emphasis on the relationship with the horse. The presence of a horse in session can:

1. Increase the teen’s motivation to attend session
2. Facilitate the teen’s trust of the counselor
3. Provide nurturing and acceptance

For many of the teenagers that come to ECC, the horse becomes an important source of comfort and acceptance—things that can be difficult to find in middle and high school. The relationship with the horse becomes a way to both give and receive nurturing. Maladaptive patterns of behavior also become apparent through the teen’s interactions with the horse, but the non-judgmental nature of horses creates a safe space for the client to become aware of and change those behaviors.
 
EAC can be a great option for teens because unlike traditional therapies, there is less pressure to talk about their lives and their struggles. This helps clients feel more comfortable in session while still doing valuable work through their relationship with the horse. Caregivers frequently report positive changes within the first few sessions. Psychological assessments show that many teens we see at ECC experience significant positive change after just a few months of counseling.
 
We love getting to work with these teenagers and providing them with a place where they get to be themselves and experience positive relationships with the horses. If you would like to know more about our work with adolescents, comment below or use the contact form to get in touch with us.

In August, ECC President and Founder Hallie Sheade earned her Ph.D. from the University of North Texas. Her dissertation examined the effectiveness of her model of equine assisted counseling (called Relational Equine-Partnered Counseling, or REPC) in treating veterans with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). We hope that by sharing an overview of the study and its conclusions you can better understand what we do at ECC.

REPC is based on the idea that people want to build positive and nurturing relationships, which facilitate growth and healing. Through the relationship with the horse, clients have the opportunity to create a new pattern for relationships and experience security needed to process and heal from trauma. Activities and techniques in REPC are designed to target specific goals such as relationship-building, self-regulation and mindfulness, and creativity. These activities may include choosing a horse, haltering the horse, leading the horse, grooming the horse, being with the horse, moving the horse, bathing the horse, and relaxation activities.

Participants in the study were military veterans with war zone-related trauma. Each veteran was asked complete a baseline phase prior to starting equine assisted counseling, during which they were evaluated each week using PTSD assessments. The second phase was to participate in REPC equine assisted counseling sessions for up to 18 weeks. The third phase tested each person’s PTSD symptoms for several weeks after counseling ended.

Some of the conclusions and implications of the study are:

• Participants perceived interactions with the horses as beneficial to them or as an important factor to their improvement.
• REPC may be beneficial in reducing severity and symptoms of PTSD after a triggering event, meaning participants who were “triggered” felt better more quickly while participating in REPC.
• Participants appeared to be highly motivated to attend sessions with the horses.

Dr. Sheade’s research is one of the few studies on equine assisted therapies with veterans. More research on the effectiveness of equine assisted counseling is needed. REPC is a unique, innovative approach to the field and we hope to do more research in the future.


Happy Veteran’s Day! Thank you to all veterans and their families for your service to our country. We are proud to serve you!